War for the Universe (A Story)

[Nutzholzwolf]

Note: This is story is based in the X2 Universe, a Space Sim, as if it had a multiplayer ability based ran from a server. The admins of the server are Gambit, Wildchild, and TimberWolf. Each have already defined their role in the universe. Gambit is the economic master, with stations and fleets of trade ships. Wildchild roams the universe capturing ships and refitting the ones he likes to add to his rage tag fleet of fighters to patrol pirate and unknown sectors. TimberWolf has collected money from assassination missions and Xenon invasion missions to build up a fleet of Battle Ships and Carriers along with support ship, making the only true space fleet on the server. Players of the server can get help from these admins and often can get donations to help them when they are broke from Khaak attacks or bad business choices. The universe has been peaceful until a secluded player uses illegal tactics to build a force with the power to bring down the server. Can Gambit, Wildchild, and TimberWolf save the universe or is the server doomed to be wiped out by this force appearing from no where?

Check this link for info on ships in the story and for information about anything in the game that shows up in the story, such as the sectors or weapons. http://argonopedia.ppcis.org/ships.php? ... 93611349df

For more of the story follow the link:
http://www.xmenclan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2295

This story is currently 49 pages long in Microsoft Word.

War for the Universe [Revised and Edited]

Chapter One: Section One

Apart from Gambit, Wildchild, and TimberWolf, there are no real super powers on the server. But a new force that will cause great pain to the universe had just joined in. Initially he worked as a trader, keeping under the radar. For a couple of months he operated several UT's and only a handful of fighters. But one day he wipes out Rolks Legacy and began a blockade where no one passes. It wasn't until a month later that players on the server called upon the server administrators to look into the problem. Since Gambit had already signed off for the night and Wildchild hadn't been on the message went straight to TimberWolf.

Complaints were nothing new to receive. Administrators are use to getting things about the balancing of the game and how others did them wrong because they got a deal before they did. But something about this message seemed different and demanded immediate personal attention. With that thought TimberWolf sent a Teladi Buzzard to scout out the sector to see what was going on. Clicking on one of many carriers in his fleet, TimberWolf selected one of his jump drive equipped scouts to under take the mission. If it was like all the others the player will back off in fear of the repercussions from the admin, but this wasn’t one of those times. Moments after the Buzzard entered the sector it vanished again. What was left in sight was a ring of laser towers circling the gate.

The fact that a player wouldn’t even give another a chance to run was against one of the rules the players themselves have voted for the server. Using admin sector communications, TimberWolf broadcasts to anyone in Rolks Legacy to stand down, disable all laser towers, and move to the center of the sector to be talked to. As TimberWolf waits for who ever it is to follow the orders he gathers an Argon Titan (M2) and a Teladi Condor (M1) to escort his personal Titan named ‘Lords of Steel.’ Once all the ships are along each others sides TimberWolf commands the other Titan to jump first, followed by ‘Lords of Steel,’ and then the Condor.

Once in the sector it was seen that the player had followed the orders, the laser towers did not engage TimberWolfs forces. In the middle of the sector waiting was a Split Mamba (M3). The information page has it registered to a Xenon001. There doesn’t appear to be anything besides the laser towers around the three gates and this lone fighter blocking travel through the sector. As part of normal procedures, TimberWolf launches a wing of scouts to confirm that this player is alone and that all of his assets are none hostile. As the fleet approached the center something caught TimberWolfs attention on the radar, a large group of transports docking with several TL’s. Questions began to form, and a scrutinizing eye noticed large amounts of particles in the sector and objects hitting the hull.

Chapter One: Section Two

First thing that comes to TimberWolfs mind was to bring his ships to a stop and deploy defensive fighters from his Condor. Pressing target next object brings to light the cause of the high particle concentration. SQUASH mines surrounded all of TimberWolfs fleet, and by the looks of the freighters there must be countless hundreds out there. Before the situation had been sized up the laser towers around each of the gates turned red, destroying any of TimberWolf’s scouts near by. A message appears on the screen “Goodbye to you and your rules.” The TL’s had vanished along with the Xenon011’s Mamba.

Before the message made any sense the sector maps began to fill up with red dots of the activating SQUASH mines. Without even a second passing, all turrets on the ‘Lords of Steel’ and its escorts open fire into the mine field. The defensive fighters burst into brilliant balls of fire as mines near by detonate. In fear for his carriers’ life, TimberWolf quickly orders it to jump back to Omicron Lyae. With the Condor away he maneuvers the two titans closer to help cover each other. The escorting Titan was in the lead and taking the brunt of the damage, its shields slowly draining of strength. For a moment it appeared that the mines were almost gone from the surrounding area until TimberWolf chanced a look at the sector map to see that they were still being activated. That new information changed TimberWolf’s mind to that of tactical retreat. The other Titans shield were near failing by then, not even a minute into the situation, and was ordered to jump home. The situation was starting to look bleak in the presence of so many mines. The ‘Lords of Steel’ turned around and began to make its way towards the gate it came from with the intent of making at least one gate safe to bring ships in to clean this sector out. To lead the way two Perseus’s with Beta Phased Shock Generators installed. The 6 BPSG’s were doing an awesome job of clearing the front path but it was left up to the ‘Lords of Steel’ to keep their sides clear of mines.

Progress was made quickly at first, few mines made it close enough to any of the ships to cause serious damage to the shields. But soon the now active laser towers began shooting through the mine field and striking the Perseus’s. The effort to calculate everything gong on at that moment began to slow down the server, preventing TimberWolf from giving out the recall order before his fighters had flown into the field to attack the towers. Only two fighters left on board and neither are equipped with any phased shock generators. The towers will soon be striking the ‘Lords of Steel’ and the only other option left was to jump out. The command is given to jump to the neighboring sector and the jump drive begins the powering up phase. Suddenly the ship begins to shake as its’ shields receive blow after blow from mines making it through the turrets. For a brief moment the shields fail and a couple of systems and cargo are destroyed. The count down continues and reaches 100% as the last of the explosions end.

