“Agree to Disagree”

February 5, 2001

OOC

Wow. I'm gone for two weeks and everyone comes out of their slumber.

>Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 15:46:37 -0800 (PST)

>From: Jason P. Bise <dj2145@yahoo.com>

>Raleigh and Klik will man the RR in case things go from

>bad to really bad! If Klik continues with her Dralasite like bad humor

>about Raleigh the bullet catcher, he might just launch her with the

>RR! :)

Great! I can imagine a vrusk being shot out of a circus cannon. Helmet

on, all those legs flailing wildly. Aaaiiii!! Crunch.

>Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 07:49:33 -0800

>From: "BALLENTINE,JEFF (HP-USA,ex1)" <jeff_ballentine@hp.com>

>Apparrently the cruiser you encountered when you

>arrived - that was the Star Devil himself.

Caramba!!

-----

IC

Klik'n Klak ignores the fleeing spacecraft. She stands with arms akimbo,

gazing at Raleigh. She marvels at his uncanny ability to attract violent

attention. "Ratchet, nothing. I'm calling you Death Magnet." She shakes

her head in awe. "Are you fine? How's your knee? I thought I saw you

strike the rifle base when they opened fire on us. *click* You look OK."

The vrusk speaks into her chronocom, "Uh, minor weapons

malfunction. Everything's under control now. We're fine, we're all

fine. How are you?"

She thinks to herself (hm, who else would she be thinking to?) 'I had a

feeling I should have tried to bluff them over the radio. Well, too late

now.' She turns back to the chronocom, "So, do we blow this popsicle

stand now? Anyone who feels like venting their frustration with a little

wanton destruction should take a pickaxe to this base. I think the

Edestakai would enjoy a bit of that for themselves. Why don't we shut

down the defenses and let them do the rest. Look, sorry I didn't think of

this possibility. Plans usually go awry in step one. I can see now what

we missed. Not enough activity. They expected more pirates and more

edestekai. More of us in the compound and no activity at the mine. Also,

neither base responded to their calls. *click* We'll meet you at the

Hotwheels (aka explorer). Out."

Klak turns back to Raleigh. "You did well. I have one request before we

destroy this place. I want to know the identity of the Star Devil. His

private quarters are secured by an personal identification lock. Can we

extract his ID from the lock? If we don't have time now, maybe we can

just take the whole door and work on it in our spare time."

OCC: (James Strain – Daelstrom) I kinda saw this one coming. (I think we talked about bluff vs.. static

and with no bluff skills at the time we picked the lesser of two evils) time

to bug out! we'll send the remaining former prisoners away with the "E" to

their village for now (Hopefully one that has'nt been discovered by the

Pirates in the past) and plant booby-traps and explosives around (but not

set them off, we may have need for this place later), disable/destroy useful

mining equipment and take the sub-space with us. Darrell, LOL on the Han

Solo quote, and very clever thinking about the personal I.D. lock thing,

truly inspired!!

Jeff, you missed the Pumping Fed.skill and was there a flat-bed truck as

well as the two Hot-Wheels? aka Explorers (the nickname fun never stops)

IC

Watching what the enemy ships action, Payne tosses his laser

rifle in disgust, kicks over some crates, and draws both gyro-jet

pistols and blasts a few more a la some wild west gunslinger. "Now I'll

never get off this stinking rock." Once the tantrum is over he will

compose himself gather his equipment and head off alone to collect his

thoughts.

No sooner had the shuttle departed there sight then Raleigh was at work breaking down the RR. Tasking Tic Tac to carry the ammo, he moves the RR back down to the explorer and loads that up. Once that's done, he will set about breaking down the base, taking whatever useful equipment he can find. Anything else he finds that is not usable to them he will throw on one of the storage trailers for towing to the E camp. In retrospect he's kinda glad that ambush didnt work, he was still having nightmares over the last engagement.

Catching up to Brennon later, he offers his thoughts. "You up for some travelling? I'm thinking our best bet is to head off in the direction of this Crystal city the E keep mentioning. We have a pretty good hack on where it is, plus it would definately make Bud happy...it's all he's talked about in a week now."

Raleigh will help as much as he can with the dismantling of the base but will leave the booby traps to Daelstrom and Payne. He will advise Brennon that the group take both explorers if possible. It would be nice to leave one for the gang at the E village but would serve them better to have the extra storage and passenger space. Besides, if he can fix up the flatbed to at least working order before they leave then the E village can have that one.

OOC:
Any thoughts before we head out?

IC

Brenon curses silently under his breath, then speaks into his chrono.

"Ok boys, let's pack this bitch up and get out of here Asap-like. Raliegh,

prep explorers for departure. Kah'liss n Klik, strip the base of all medical

supplies you can find, Telgar/Payne rig the base with what ever explosives

you can devise. Daelstrom & Martok, torch teh base. Bud, make way to one of

the towers and keep your eyes open for trouble... "

Brenon thought more over the whole situation concerning the Crystal

city and the Dino's..... "Man this is one f*cked up planet" Brenon thought

to himself. "Dinosaurs.....Sand Sharks.....Squid Men....." Brenon just shook

his head and moved about his duties.

BudRREEPboopboopboop chirps an affirmative response into the nearest

communicator receptacle, and heads to the tower.

Bud steps out onto an observation deck on the now unused top floor of the

pirate compound tower. He stares out over the red horizon of Volturnus as

his eyespots rise skyward, watching the stars begin to slowly sparkle to life

in the dusk sky. He wonders which one could be Dramune, its orange light

illuminating, in spectacular hues of pink and gold, the sky of Inner Reach,

where his beloved wife and children lie safely in their moss mound. Bud

chose an orange star at random off in the north sky and called it Dramune.

Not far from his imaginary Dramune, he spotted a binary star system. He

chose the red, sibling stars for his children. Near the binary system was a

bright and beautiful blue star, which reminded him of his bright and

beautiful wife, who often dyed her membrane a deep cerulean, the color of

happiness among Inner Reachers. He chose that star for his wife. Bud

bellowed to himself, a deep and baleful, but hopeful bellow. His polyvox was

turned off now, since he was not around the others, but had it been

activated, it would have translated a mellifluous poem for his family - a

poem of hope that they would be in his pseudopods again.

Bud considered his words to the party and the pilot and engineer of the

Serena Dawn back during their conference in the compound, about how they had

"come too far now to fail," and considered just how far he had come. Bud was

a very different dralasite now than when he last saw his family. Would it

affect his relationship with them? Had he changed for the worse, becoming

hardened like the humans, or distant like the vrusk, or -- Space forbid --

violent like the yazirian? No, he considered…he had changed, in more

respects than not, for the better. He was a hero now. A HERO. Oh, sure…for

men like Raleigh and Payne and Brennon, that was no grand feat. They were

already regarded highly among their own people as great war heroes…if,

indeed, war could make one great. This sort of thing was all in a day's work

for the likes of them. "But for me," Bud thought, "It's different." He was

a meek and mild-mannered Geophysicist and Terraformer when he left his

homeworld. He had never fought a day in his life. He had been trained in

beam weaponry so that he could operate the huge laser scythes and rock

blasters needed in his profession, but he had never turned any such device on

a living creature…not until he came here. It violated all he believed, all

that the Great Philosophers preached, such as BURPgurgle, SNORFguf and

*FART*. But had they ever foreseen the likes of this? The barbarism? The

hatred? The enslavement? The cruelty? The indralasitity? Didn't the

atrocities of these pirates warrant the limited use of force to put an end to

their evil and deliver freedom to sick and dying innocents? *FART* would say

no, that NO situation could possibly justify harming another living

creature…and until the events of the past few weeks, Bud would have agreed

all-heartedly. But now, he wasn't so sure. He felt in his own hearts that

what he had done was right…and what frightened him was his determination to

do it again, if necessary. "How," he thought, "will I ever explain days like

these to my wife?" Perhaps he never would.

Bud reached a pseudodigit to the sky, and raised it so that it appeared to

touch the bright blue star that was his wife. He vowed his love for her

again, and imagined touching her pseudopate, her soft membrane…he imagined

his membrane and hers merging together on a macromolecular level…would he

ever feel her soft blue touch again? He then reached toward the binary star

system, and pretended to touch the two red, sibling stars, imagining touching

the pseudopates of his children. "Sleep well," Bud thought, "Daddy will be

back to you. I promise."

He turned as a cold wind rose at his back, kicking up the dust of red desert

clay, and re-entered the compound tower.

OOC (Klak)

Excellent, Rob. Most excellent. It is posts like this that have given

this game such character. And I would feel just the same about my family.

IC

Later, when all was ready to go Brenon will hold it their desitnation

to a vote. "To be honest, both ideas sound intriguing to me. And both would

probably provide ample rewards from Streel. So I'm gonna hold it to a vote.

Those of you wanting to look for this city raise your hands.....those of you

wanting to go dinosaur hunting raise your hands?" Brenon then eyes Bud who

had a worried look on his face at the words 'Dinosaur Hunting'; "I mean

'Hunting' in the loosest sense of the word', Brenon adds with a little wink.

Relieved, BudRREEPboopboopboop votes for looking for the bipedal reptiloids.

OOC:

Brenon will make his way over to the mining equipment and try to

determine if any of it would/could make a weapon of any sort. Jeff, what

kind of mining equipment is present at the base?

(Klak) Follow the yellow plasteel people-mover to the Cubic Zirconium

City. We're off to see the lizard, to pack it's mouth with gauss...

Anybody want to take that flatbed truck? I'm from a large city where we

use public transportation or fly, so I never learned to drive those

things. But I guess it could come in handy.

(Daelstrom)

LOL; Very funny and if the Yazarian was still with us we'd have and the

flying monkeys.