Chapter One: Section Three

With great wonder TimberWolf ponders why his ship didn’t jump out of the battle zone. Navigating through the menus to the equipment page showed to his horror that one of the systems destroyed was the jump drive. Now as the ship sits still firing at the surrounding mines the predicament becomes painfully obvious to TimberWolf. He will have to slowly work his way towards the laser towers and handle them and the mines simultaneously. Taking a quick inventory of what was stored on board the fighters and the Titan, a tactic becomes available that would normally be absurd. But this is no normal situation. Luckily this ship was used to confiscate a hacked load of fighter drones that were modified with stronger weapons and shields. They were to be destroyed by the Perseus’s with their BPSG’s when the ‘Lords of Steel’ got to an uninhabited area.

Wishing there was someone else to call upon to ask for help, TimberWolf types out a message to any player in a two sector radius to aid in his attack on the laser towers around the west gate. After several minutes no responses have been sent and the appearance of being alone has never been more apparent. Taking a moment to recollect his nerves, TimberWolf begins to set his new plan into motion. Deploying the hacked fighter drones and targeting the nearest laser tower for them to attack. Quickly they burst into the mine field, taking several mine blasts before being destroyed, and nearly all of them reaching the target and engaging without any of the other towers being able to hit them because of their speed. Soon all of the towers are destroyed, and with victory nearly at hand, TimberWolf commands the rest to protect the ‘Lords of Steel’ as it continues on its way towards the gate. The sight of an ever advancing wall of explosions was impressive and aw inspiring. This sight was costly in that many of the drones were being hit by the explosions caused by the PPC fire from the turrets. In a sudden wave of terror a large batch of mines breaks through the defensive perimeter and begins striking the shields.

In fear for his life and ship, TimberWolf deploys the last two fighters to defend the ship. The last of the drones quickly die under the constant damage incurred by the surrounding mine field. The only thing holding the death sting of the mine field at bay is the 18 PPC’s of the Titan and the two Nova’s (M3) flying around it. In moments the shields reach critical level and the hull begins taking damage again. Weapons start to fail, systems are destroyed, and cargo vanishes from the inventory. The gate is less than a kilometer away but with the constant pounding on the hull the ship slows down ever more. A large explosion is seen off the port bough, a Nova was lost. Hull dropped to 70% and continues a steady decline as shield generators are destroyed. Another big explosion is heard aft of the ship, the last fighter has been lost to the encroaching mines. The end seems near. Switching to weapons screen, TimberWolf quickly installs any weapon that still sits in the cargo bay in hopes that it will help keep the mines at bay long enough for shields to come back online or for the ship to make it through the gate. Server lag hinders the rushing TimberWolf as the hull races pass 50% and yet another turret losses it’s last PPC.

In what felt like eternity, but was only a few seconds, the never ending explosions ended and the hull stopped dropping as the shields came back online for a moment only to be taken out by one last mine strike on the hull. No more mines were moving towards the ‘Lords of Steel’ and a line could be seen between the red mines and the green ship. A moment of breathing followed by several minutes of diagnosing his ships condition leads TimberWolf to break out laughing and near crying. The hull indicator hovered at 7%, no shields, and only a half a dozen weapons still working. The ship is blind and almost immobile just a few hundred meters from the gate. With his hand on the eject button, TimberWolf throttles the ship to full power, cruising at a snails pace of 5 meters per second.

Chapter Two: Section One

Iceman had recently logged in for a quick check on his factories and Universal Transporters (UT’s). As he navigated the screens an ever increasing delay became more and more apparent. The movement of ships in the distance mirrored the delay of the windows he was trying to access. Iceman worked his way to see if any Admins were logged in on the server, getting frustrated by the still increasing delay in response from the screens. Once to the proper screen, with great relief, it was seen that there was one admin currently logged on somewhere in the Universe. Thinking that the problem was located only in his current sector, Iceman sends a message to TimberWolf asking him what’s going on with the server. But the message is returned to him with a note saying that the server could not handle any messages at this time due to too many variables in the sector of Rolk’s Legacy. With that Iceman knew something was very wrong and set a course to head there to give any aid he could give.

Using the Jump Drive to enter the east gate of Lucky Planets to ask people in that sector what they knew about what was going on in Rolk’s Legacy. Once there Iceman noticed an ever increasing crowed forming near the east gate. Selecting the nearest trade ship, Iceman asks the pertinent question only to get referred to a player who requested for an Admin to handle who ever was blockading that sector. In a couple of minute’s time a vague and incomplete picture formed in Iceman’s mind. Thinking that TimberWolf was some how in danger Iceman tries again to send him a message. By now the server appeared to have returned to normal and the message wasn’t returned. Minutes pass and no response was received causing fear that some how TimberWolf was defeated, meaning all of his assets have become property of the AI. A second message is sent with hope that TimberWolf was only busy and not fallen in battle. Still no reply received and with that Iceman engages his engines to go through the gate himself to see.

A loud beep emanate from Iceman’s speakers, drawing his attention to a server wide message, which could only be sent by Admins. The message read “No one enters Rolk’s Legacy until further notice. The gates to the sector are to be blockaded and anyone who jumps into the sector will receive no compensation for losses. This is on the order of the Server Admins.” Moments later another message comes through to Iceman alone asking him to place navigational marker around all the gates named ‘Do Not Enter Under Order of The Admins.’ With out questioning Iceman proceeds to do so. Still wondering what had happened in there, he did as he was asked.

Almost an hour later, long after the beacons were set and Titans positioned over the other two gates, the ‘Lords of Steel’ enters Lucky Planets appearing to be held together by nothing more than twine and spit. All messages between players halted for several minutes as a TL approached the wounded ship, transferring weapons and equipment over, and an awaiting Titan was moved to block the gate. The ship limps towards the Shipyard for repairs with fighter escorts and a TL tailing it. Onlookers slowly started to ask questions about what happened only to get no answer as it appeared TimberWolf was engrossed in handling his ships and the rearming of his flag ship. Iceman flies along side of the ‘Lords of Steel’ and receives a message requesting him to dock.

Chapter Two: Section Two

Once aboard, the conference window appears with only TimberWolf and Iceman. Before a question was asked TimberWolf began to tell Iceman of what had happened and about nearly every little detail he could remember. The briefing went fast and ended with a request, for Iceman to take all of his combat worthy ships to go searching for the player known as Xenon001. To help speed up Iceman’s ability to move across the Universe TimberWolf transfers over the control of a fully armed, loaded, and jump ready Argon Colossus. Also on board were some Argon Nova’s, Buster’s, and Discoverer’s to help augment Iceman’s’ own ships. After 20 more minutes discussion what to do Iceman sets off to take command of his first capital ship and bring his forces together to help search out this new threat.