IC:

"Whoa, torch the base?" Daelstrom asks alarmingly. "I don't know what your

plan is but if the guys are planning a welcome home surprise for the pirates

with demo's then why burn the place? also we may need it. if, lets say...the

dino's aren't friendly or we get stranded here by streel. it's better to

plant demo's and disable the mining equipment and remove the slave labor

like I suggested before when we were "prepping" the base so the pirates

won't have an easy time setting up shop again"

Jeff:(Let me know if Martok snaps off a salute and with a "yes sir, Brannon

sir" starts rummaging though his flight suit for an Everflame) so I can try

to stop him as well.

he waives off any "orders" to the contrary and states that any and all

resources should be at our disposable till they become a hindrance instead

of a asset and shelter, running water and everything else that can't be

packed up with us might save our lives later. he also points out (not trying

to sound mercenary)the option of all of us reopening the mine at a later

date with the proper (non-slave) labor and tools might prove lucrative down

the road.

"Yeah, we're torching the base,” Brenon answers. "ok....let's say the dinos are 50 clicks north of here.....and they become hostile....you wanna run all the way back to a base that 'might' be occupied

by the other side? Well then we'd have two fronts to worry about wouldn't we? No, I've thought about this long an hard. The pirates will eventually win the base back, they have the manpower and resources to do it. I'd love to hold on to this place but it inevitably would fall into their hands.....hell we barely scratched their shuttle, they might have some heavier air support up there, you wanna wait for that? I sure as hell don't. No, we've done pretty good so far on just hit an run tactics so we're gonna

stick to it. if you have a 'problem' with that, feel free to take a few liters of water and a pistol...." Brenon points to the gate, "....you know where the gate is. Choice is yours." Brenon doesn't wait on a response. He turns and moves off to examine that mining equipment.

Raleigh listens. “I'm kinda with Daelstrom on this one boss, we may need this place soon. Only downside I see to all of this is that the E may not appreciate it and come over to dismantle it personally...then, boom."

Brenon nods. "I know my friend, but do you really think we could hold this place? Think about it, how would we hold on to it? We couldn't leave, we'd be permanantly attached to the base. Is this where you wanna make your home til Streel comes? I for one am a little tired of the fights....we've been lucky, TOO damn lucky.....we just lost Zhirrzh and it's all I can do right now not to think about it. I say we see where the road leads us and move on. Because if we do leave the base intact, they're just gonna come down and take it right back....then what will the fight have been for? Nothing........... And I sure as hell don't want to wait here. They've got JetCopters, Shuttle Craft, Man Power and who the hell knows what else....we just can't prepare for that with what we have here..... I think we've done our part here. We've stopped their mining on volturnous temporarily and educated the populous about these pirates. I don't see what other choice we have."

OOC: Bryan- you and I are gonna go round and round on this so lets set some

ground rules; First, now you've done this before but I don't know if you are

just forgetting things or not reading my posts, but I already asked jeff

about the usefulness of the mining equip. so no need to rush on over there

and check em' out.

secondly, when I point out a plan of action over yours it's because yours

limits our options (and that's a bad thing) for instance when I suggested

that the heavy weapons be hidden its because if the returning pirates see

them they might think there is trouble, leaving them mounted where the

pirates know they are limits our options. your argument and subsequent

decision was "I want the high ground" an old military axiom states "if you

can see them, they can see you" give me surprise and mobility rather than

elevation any day.

I hate to say I told you so but I also spoke against the radio silence

option, just hoping the pirates would come in blind. as for this plan of

ours, frankly there are as many "what if's" like you pointed out in any

scenario the key is control. Control what you can, manage your assets, make

the best possible use of them but there is no going back once this place is

destroyed its over. lets think about the injured people who might need the

Med-Center or shelter or water ect. this is a unexplored planet one that

many of these people have been stranded on for a long time. you can and have

disabled the mining operation with the (as I already suggested) destruction

of the mining equip and removal of slave labor the only things that are left

are the bare necessities (which they already have on the space-ship) trap

the place and leave it. I don't want to defend this place, if it gets

retaken (and they could just shoot us from space by the way) by the pirates

so what! with no equip. and no slaves they have no way of mining. on the

other hand we get hard pressed and need shelter from who-knows-what its here

take it away and its not.

and in closing try to consider the new characters as just that "New

characters" Daelstrom and Ms Klick don't know you so from Adam so when your

PC throws me a Holo screen and says "welcome, your our new team scout" don't

be surprised by the response of "What team" or when Brennon says "take a

pistol, some water and take a hike" keep in mind two things, One:

Daelstroms' had access to the pirate weapons locker and has already equipped

himself and Two: the other than Vrusk person tending Brennon in the

Med-center was Daelstrom.

P.S. let me know if any retractions/amendments are forth coming!

IC:

    As Brenon was walking away he knew he'd let his anger get the best of him and that perhaps he was a little hard on Daelstrom. So Brenon turned back and made his way to Daelstrom, ".....I....was probably a little brash with you back there. And I know you don't agree with my decision to torch the base but we have to do it, not only for our own sakes but for the sake of those Edestekai.....I'm going to make some decisions you're not going to like all the time, but I assure you I'm making a decision for the best interests of our team. You've had a lot of valuable input and I consider you a valuable asset to our efforts here............" Not knowing quite what else to say, Brenon asks the following, "Do you ....have any questions about how things work, or any questions at all?"

Its evident that Daelstrom has reached his limit his face starts to darken

and his voice becomes harsh and at times threating.