Iceman’s first mission with the Argon Colossus started in Loomanckstrat’s Legacy, searching for any signs of Xenon001. The three pirate sectors in that area have always been breeding grounds for pirate AI and players playing pirate characters. By choice of the server population all pirate sectors have been left open to criminals to operate without armada’s trying to destroy them. The occasional capital ship goes through these sectors and a handful of those have gone missing. If some body wants to hide and has a lot of money then there is no safer place. This became obvious as the gate jump finished and the radar displayed clumps of red every where. To accelerate the exploration of the sector Iceman deploys the Discoverers that TimberWolf had given him. Sending the units above and below the elliptical plane first to help avoid the squash mines that cover the sector and to help avoid falling into traps around the nearby asteroids. Using the target next command, Iceman locates near by mines for the turrets to destroy. The sweep goes by quickly with no conflicts, encompassing just over a 100 square kilometers of space.

The next sector on the patrol is Mi Ton’s Refuge, the center sector of these three pirate sectors. Knowing that there is a pirate sector to the north and south brought unease to Iceman’s thoughts, who reassured himself that the Colossus could handle any fighter attacks on it. Repeating the scouting process from before, the Discoverers are deployed along with two Buster escorts for each. Once the scout teams had gone far enough away, Iceman deploys extra protection in the count of 14 Nova’s set to defend the ship. The search went on with no confrontations for many minutes. As Iceman passed the center of the sector a red capital ship flickered on his radar for a moment. None of his scouts were showing it. Ordering a scout near the location to alter course to identify the ship, worry began to seep into active thought. Is it a pirate capital ship? If so how did they get the money to buy it let alone the race relations to get it? Is it fully armed or still in the process of being armed?

The capital ship shows up as a Split Python but it keeps vanishing from radar before Iceman can see who it belongs to. The ship appeared not to want to be seen and it definitely had the speed to stay away from the Colossus. With luck the Python came running into the radar range of another scout group without turning quickly to avoid it. With quick speed Iceman ran through the screens to get to the registry to see that it belonged to Xenon001. So the creep didn’t go running far, but why is he trying to hide? This new information demanded action from Iceman, who recalled all scout teams not near the Python and moved near by Discoverers to cover the expected flight path as their escorting Busters returned to the Colossus. It appeared that Xenon001 wasn’t trying to get away any more, seeing that it was followed by ships far faster than the Python. Iceman began to doubt his abilities to control the carrier and its many fighters. How costly will this battle be?

Chapter Two: Section Three

The Python sat staring directly at the Colossus as it approached. No signs of aggression or trickery were seen. Messages were sent from the Colossus but no response from the Python. Near by pirates started to move in close hoping to challenge or ransom the victor of the apparent battle to come. The Python begins moving forward as the Colossus deploys Nova’s and Busters in wings. A third of the launching fighters stay with the ship to defend, the rest make no waste to head for the Python. Bursts of light began to erupt from the Python as it bared its teeth at the on coming fighters. A wave of missiles blaze away from the approaching Nova’s as they change course to avoid the incoming fire. Another round of fire comes from the Python, attempting to shoot down the incoming missiles with much success. Weapons fire from Busters strike the shields and distract turrets from the Nova’s as they setup another missile attack. Fiery explosions dot the star field as fighters are destroyed. Missiles impact the Pythons shields as it grows ever closer to the Colossus.

Showing signs of inexperience, the Colossus turns broadside to the Python to try and out maneuver it. This turns it into a large target that can hardly be missed. The first barrage of weapons fire and missiles streak across the void into the side of the carrier. The tide of battle turns in favor of the destroyer as most of its turrets bash the side of the Colossus while the turrets that had defended it from missiles now attack the fighters with their mass drivers. Discoverers begin to deploy from the Colossus and attack the Python. Their speed helps them avoid being hit but the stars and the weapons fire have become one and the same. Shots and missiles ram against the shields on both ships. The pirates on the side lines begin to wonder if anything will be left for them to make profits from. A sudden burst from the dorsal side of the Python brings its shields down to their knees just before another round of missiles and weapons strike the destroyer. The Colossus shields were near failing themselves, but its constant attention to the mines around it has kept it from suffering the same fate as the Python. With victory near for the Colossus, the Python spoils the battle by deploying laser towers to strike the fighters. Knifes of white cute the stars apart as explosive balls of red expand along their paths. The sky becomes cloudy as debris and weapons fire saturates the scene. The towers began to fall at the cost of many fighters. As the field cleared it became apparent that the Python had jumped away leaving the Colossus alone with a bloody nose and scavengers ready to pounce on it.

The fighters began to dock with the Colossus, un-suspecting of the threat racing for it. The pirate ships ringed around the ship and began their approach from all sides. Some of the Colossus fighters engaged near by pirates, alerting the Colossus of the threat. Many fighters were redeployed while others continued their approach for docking. Many pirates faltered in their conviction to the assault, but many passed through avoiding the guarding fighters. Most of the guarding fighters were back in space fighting tooth and nail against the pirates as they threw everything they had into disabling the Colossus with the dream of profits from ransom. The shields of the Colossus were already weak and they began to approach failure under the stress of the attack. The dire choice of staying with the escorts or jumping for its life was made in a flash as the Colossus vanished from the sector. The pirates quickly mop up the remaining fighters that have ran out of missiles and are badly damaged.

Chapter Two: Section Four

Not being completely lost on clues to Xenon001, Iceman was looking at the Pythons cargo hold when he jumped away. He is positive that the energy cells dropped by about 200 units right in front of his eyes. There are about 5 or so sectors accessible to players that would require about 200 energy cells to jump to from Mi Ton’s Refuge. Most of those sectors are heavily traveled by Gambit’s corporation, the core sectors. After docking the Colossus with the shipyard in Lucky Planets, Iceman writes up a message for Gambit to read the next time he logs in. Using some of his own credits, Iceman stocks up on some Boron Barracuda’s (M3) to fill in the gaps he gained on the flight deck. TimberWolf had been using the carrier as a weapons stockpile so there was more than enough to fully equip enough ships to fully load the Colossus. Unfortunately there were not enough ships for sale to do so. With enough energy cells for one long range jump, Iceman decides to pay a stop to Paranid Prime to finish replacing lost fighters with the Paranid Perseus. Before jumping a message from Diesalot informs him that a damaged Python had just finished repairs and was refueling in Kingdom End. Iceman tells Diesalot to tale the ship for as long as he can without being obvious about it.

Chapter Three: Section One

The sight of a Split Python in a Boron sector was strange, but so were a lot of things players did such as trying to land on planets. Everyone knows you can’t but that doesn’t stop those believing the rumors of a UFO base being on one of them from trying. It was posted on the entry page before logging in on the server to look out for strange things. To Diesalot this was strange and the response he got from Iceman confirms that this was what they were looking for. Still being new to the game in general, Diesalot really had nothing to tell him something was amiss. Only having 2 weeks under his belt, and no kills, there were many things about the basic game that came to him as being strange. The ever present and hunted UFO that seems to be attracted to him as he has the most sightings out of all the players on the server. The only way he makes money is by doing the passenger missions and the donated sector trader that Gambit gave him. The furthest he has dared venture was Elena’s Fortune and as far south as Home of Light. This was Diesalot’s first time in a Boron sector and the strange looking ships didn’t help him keep an eye out for “strange things.”

The Python seemed to be content sitting at the dock, even after getting repairs. A Teladi Falcon belonging to the Python kept going between local Solar Power Plants and getting close to the ship before going back to another one. It was odd that it never docked to off load cargo but it must be doing something. About the fifth run the Python began moving towards Rolk’s Drift. Waiting until the ship got close to the edge of his duplex scanner range, Diesalot sends a message alerting Iceman to the Pythons movement, and then follows. Once the Python passes through the gate, striking several freighters as is did, Diesalot pushes for full throttle to catch up. This process continued for a while as the Python moved out of Boron sectors to Teladi sectors. As the Python entered Spaceweed Drift it became apparent that Diesalot was made. Once he entered the sector the barrels of the Pythons’ PPC’s were emptying themselves in his direction.

Chapter Three: Section Two

Complete inability to even dent the Pythons shields is where Diesalot stands. Still using the original Discoverer he started with, along with equipment except the engines, rudder, and cargo capacity have all been maxed out. The only thing that was in his favor was that most of the shots aimed at him stuck the gate instead causing the local AI defenders to turn red against the Python. Using the Discoverer’s high mobility and small profile, Diesalot dances around the shots and the gate in hopes that if the AI got mad at only a few shots they should be really ticked off if the guy started doing damage to it. Unfortunately Diesalot didn’t know that gates are indestructible. As the AI Teladi Phoenix (M2) began its attack on the Python, the Falcon launched and began its own attack back. With a quick thought, as the Python turned to engage the Phoenix, decides that the player must have gotten into the fighter to better defeat the attacking ship. Sending a quick message off to Iceman about what has happened, then attempting to attack the Falcon in the cross fire of the two destroyers.

The blue balls of PPC fire criss cross the field. The Falcon took a couple of hits but unloads missiles and Alpha Phased Shock Generator fire into the Phoenix. Diesalot gets a couple of good pepper shots into the Falcons shields trying to get its attention. The Python’s shields were dropping fast as it has less strength than the Phoenix. Suddenly a swarm of fighters entered the mix, shooting the Falcon and the Python. Risking a look at the radar, Diesalot sees a Colossus approaching the battle unleashing its fighters. The Python begins to falter, as the Falcon brings down the Phoenix’s shields. Doing his best to keep the Falcons’ attention, but failing at it, Diesalot fires off missiles he had accidentally bought when he first started playing. The missile struck at the same time as several Gamma High Energy Plasma shots from Perseus fighters. The Falcon loses its shields but remains alive. As the fighters turn about to fire the finishing blow the Falcon vanishes into a flash of white light. When the flash clears the screen the Phoenix comes into view as it explodes under the fire from the Python. While Diesalot tries to make sense of what is going on the Python detonates into several chain of explosions.

Chapter Three: Section Three

A quick chain of messages goes between Iceman and Diesalot ending with no clues left to follow up on. With that determined they went their separate ways, Iceman heading off to look for clues, while Diesalot drifts around the Teladi sectors to build up his funds. The opportunities for Diesalot appeared to be wide open as players who watched the battle began to ask for his services to protect their assets from their enemies. It was Ambush Bug who gave the offer that Diesalot couldn’t refuse. For his services he will receive 1,000 credits for every kill along with a Teladi Falcon with no equipment currently installed and no upgrades but full hull. This sudden jump in fire potential and a rather steady rate of income, seeing as how Ambush Bugs’ ships were currently under attack by a couple of groups of Pirate ships, Diesalot saw a bright future in defense services. Moments after accepting the job, the first Pirate goes down and his account goes up. When the threat was over, for the time being, 13 Pirates had been dealt with.

Chapter Four: Section One

The creation of the server wasn’t easy for the admins. There were concerns that access to certain things would ruin the game for other players, especially those who are new to the game and fresh to the server. With that in mind they decided to lock out the co-ordinates of the Khaak Sectors and the ability to capture any Khaak ships. Even with this measure in place there was still ways to for players to ruin the game for others but it became much more manageable. But on other servers, as well as this one, there have been players who have found ways to get around the lockouts to gain access. One such cheat is to import the single player map over into the multiplayer character info saved on the player’s computer. It had been nearly two years since the last person was caught using that cheat, and it was widely accepted that the patches since then have removed the ability to do so.

With military assets searching the depths of space trying to find Xenon001, it came as a great surprise when cries for help erupted from Tharka’s Sun, a home sector of the Split Dynasty and one of the more heavily player populated sectors. Unfortunately the only Admin logged on at this time was Gambit, who was expanding his economic empire as well as aid in the construction of other stations operated by players. With only small groups of fighters escorting his TL’s and protecting some key factories, Gambit was in no way equipped to fend off any major attack. The message log continued to fill up with cries for help and a random message of players trying to fend off the enemy ships. But none gave an idea of what the enemy force was made up of. Under normal circumstances either Wildchild or TimberWolf would handle any military problems since they have the firepower while any economic problems are handled exclusively by Gambit.