"No. No questions, I'm done questioning your orders old man. I've given you

sound tactical suggestions at ever turn and you've dismissed each of them

out of hand and its not going to happen again! the base is a asset and you

can't see the need for keeping it and that's the problem, ten minutes from

now a toxic dust cloud might come rolling in or some giant predator that

eats explorers like a Vruskian Thundercat pounces on Cho'mice! might get a

whiff of us. The point is we can leave nasty little surprises for and

inflict damage on the pirates with it intact, it leaves our options open.

you said destroying the base will slow the pirates down in their mining

operation here but your missing the whole point the pirates are flying their

"bases" this is for them a luxury and for us a possible necessity and I

won't see it razed. I'm not saying lets defend it, I say we leave before the

pirates want to exact some "pay-back" with a fly-by or something but if they

are smart they think we've called for Starlaw and I doubt they'l be back

with any force. another use is for evidence of the atrocities they committed

here. burn it and that's gone too!"

briefly during the tiraie he looks around trying to gage the looks of the

others and to make sure they all feel the conviction of his words.

Raleigh watches the argument between Daelstrom and Brennon grow. It reminded him alot of the arguments the group had when they had just arrived, a power coupe of sorts between Kahliss and Telgar on one side and Brennon and Zhirrzh on the other. Kicking the sand nervously, he waited, hoping the two wouldnt get carried away. When given an opening to speak he does, although in a low tone of voice, barely audible over the Volturnas winds.

"I'm tired of arguing about all this, it makes my head hurt! We came here to do a job Daelstrom and that's what we are going to do. Classify and explore this planet for Streel. Now, if you want to take an extra day to sort out all that is useful and move it to the E camp for the others I will back you on that...but that's as far as it goes. As to keeping this base intact, I'm going along with Brennon. He's done a good job of keeping my little pink butt alive through all of this and I trust his judgement. I'm not saying I don't respect what youre saying but this group has a chain of command, if you don't like it I'm sure they have a cot for you at the E camp."

Tired, exhausted really, Raleigh shrugs and walks for the Explorer hanger. Over the past few days he had been showing signs of recovering from the battle, today he shoes none of that.

Later he will track Daelstrom down. "Heh, hope you didnt take any offense back there. All I'm saying is that I'm not a warrior like you. In the last month I've seen more death and destruction than I ever hope to again. I just wanted you to know I meant no offense by any of it."

ooc Martok- So i get it i am a foot soldier now? Not my first choice but hey.

Whats your command sir?

IC

Daelstrom jerks his thumb at Raleigh after he hears the Tech's about-face on

the matter at hand saying, "Would'nt wanna "Alter Program" now would we

Ratchet, I have to admit though you had me fooled for a second with all that

""I'm kinda with Daelstrom on this one boss, we may need this place soon"

talk. His eyes narrow for a moment before turns back walking over to Brennon

saying "if any of you Streel dogs so much as light a match and I'll ram it

down your throat" he whispers to Brennon as he passes "respect is earned, it

doesn't come for free." he walks over to the staging area for the evacuation

lamenting to him self 'I swear these ramrods are going to walk the company

line even if it leads straight into the great void'.

Raleigh turned, eyeing the Enforcer to make sure he heard him right. He was visibly angered by the comment but took a moment to cool down before he spoke. "Ya know Daelstrom, you may be the big tough guy type but I bet it's all staged. So far you havent shown me diddly, especially how your going to present any worth to this team other than as a F@ck&ng whiner!So here's an idea, get off your high horse and offer something to the team. If you don't like the way we run this ship, I'm sure the E would be more than willing to give you a job in their village till the Cavalry comes. Of course, you will probably just bitch about that too!"

Raleigh will stand his ground, for the most part, and even give D an opportunity to reply before shrugging and walking away. If pressed, he will do his best to hold his ground but will avoid a fight if possible knowing D would probably wup him!

OOC: Nice post James, I like the new found anger here! Just so you know this is all IC! I knew youd be a good addition to this game ever since we started talking months ago. Of course, if you kick my characters ass I'm going to have to spam your email for a few days out of anger! LOL ;)

Telgar's hands drift slowly to the pistols underneath his folded arms as the conversation

climaxes, making sure that his actions are not obvious to anyone watching. Daelstrom's

actions were starting to put Telgar on edge and he wanted to be ready for anything. His

fingers slide over the pistols' triggers. Telgar was ready for the worst after everyone having

been in the heat so long and, for many of the new people, stranded on this planet. He thinks

about saying something after Daelstrom's final surge of words, but instead keeps to himself.

OOC (Telgar)

>

>Hey James, thanks for giving us something to spice up our apparent

>'downtime' in the game. Just want to

>make sure that you know OOC that I'm not using Telgar to express my

>opinions

>of your RPing, this is just

>how I/Tegar would react if I/he was in the situation you presented. Anyway,

>see you in the game!