Chapter Four: Section Two

As the TL materialized in the west gate of Tharka’s Sun, Gambit was greeted with a wall of ships trying to rush through the gate he now blocked. A couple of ships collided with the hull of his ship, bursting into pieces as their shields fail. The fleeing ships soon provided him a path to get out of their way for him to continue to enter the system with no more lethal collisions. The waves of players gathering resources from their stations, assembling their fleets near by, and then leading them towards the west gate, made moving at top speed impossible but Gambit needed to get through to see what he was facing. No enemy ships appeared on the radar, no weapons fire could be seen near the other gate. From what could be seen, it was just a mass panic with no real cause. Taking a look at the sector map the list of ships in detection rang kept changing so fast that it was hard to keep straight where each ship was. Looking at stations proved no help except that the AI traders were still doing business as normal as the players manually drained their stations. As the TL finally reaches the center of the sector a glimpse at the cause brought forth the worst case scenario that Gambit had feared when he made the choice not to invest into military ships of his own.

It wasn’t the fact that there was 3 Split Raptors (M1’s) along with 6 Split Dragons (M6’s) which appeared to be escorting them that made Gambit quake in his seat. It was the 450 fighters that were swarming around helpless players and their stations. During the initial shock, a small band of player ships moved in to engage a Raptor and its two escorting Dragons. In seconds most of those ships were destroyed by a group of fighters that responded to the attack on their carrier. The shear number of enemy fighters was the problem, not the Raptors or Dragons sitting around the east gate. Looking at the list of stations again, Gambit was able to identify three stations that have vanished since he last looked moments ago. Sending a sector wide message to all the players to gather all their military assets and gather around him, Gambit hoped that between all the players there that they could amass a big enough fleet to stop the invasion before to much damage had been done. With great pride a handful of ships appeared to enter formation with the TL, but then great pain as a player finished loading up their personal carrier and jumped away along with its several dozen fighters. Another player owned capital ship jumped away after being loaded, and its escorting fighters were left to fly out of the sector. Hope of assembling a fleet faded quickly as the bulk of military power in the system slowly vanished under the command of selfish players.

The steam of fleeing players has thinned out but still shows no sign of ending. The number of ships gathered around Gambit still numbered less than 50 fighters including his own 35 fighters he had on board. But soon a new cry for help erupts from the west gate area as Split Pythons (M2) entered the sector with their guns blazing PPC fire into the crowded space around them. Near by players requested docking rights with Gambits’ TL so they could be jumped out of the sector. The heroic players that had joined up with Gambit began to question their resolve as they watched their friends risk their lives to pass the two Pythons with a strangling grip on the west gate. Gambit turned his TL around and commanded his fleet to engage the destroyers to help give cover to the fleeing traders. The area around the gate began to clog up with containers floating around from the destroyed freighters. Very few traders were making it, many more were turning around to seek refuge with Gambit’s fleet, and others began to head off into the depths of space in hopes of being unknown by the attackers. Seeing a desperate situation, Gambit sends out a Universe wide message, a power only admins have, requesting help from all players to protect the sector of Tharka’s Sun. Hoping to hear Wildchild or TimberWolf log in and respond to the message, Gambit felt alone when only Iceman and Diesalot, with only a few others, send their willingness to help.

Chapter Four: Section Three

As the reinforcements were preparing to jump to the rescue, Gambit had to try and find a way out for the players trapped in the sector. Soon the fighters leave the sides of the TL and begin their attack on the two Pythons guarding the gate. The first attack appeared to not have gotten the ships attention, but that was quickly changed as the Pythons weapons fire changed over from the helpless freighters to the aggressive fighters. A couple of Gambits own fighters fell first, and seeing how in effective they are, were quickly recalled to defend the TL as it entered weapons range. The first Python was falling and soon erupted in explosions that shattered its hull. The second Python began to move away from the gate, allowing more ships to enter faster. Gambit thought about going through the gate himself but quickly decided against it to protect the other players. As the Python battered down the shields of Gambits’ TL, the escorting fighters sucked the shields away from the Python until it collapsed under the strain. With a moment of victory Gambit recollected his fighters and began to move back to the middle of the sector to see how many more players were left to evacuate. The docked freighters disembarked as soon as they saw the coast was clear.

The far side of the sector looked empty except the numerous fighters swarming around attacking near by stations. The Raptors and Dragons were unmoved from the far gate. Gambit took up position near the middle hoping for the slower moving ships to dock with him as he provided cover. A small fighter wing approached the TL and began to attack it. The defending fighters began to assault the enemy as the turrets kept the missiles off. The player fighters had stayed near the gate to ensure that it wouldn’t be blocked, but soon were over powered. To Gambits horror, waves of fighters were entering through the west gate, over powering all around it. Soon their carrier entered with two escorting Dragons, blocking the gate again. With only several dozen players left, some with more than a dozen ships, there was no way to get them all onboard and out of the sector with this one TL. With fear building up within him, Gambit sends an urgent message to Iceman and Diesalot to inform them on the current situation and to change the mission plan. Their attack will be purely to save players; any station that is saved is secondary to the lives of the players. Shortly another enemy wing attacks the TL and the ships now swarming around it.

Chapter Five: Section One

Having been actively looking for Xenon001 for a week with no new sightings, the urgent message from Gambit struck Iceman as suspicious. After having read the message several times, Iceman responds to find out what he should do. The last tip he had followed brought him out to the Unknown sector west of Rhy’s Desire, a Split Sector in the south west corner of the Universe. The search had proved to be a waste of time as the only things out there were pirates with their pirate base and swarms of Khaak clusters that were leaving them alone. The urgency of the message made Iceman’s current situation even more painful. The Colossus he was commanding was low on energy cells and unable to jump to Tharka’s Sun, or even close to it. The fire power of the carrier along with its fighters would easily level the playing field long enough to get the remaining players out. Knowing there were solar power plants in the neighboring sector, Iceman sets off to re-supply his ship with more than enough energy cells.

Not constantly exploring the universe and checking the economy normally doesn’t hurt a player that checks their local area and only operates in that area. In this case the way out of date information about this region of the Universe almost brought Iceman to his knees as he saw what was left after a corporation battle. Rhy’s Desire and the surrounding sectors were being claimed by more than one well established company in the area that sought sole rights to provide resources to other player stations. According to the history files on the sector, many months of skirmishes between these factions lead to all out war when one group brought in several M6’s to blockade the competition. Now all Iceman sees in front of him are dozens of stations sitting idle as there is no more energy cells entering the sector or produced locally as the competing companies have destroyed each others solar power plants. This is probably one of the sectors Gambit was working on to bring the economy back online as even one sector falling out could cause ripple effects to stations all across the Universe. As a course is laid in for the next sector, hoping that there will be a solar power plant there, Iceman sends off messages to Gambit and Diesalot about his current condition and what could be done.

Ministry of Finance was just as decimated as Rhy’s Desire, but there was still traffic here as the Equipment center, Shipyard, and Warf were still operating. Beyond that everything else was idling. In the distance weapons fire could be seen but the radar couldn’t reach far enough out to see who it was. Curious as to who is fighting, Iceman launches a Discoverer (M5) scout. Soon the conflict was brought into the light and Iceman could see a Teladi Phoenix and Boron Ray fighting it out. A quick look at their details identifies them as being owned by the feuding corporations. Shortly the Boron Ray collapsed under the pressure of the Phoenix’s weapons fire. With no warning the Phoenix began to fire at the Discoverer scout that Iceman had sent out. In moments the ship was gone and the Phoenix could be seen heading straight for the Colossus. Thinking that he was being seen as a collaborator of the enemy, Iceman started sending messages out to the Phoenix stating his intentions and why he was in the area. Nothing seemed to detour the aggression aimed at him. Seeing an unavoidable confrontation heading his way, Iceman was forced to deploy his forces.

As the fighters exited the Colossus, Iceman continued to send messages that stated his intentions and that he would defend himself if fired upon. Also to help show none aggression, Iceman turned the ship further away from the Phoenix to ensure that he was not in its path to the west gate. Even with the course change the Phoenix continued to aim right for him and showed red. Wanting to know if the ship had the intent of destroying him on its mind, Iceman sends out another Discoverer towards it and watches as the ship enters the firing range and explode in a wave of PPC fire. One last message was sent from Iceman stating that the act of destroying two of his fighters was an act of war. Before the Phoenix entered weapons range of the Colossus, the swarms of defense and attack fighters had darkened the space between them. In moments the stars were outnumbered by weapons fire and missiles streaking across the darkness. The Phoenix continued its path through the fighters, plowing through them with its heavy shields, ignoring them except for its turrets that tried to clear space around it.

Chapter Five: Section Two

The bridge of the Colossus flashes blue as PPC fire strike the shields protecting it. The sheer number of fighters striking the Phoenix should have stopped its advance or at least slowed it down. Reality of the situation showed that the shields of the Colossus were falling faster than those of the Phoenix. Turning the carrier about to reduce its profile helped some but Iceman was never good with big ships. With that thought in mind he transfers over to one of the docked Perseus fighters and sets out to destroy the assaulting capital ship. Taking a moment to command the Colossus to dock at the Shipyard in Trinity Sanctum, Iceman then piloted the ship right into the path of the firing Phoenix. The Colossus will continue on a direct path to the Shipyard, now Iceman only had to get the fighters to fire in unison with him to beat down the Phoenix.

A message alert beeps onto the screen. A couple of quick keys to get to the message screen to seen that it isn’t from Gambit or anyone else Iceman knows. Deciding that the message might be helpful, Iceman risked seconds to read it. Even before the first read over was done, the reason why the Phoenix was attacking became apparent. The player owning the Phoenix is a mercenary based out of one of the local corporations but hired by Xenon001 to distract and destroy any potential danger to him and what he is doing. Even though the player was ignorant of what is happening, he is playing the very part they designed the character for. If the player wanted to stay alive, they would abandon the fight when their shields were about to fail or if they are rich enough would flee in a fighter to fight again. How much did Xenon001 pay this player? Was it enough to afford loosing a capital ship?

Once the fighters had grouped up on his wing, Iceman swooped down with his three guns blazing along with his escorts weapons. A wave of missiles flashes past the cockpit as they rush to meet the Phoenix’s shields. In moments the shields are dropped to 50% and continue to fall under the heavy directed punishment. Flying between the hulls of the capital ship, Iceman and the fighters that followed avoided the turret fire and came out the aft side faster than the turrets could turn. Before the Phoenix had a chance to get itself into a better position, Iceman was on a second attack run bringing the shields to their minimum. Hoping the player would bug out of the fight, Iceman delayed the third attack for a few extra seconds hoping to see some sign of giving up. No such sign was visible as the ship continued its attack on the Colossus which was loosing shield strength fast. With no mercy, Iceman and his attack wings came up to the Phoenix in crushing waves. The first destroyed the shields, second began the punching of the hull, the third caused major systems damage across the ship, and the final wave came in for the kill as it casts streams of missiles and plasma fire. No signs a player trying to escape from the destruction of the ship. If there was a player in there then they would be seeing the very active and populated view of Argon Prime in a few moments but if there wasn’t then they may have more forces a head.

Chapter Five: Section Three

It hasn’t been long after the attack that fear became so strong that it could be tasted. The Colossus had continued on its course to fly to Trinity Sanctum and dock at the Shipyard, but it was caught in the sector Bad Debt. The trade lane there had been surrounded by laser towers that lay dormant. The fighters had just finished docking with the carrier when the shields began to take damage. Not understanding how an enemy could have come so close without been detected, Iceman was completely dumb founded at what was happening until a white beam shined into the nose of the Colossus. It was then that it was noticed that all the towers had become active and targeted the carrier. The turrets began blasting the towers near by; fighters were being re-launched to handle towers that were outside PPC range. The shields dropped quickly under the heavy strain, towers fell just as quickly under the heavy fire. With panic running around, Iceman initiates the jump drive sequence and hoped that it would finish before the ship took any hull or systems damage. Fighters were being destroyed left and right as they attacked the towers, some surviving with a hair of hull left only to be picked off by another tower as others fly about as if they were piloted by players. The count down drew longer as the shields gave way ever so slowly to zero. Only mere moments separate Iceman’s survival from his demise.