(James-Daelstrom)

You're welcome, you and I know how this stuff gets sorted out but in game

terms someone needs to look at the big picture. just because I joined the

game late doesn't mean that Daelstrom feels his input is any less valid.

just for the record with one exception none of Daelstrom's advice has been

taken, he spoke out against the static only option with the pirates saying

"I don't think that they'll come in blind, they are probably already

suspicious and we should make everything look as normal as possible" this is

just one! there are many others, too many to mention. and this is just his

way of being heard. think about this from his perspective he doesn't know

most of you guys, he's been here for months! then you guys try to gather all

the weapons, take the vehicles and burn down the structures! he doesn't know

that this place won't be needed in an emergency tomorrow or two weeks from

now or never but nether does brennon know that it'll fall back into the

hands of the pirates. he's all for leaving but destroying the place serves

no purpose but elimantes lots of options from us,he also wants the

star-devil to pay for his crimes and you guys would burn the evidence. I

don't think so! think of the way you've come so far do you think any of the

characters would have wanted to recover in the back of an bounding Explorer

for a week! once again things aren't being thought through IC Brennon says

that the pirates might come back, if you where them not knowing how many of

us there are or if we are star-law or not and thinking that we've called for

help would you come back and try to start rounding up slaves all over

again...you'd have to pretty dense or really desperate these guys appear to

be neither. and if they do we can have the explosives wating to frag their

asses.

P.S when Daelstrom was trying to gage everyone reactions what do you think

he was looking for?

Brenon quickly responds to Daelstrom's remarks "You ungreatful bastard, I

just freed your ass from a lifetime of slavery....you'd think 'that' would demand a little respect....

"Saving me from the pirates so you can destroy the evidence of their crimes

and I can die out in the desert with out shelter. thanks, your a real hero,” Daelstrom interjects.

Brenon continues. “So who the hell do you think you are that you can march right in here and bark at us you son of a bitch?" With his left hand Brenon involuntarily clutches his chest(where he got shot); a silent reminder of his weakened state. With his right hand, Brenon points out every single person that aided in the recent battle....."You see these people? These people fought and died to free your sorry ass and all I've heard from you since is complaint after complaint. No sir, it's YOU that

will have to earn the respect of THIS team, not the other way around. And

you can start respecting this team by obeying it's chain of command. And if

you can't obey the chain of command then you can't be trusted, and if you

can't be trusted then we can't use you. I can see that you're a smart man

Daelstrom, I think we can all see that. And I'm sure you'd bring a lot to

this group. But as I just said, 'if you cant be trusted, we cant use you'.

And since we've not the luxory of time you're gonna have to make some

decisions and make them fast. Shape up? Or Ship out? And if you so much as

lay a hand on ANY of my men that are following through with my orders I'll

put your sorry ass back in the prison we found and you can live out the life

you'd of had."

"What prison?” Daelstrom continues. “You mean the stockade you plan to burn down? don't you? you

insufferable, narrow minded Jak'ass" (a Vruskian beast of burrden)

Brenon speaks over him, "NO, You go do whatever you have to do BUT do NOT speak to me til you've thought through your words."

If Daelstrom tries again to speak Brenon will simply ignore Daelstrom and

tell everyone "You have your orders, let's hop to it." Brenon will then move

off to take a last look at the mining equipment. Then aid Klik in procuring

the medical supplies and stashing them on the explorers.

OOC

(QBALL)Its just a question but are we going to take a hostile intent on these

UBs?(unidented beings) They may have a sort aof technology we dont know

about. Expect the unexpected, i have learned that being on Volturnous.

IC

Daelstrom reached the garage now full of items being packed away on the

Explorers and the flatbed truck. He rummaged though the crates and boxes

looking for items that might be easily turned in to accelerants for a fire,

taking those items aside he dragged them to the now empty pit like solitary

confinement cells he chose the one he had spent many a night in. After

placing the items inside and locking the door, he walked over to the

infirmary were many of the former slaves were still convalescing. The young

man dropped down on a cot next to Roga a Yazarian well respected in the

stockade. “We’re gonna be moving the first of you to a camp along with the

“E” soon. With the botched attempt at securing a ship the pirates might come

back, so we’ll try to get you all someplace they haven’t found yet.” The

Yazarian nodded his head in retrospection, he scratched his long ear sorting

though facts the of the declaration then spoke

“Guess… it no matter what we say? Our fangs no longer have bite.” His

limited grasp of Pan-gal didn't soften the sentiment. The young man looked

away, thinking these men from Streel would rather bleed than rethink their

actions. “I’m sorry they don’t want to listen to reason”

“But my sight is not clouded…my eyes are still clear enough to see, remember

well the actions of these men and how they free us. To give us shelter from

the sky and to help us. But now before we are to grow strong what they to

do? send we out to live like the tree-apes we once were! And to take this

forever-away fore the law can see how we were done to? ”

Roga spat at his clawed hand then clenched it into a fist, a Yazarian sign

of dishonorable surrender. A fit of spasms shook “old gray mane” as he was

known to friends, soon enough the symptom subsided and he asked the young

explorer “Why?”

The Young explorer had no answer. None that made sense anyway to move the

former slaves to a safe locale made sense. He had even suggested sending

them over to the mines back before the pirates were to return to minimize

collateral damage. That suggestion went unheeded as did many others he had

made, some he fought for, most he let go not wanting to disrupt things but

this just didn't make sense and Brennon’s response of “You’ll just have to

trust that I’m making the best decision.” Isn't’t going to fly this time

there were dozens of reasons to leave the base intact and only one and a

thin one at that to burn it down. Daelstrom went back over towards the

staging area, he knew that time had come to be heard. And he would learn to

speak in a language these Streel thugs would understand.

Jeff- suprize and or initiative on anyone either trying to place incendiary

devices or lighting fires. (please see my other posts first)

"Brennon is right,” Payne says. “The pirates will eventually take back the base.

For all we know, they maybe planning that very assult as we debate this.

I think our chances will be better out there then in here. Didn't the E

refer to the Dino-beasties as something from their mythology, something

like the eyes of the god's or something religious? If thats the case, we

may not have to worry about them being hostile just yet. Brennon when do

you want the rigging of the explosvies ready bye? What are we going to

do with the former prisoners as well?"

OOC:

If you were a pirate would you come back? pirates like most criminals won't

stick around to be captured and they know we have the base and they know it

will take time to get it operational again why, when they have already been

successful here unnoticed come back and risk capture, arrest and death if

not from us then from Star-law when they get here! would you risk it! I hope

not! I'm not saying lets defend the base but I can't be more clear, IT

DOESN'T'T MAKE ANY SENSE!! they could land that freighter and work out of

the main hold. we don't have anything that they would want to die for! and

if they come back we have the demo's waiting, the clock is ticking and the

pirates will probably blow it up for us before they leave orbit but lets not

do them any favors. not to mention destroying the base is in all likelihood

a serious crime!

UPF: penal code 100-784/Z-OW

Destruction of Evidence in a ongoing criminal investigation.

Aiding and abetting known criminals through direct action or willful

inaction

Accomplices after the fact to multiple counts of murder, kidnapping, piracy,

slavery.

go ahead and tell me why you think this is still a good Idea,

I've made all these points IC: and all anybody has to say for themselves is

"we have a chain of command" and "Like or leave it" Payne was a prisoner

here wasn't he? doesn't he want to see those who were responsible for this

punished? or is he happy with just punching out foot soldiers who have their

hands tied behind their backs?

OOC: (Brenon)

Hey man, I think you might be taking things seriously and I apologize if

you've taken anything I or Brenon has said personally. It's just a game and

I play Brenon's character as a hard ass. If I haven't incorporated one of

your ideas into our actions yet I promise you'll get your chance. Like you

said you just came into the game so don't expect us to jump at each of your

ideas in the first turn. You've had some interesting ideas. Brenon doesn't

know that the pirates will come back but why wouldn't they? Plus you've said

yourself that if they wanted too they could blast us from space....I don't

think anyone wants to be there 'if' they do that.

OOC(Referee)

Well, I must say you've all made things very interesting. And I think

everyone for the most part enjoys these IC arguments. Makes for good RP.

However, these disagreements now present new problems to your Referee:

There is a pool of perhaps a dozen or so prisoners, which at this point are

NPC...I'm keeping them 'quiet' now with the excuse of having Hoyle's

disease, or malnutrition, or whatever....At first, when Daelstrom approached

the Yazirian Roga (someone he took creative license at procuring from this

pool) and the Yazirian agreed with Daelstrom, I wasn't sure I went along

with that - as it seemed he was creating a team of 'ghosts' that were on his

side. But on further thinking, that whole episode with Roga would be fine,

b/c of this pool of prisoners, surely there would be some who would want to

remain at the base...the same as surely there would be others that want to

get as far away as possible from it. However, even though dialogue with Roga

or anyone else may be okay, I don't want the NPCs drawn into the limelight

(I don't think Daelstrom was doing this, I'm just stating for the record).

Basically I won't permit a bunch of NPC prisoners to start attacking anyone.

I see both points of view, and I understand both the reasonings behind the

arguments, but this is obviously an experienced group of RP'ers and I'm

going to let you sort it all out.

The biggest problem we have here is this: There is no 'glue' holding the

non-Streel members together with the Streel team. There are 4 Streel members

left (including the now NPC Kah'liss), and 5 Non-Streel. This changes the

dynamics and complexities of the game. The first major argument that erupted

when Streel first landed on Volturnus eventually banded the team closer

together - everyone knew they were hired to do a job and they had to stick

together, no matter what. In this new environment, this isn't necessarily

the case. In 'Real Life', Daelstrom may easily and quickly decide Streel can

go do their own thing while he trekked off by himself...but this being a RP

game with a campaign (some of you veteran SF'ers know what's coming), it

makes such free decisions a bit harder to make, perhaps. Which makes it a

bit hard for me to run, but I'll make due. This could potentially change the

scope of the entire campaign (I see the brewing of 'Lord of the Flies')

Another issue is the active NPCs... The Edestekai think the base is a symbol

of blasphemy. Then there is Kah'liss and Klik (Klik was the one who

mentioned it), who see the value of keeping intact at least the medical

facilities (which are good enough to pass as a hospital, for medical rolls

and treatment (some things, such as a statis field, cannot be removed unless

at a hospital). And Daelstrom, he's concerned that the base destruction will

also destroy any evidence of the Pirate Operation (There is obviously a lot

of computer data there).