A flash of white light blanked out the screen. First thought Iceman had was that the towers had penetrated the shields and destroyed the ship. Second thought was that the jump drive had activated. Reality showed him that it was both. The Colossus had sustained substantial hull damage, but little systems damage. The jump drive was still intact and had done its job, bringing the ship out of harms way but leaving the fighters there to be picked off by the towers. Using the last bit of energy that was in the cargo hold, Iceman had jumped to Paranid Prime and started for the Shipyard for repairs while sending the remaining fighters to the Warf and Equipment docks for repairs and reloading. With this break from the battle, Iceman remembered that gambit was in trouble and was relying on the Colossus to be sent to help retrieve trapped players. After everything that happened, the Colossus was to slow and damaged to be of any help, and Iceman didn’t have the funds to even repair all the fighters let alone even rearm them. With dread in his clouded mind, Iceman sends a message off to Gambit notifying him of what his current condition is along with a request for any funds to repair or replace the battered fleet.

Chapter Six: Section One

A mighty fleet was not to be seen, but a large fighter wing was. Wildchild had been in the middle of making the Paranid sectors around Cardinal’s Domain safe again for the average player, as well as take the time to capture some more pirate ships to further expand his combat group. The level of corruption in the southern sectors had been getting worst over the past year and had gotten to the point where the local police force was no longer able to even maintain the safety of themselves let alone anyone else. It was for that reason Wildchild and his combat group was called in. During the first day of operating in the area, there were over 26 separate battles across 5 of the 6 sectors he was asked to clear. Out of those battles came 17 captured ships, some freighters while most were fighters.

As he logged in, the current state of affairs was unknown to him. The first thing that met his senses was the local police players crying for help. Even though he has been in the region for the better part of a month, there were still strong enough pirate forces to decimate the local police. Some how a single pirate has been able to get a Split Python and been using it to terrorize these sectors. It is certain that that pirate didn’t get it on their own since some of the equipment came from races that shoot first and never ask questions. The cry for help today has attracted one of Wildchilds automated defense forces that now patrol three of the six sectors. Each group consists of 3 Paranid Nemesis’s (M6) and 9 of his captured and refitted fighters. Before he even closes the message screen, the cross fire between his forces and the pirate fighters could be seen spanning the darkness between them. By the time Wildchild had looked over his property logs to see what ships had been lost since last time the battle was over with no losses on his end. Today’s target is that Pirate Split Python hiding just north of Cardinal’s Domain in one of the pirate sectors. Once that’s eliminated then the pirates loose the upper leg on the local defense groups.

Once the business at the Shipyard was done, Wildchild undocked and summoned his personal escort wing to protect him as he conducted a raid on the pirate sectors in hope of drawing out the capital ship. As he emerged from the other side of the gate the barrier that prevents any good search of the sector stood in his way. Before any of the escorts had made the jump, the fleet of pirate ships guarding the gate had opened fire. Doing what he does best, Wildchild took his Perseus into a barrel role to avoid most of the fire, moved real close to the gate field and then moved right into the enemy position. Friendly fire quickly claimed several pirate ships surrounding his own, eliminating his cover. Firing quick bursts at any target that had weakened shields, Wildchild caused internal damage and in some cases destroying the target. The enemy blockade began to break down as the escorting fighters entered the sector. Dodging enemy fire, barely avoiding a collision after near collision between the crowded fighters, the Perseus’s shields glowed from the subtle impacts. Weapons fire dotted the sides of the gate, near by squash mines take pirates with them in a burst of light, and the space around the gate quickly empties as pirate fighters began to retreat to their bases.

Chapter Six: Section Two

With the gate area cleared, Wildchild deployed a couple of his escorts out to begin a search of the sector. As the scouts fanned out, the main body of the sector had to be searched by him since there are many mines laying around in hiding. The risk was high that one will destroy the Perseus but that would just bring a new challenge for Wildchild to over come which didn’t scare him one bit. While in transit, Wildchild took the opportunity to clear out any mines he detected to provide a path for his escorts to follow later. The stations ahead hid the danger lurking near by. The dark, red space echoed the abandoned feeling of the sector. No one had tried to setup mining stations on the very good asteroids in the system due to the huge population of pirates, both AI and player controlled. It wasn’t unheard of players vanishing in these sectors even in capital ships with escorts. As the first stations came into view, looking foreboding and useless, with no resources streaming in and out of the sector, Wildchild began a circuit that would allow him to search this area quickly. Not expecting any real challenge until the next sector after what had already happened here, his guard was lower than it should.

Coming in close to a station, passing under some of the out stretched girders and around some pylons, Wildchild sought to keep his ship has hidden as possible as to not catch the eye of passing pirates who didn’t get the message at the gate. With a quick series of hand movements a squash mine gets light up with plasma fire before it had the chance to detonate next to the Perseus. Leaping from abandoned station to abandoned station, using the protrusions to help hide his engine flames, Wildchild completed his search of the central area and began heading back for the rest of his wing and guide them through the mine field to the next sector, Mi Ton’s Refuge. The scouts caught up with Wildchild just before he passed through the gate expecting a far worst ambush on the other side. Fearing that the pirates may have finally put their laser towers around the gate to secure their sector like others had tried before with too few towers.

The flash of the jump gate faded into the undisturbed darkness of space. No signs of enemy traps or ambushes were seen. No freighter was seen in radar range, no stations, no squash mines. Repeating the search pattern from before, scouts were sent out to search the outer rims of the sector as Wildchild headed for the core to search between the asteroids. The lack of squash mines floating about brought worry to the front of conscious thought. Fearing an ambush, Wildchild sends off most of his wing to hide by dense asteroid collection off in the distance. Flying through space with a ship on each wing, the Perseus made a tempting target for any pirate who wanted to find someone to hold hostage for ransom. In this case this ‘easy’ pray hid its fangs and laid its own trap.