So, there's lots going on. And I believe it's heating up a bit into the OOC

side of things, which is unfortunate, but understandable when clashing

against 2 completely different ideals. I hesitate to jump in as the

omniscient Referee, b/c I think most of the players enjoy this argument,

IC'ly anyway. So I'm going to let things continue to run as they are for

now.

One additional thing - QBALL - do you see what's even going on with the

team? I've gotten a couple concerns about your IC posts....The team is

getting mired in this big argument and you ask how they're going to deal

with dino-people? Do you not have any observation or comment on this raging

argument that is going on? This part here is something Martok I think would

definitely want to get involved in, especially for Daelstrom's sake. Please

pay attention to the posts that are flying about and jump into the situation

that has been heating up for 2 days now.

I believe that's all I have right now - I've gotten your other private posts

and will respond to that as soon as I can.

Despite some of the emotions that may RL be on the rise, I have to admit

this is some good juicy stuff! Someone should make a movie...

OOC: (Daelstrom)

Brennon is hard-ass? try dumb-ass and personal or not how would you (IC or

OCC for that matter) feel if your input was ignored and you were given

ultimatums like "Like it or leave it" here's some facts: pirates hit and

run! run being the operative word here, it's what they do! why would they

suddenly stop acting like pirates and fight for this little mining operation

when the law is coming? that doesn't make sense but I'm willing to concede

the fact however unlikely that they just might come back! and we can prepare

for that and use it to our advantage. just think about the last few days and

imagine Brennon trying to heal in the dirty confines of a "E" tent because

someone burned the only medical facility (without that med-center he might

not have been able to be saved)or worse yet the star-devil getting away with

his crimes because you destroyed evidence that would have helped track him

down and convict him. I'm not saying lets stay here and defend the base but

to burn it down is completely with out reason. and your "chain of command"

only includes Brennon,Telgar,Raleigh, and Kah'liss as an NPC. I don't know

if Brennon is as bad at math as he is taking advice but your out numbered,

if you want to "lead" your going to work at incorporating the new

characters. in short, you're going to have to try harder!

OOC:? (Brenon)

James, you think maybe you can keep the personal attacks out of this?

I hate to say this but you're just plain wrong. These "hit an run" pirates

as you call them have been hunting us every step of the way. Why? Because

they want to protect their investment and don't want word leaked out. And

their investment is mining this planet of it's resources. So they want us

dead, and they want us dead in a bad way. My 'guess' is that this "little

mining operation" is very important to them and they're gonna fight hard to

keep it. Now the gig is up and they definitely know we're here. The only

thing that has kept us alive so far is our mobility and our hit and run

tactics. They know we're not Star-Law, the pirates have already said that.

So they're not gonna just run. If they've shown us anything during our

duration on Volturnus, it's been their persistence to take us out. And

speaking of Star-Law, does anyone know if we're even within their

jurisdiction? Volturnus is a relatively unknown planet, would it even fall

within the laws of the empire? As far as evidence, we have all their logs

and data, I think that's evidence enough.

>and your "chain of command" only includes Brennon,Telgar,Raleigh, and

> >Kah'liss as an NPC.

So far it would seem the chain of command includes everyone but Daelstrom.

I love how you're trying to divide the team into Streel and Non-Streel

people. Very nice, I wonder if the other's are buying it?

(IC)

One of the Dralasites amongst the freed prisoners snorts in disgust at

the argument going on around him between his "saviours". As the

argument cycles around again and again he imitates the human sound for

clearing his throat and steps into the fray.

"Ooob-a-loom at your service gentlemen, I am a Techex from Prenglar,

Certified in Robotics and Vehicles and I sure do like your moxy! I do

believe I may have a simple solution to what appears to be a significant

weakness within your, how shall we say, team?

You lack a unifying symbol or cause. I therefore propose we establish

the "Volturnus Futures Consortium" and offer each partner willing to

participate, an equal share and vote in corporate meetings. We will

need to elect a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer to handle the day to

day running of the Corporation as per UPF Corporate Guidelines. I

propose that we adopt a standard Corporate structure and focus initially

on salvage, exploration and survey. The partners who are currently

contracted to Streel Corp will benefit from the extra manpower and data

gathered to assist their project as well as the benefit of knowledge we

have already gathered about Volturnus. We newer members have already

benefited with our freedom and the generosity of these folk to share

their salvage so far. There is much to learned here and information is

power, or money and when governments or corporations want to come to

Volturnus again, we will be the experienced guides charging the big

bucks for guided tours, survey missions, whatever venture we choose to

pursue?"

"Billions of beings throughout the Frontier would kill to be here now

and all we can do is squabble?"

Ooob-a-loom pauses, reaches into his threadbare satchel and pulls out

a large, dog-eared, old fashioned paper notepad.

"I have taken the liberty of drawing up this basic partnership

agreement, please consider this, right now it costs nothing more than

what we would do anyway to stay alive but some time soon we stand to

reap untold riches."

With a flourish Ooob-a-loom produces a stick of charcoal and makes his

mark on the page then offers the charcoal stack to any who will accept.

"We can thrash out the details on the road but I'm all for high

tailing it out of here before any more pirates show up, just the smell

of this place gives me nightmares"

(OOC)

Greetings fellow SF fans, still waiting for my official introduction,

hope to be "partying" with you al real soon.