Chapter Six: Section Three

Waves of red targets were detected burst from the dark side of asteroids, flanking Wildchilds position. Soon all sides were covered and the enemy began to close in with a few ships, leaving most to hold the perimeter. Being out numbered by so many, nearly 30 to 1 would bring most prey to their knees. Wildchild was no prey but rather a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Using his own powers, the closing fighters where discouraged from moving any further, along with summoning his escorts from their own asteroid hiding places. The pirate sphere splintered to handle the outside threat, barring a weak spot that Wildchild dashed to exploit. In moments pirate Busters (M4) were brightening the darkness with their destruction. The enemy ships that had turned to attack the incoming fighters soon turned their backs away from Wildchild to engage him. Flying past them, dodging fire from all sides, and swerving to avoiding collisions with the pirate ships. Seeing the proximity of his fighters, Wildchild looked up to see a wall of missiles and plasma fire passing around him into the enemy fighters. The radar cleared a little as pirates cried out with their last breath. Now with the aid of his escorts, Wildchild turned about and went head long into the fight.

With the battle appearing to be in Wildchilds’ favor, it was soon seen that it was never in his hands. From behind the very same asteroids the pirates had hidden came a Split Python and two Argon Titans. The pirates must have a very wealthy friend to have supplied this much fire power to such a group. PPC fire formed large Xs as they stream through the battle field. With unconscious thought, the Perseus found itself up between the twin hulls of the Python blasting at its shields as hard as it could. The pirate fighters were busy with Wildchilds escorts and dodging the heavy PPC fire. Soon the Python began to buckle under the strain of fire on its shields. Enemy fighters spot Wildchild and attempt to force him from the position only to aid him by hitting the Python to its death. With the cover of the large explosion, Wildchild quickly strikes out at the closest enemy fighter, vaporizing the ship, and then striking then next like a bolt of lightning. The enemy fleet was now down to the two Titans and less than 10 fighters. When the pirates recognized this they began to pull out and run away. Doing as much damage to them as possible, Wildchild pushed forward to the closest Titan with all of his escorts supporting fire power quickly brought it to its knees and destroyed it. The rest got away.

Chapter Seven: Section One

Large chains of explosions punctuated the star field. Countless moving pairs of light faded in and out of sight, moving between the explosions. Dark objects with hints of light behind them followed a massive ship into the south of Tharka’s Sun. Every ship following it is fully laden with cargo, moving as fast as they can, but still can’t keep up. Scouts kept tabs on the enemy movements as the fleet continues to pass into the unknown regions of the sector. Large silhouettes in front of the gates blocked the blue light emitted by their event horizon. The few freighters not shadowing the TL was vanishing in bursts of light as their hull are broken open from streams of neon lights emitted by unseen sources.

Bright lights break out from behind the black masses blocking the gates. Another dark mass appears from the blue light, with little bursts of light striking out at the moving dots around it. Other small dots block the blue haze of the gate and begin spitting light at the other masses. The newly arrived masses soon burst into flames and explosions as they are beaten down by the stars around them. The darkness soon clouds the gate and brings the events out of view from the running fleet.

Chapter Seven: Section Two

The sight of the AI reinforcements being destroyed as they entered the sector dropped Gambits hopes of rescue for the players. The message from Iceman and the status of the Colossus further dampened the chances of a rescue plan working. The plan that was going to happen, but not any more, would have used the Colossus to carry the players out of the sector and leave all the other ships to fend for them selves until the enemy could be cleared out. But with it out of commission that idea, along with many others, were no longer possible to do with out majority of the players loosing their lives. Trying to figure out what to do next, Gambit checks his fleet positions and status to see if he had anything that could get to them and load up the players. There were plenty of TL’s that could be brought in but none of them would be able to get past all the fighters roaming the sector in one piece with their petty weapon systems.

A message appears on the screen, sent by one of the scouting players. The words were short but contained what Gambit had expected and feared. The enemy ships continued to block the gates, many of the fighters have returned to patrol around them, and the rest have begun to search the systems for the remaining players that were seen running. The AI traders are still trying to pass through or dock at stations that no longer exist. They are shortly destroyed after entering the sector and the cargo crates were being picked up by freighters that were launched from a TL belonging to Xenon001 that had entered the sector. All of the dropped freight across the sector was being picked up, billions of credits worth, more than enough to fully stock several dozens of stations. Gambits thoughts were that this attack was nothing but a cover up for something else. Why else would an attacker go though all the trouble of bringing freighters into an area that had contained some of the best stocked stations in the Universe?

If the attack was not meant to destroy the sector but rather generate free resources then it had been a very costly tactic to get what are no longer free resources. Then again it has also caused something far more traumatic. Every player that died here had owned dozens if not hundreds of stations and nearly a thousand ships. All of those assets are now under the direct control of the AI, which will increase the price off all the goods, remove hundreds of Universal Traders and Sector Traders from the market, and probably destroy the balanced economy in dozens of sectors. The image of the Universe grinding to a halt appeared in Gambits mind. His own empire slowing down as his suppliers shut down from lack of resources, and then the stations he supplied would soon stop. Once enough station closes it would be a long and hard battle to salvage enough resources already produced to restart a single loop of stations from which to rebuild. The pirates will have a hay day and Xenon001 will have destroyed the server.

Chapter Seven: Section Three

The glow of the shields faded quickly. The shots from one of the enemy patrols were well aimed and struck the TL with much energy. None of the scouts saw the patrol, only a tired and panicked player gave any warning of the encroaching assailants. As soon as Gambit saw then the few remaining fighters under his control set off to intercept them. The TL then changed course to block their path to the players and their weak freighters. Soon enough the enemy fighters were dispatched in pieces into the void of space. But the problem was that now the enemy has their exact coordinates and will be sending an even larger attack force to finish the job. Gambit had already brought the slowest of the ships on board his TL but even then most of the ships were not much faster than that. Covering enough ground to get away was the problem.

Scouts report back in that two of the Dragons (M6) along with a couple of hundred fighters has left their sight heading out towards the fleet. Gambit knew what they were aiming for and that those ships were more than fast enough to over take them no matter what. A quick flicker of messages though the fleet revealed no one had any squash mines but many had a couple of handfuls of fighter drones in their freighters. Gambit has them all transferred to his TL by transporter beam. Once the last willing player had finished transferring their fighter drones, Gambit took an inventory of what he now had available to him. Out of all those cargo holds came over a hundred fighter drones in which to protect the fleet. Now it was time to make a plan. Too bad the real military mines weren’t here to do it but then again Gambit can be just as devious as those two when he wants too.