CaptainH

IC

BudRREEPboopboopboop jerks with a start and turns his

pseudopate toward Ooob-a-loom. The intricate network of veins in his

eyespots spread out, as he listens to the businessman's proposal. At the

end, he makes a "simmering" sound from his pores and emits a pleasing odor

(which any dralasite would undoubtedly recognize as a sign of awe and

approval).

Bud tilts his pseudopate slightly and ponders the proposal. Though he says

nothing, his non-verbal dralasite communication indicates that from a

philosophical point of view, Ooob-a-loom's proposal seems to be the most

sound idea he's heard in a long time. He turns his countenance again toward

Ooob-a-loom, still saying nothing -- not wanting to interrupt the important

matters at hand -- but shoots Ooob-a-loom a glance and chirps almost

inaudibly, the dralasite equivalent of a knowing smile.

Klak the Vrusk perks up at Brenon’s words. "Sorry, you may something I don't. How do

they know we're not Star Law? Yes, this is within Star Law

jurisdiction. I suggest we not do anything that they may find, click,

inconvenient. They could fine Streel for tampering with evidence. Star

Law knows we are here and they know what the pirates were doing. We sent

them the message.

Star Law was created to combat Sathar spies. After the war, Star Law

annexed the jurisdiction to deal with any pirating not specifically

covered by a planetary jurisdiction. If they think this is a high

enough priority then they are on their way. They will arrive before the

pirates can get the message out.

And may I ask where you stored all the information from their

computers? Do we have enough data disks to copy everything they had?

A politically savvy move would be to let the Edestekai destroy what they

want. You might point out anything of military nature that they

overlook. Then destruction of evidence is out of your hands. Just don't

try anything too sneaky. Star Law will know your actions, sooner or

later. Let's be heros for them, not jailbait.

And I agree with the dralasite.

OOC (Klak)

I agree with the dral agreeing with Rayleigh although I haven't yet

received Rayleigh's message. That listserv sends messages when it's good

and ready. Can we take that as a final decision and move on? And will a

techie try my idea with the door?

I've been racking my brains on how to reconcile the schism we have. Aside

from frontal lobotomies, I'm stuck. If various parties will take less

extreme stances and work toward compromise this will work.

I know from personal experience that bitter enemies can become die-hard

friends. They said we would kill each other, but our leaders stuck us in

the same dorm room for 3 days. We went in on a pizza together and have

been great friends ever since.

That's it. I'll cook up a pizza, Vrusk-style! Mmmmmmm!!

IC

Upon hearing Ooob-a-loom's plan Brenon turns to Raliegh, whispering the

following...."You know....maybe we haven't done so great a thing here after

all. I'm beginning to think these pirates knew what they were doing when

they kept this lot locked up...." Brenon adds, "But he is right about one

thing, we need to depart soon......" Brenon then strolls off shaking his

head.

OOC (Referee)

Okay Okay...

We are going to get through this, one way or the other. But we will NOT

be calling anyone names OOC. While this little topic gets hotter and hotter

right here,

I'm saying no one, IC or OOC, is going to call anyone anything derogitory,

be it a sonofabitch or a dumb-ass, got it? Bryan started with the name

calling IC, and James now went OOC with it, and I'm saying it's all stopping

right now, IC and OOC. No foul, I'm just capping it right here.

Now, you can curse and grit your teeth and even call someone 'Crazy' if you

want, but no more profanity-tossing to each other. I can see and I can

understand why emotions are rising on the OOC level on this, and this sure

as hell isn't the first PBEM (or RP in general, for that matter) that got a

bit heated...So, first things first, we're not going to call anyone any more

harsh names. Let's keep it at an intelligent level.

Once we settle this and everyone has cooled down again, you may resort to

the filthy-mouthed barbarism this time on Volturnus has turned you into! ;)

Now, for the issue at hand. It seems there are two schools at work here. And

again, I want to emphasise the fact that even though there are new

non-Streel players in the game. And since they are in the game, it's assumed

they will work with the group through the campaign's end - BUT that doesn't

necessarily have to be the case. This particular adventure makes it hard to

introduce new characters, as you're on this planet way out in BFE....this is

the only opportunity I had to introduce new players - and it means they are

non-Streel. We have to remember that these non-Streel folk really have no

tie to you, and if they don't give a rat's ass about what you're doing, they

aren't obliged to go with you. As I said, this adds a whole new dimension to

the game that needs to be considered.

yeh yeh, you know that already. What I'd like is for everyone to post on

this and try to resolve it IC. I don't want to come in as Referee and do

something stupid to come to a resolution, which is why I'm trying to keep a

bit quiet. I'd like all players to get involved with this, Streel and

non-Streel alike and come to some conclusions. But if it finally looks like

nothing's being resolved (and you haven't killed each other - something I

*highly* recommend against doing), then the omniscient power of the referee

will step in and do ~something~ . Maybe a meteor will blow the base sky

high, or none of the explosives will work. Who knows.

LURKERS - WAITING LIST FOLK - CaptainH

======================================

This situation makes it difficult to Ref, as there's this easily forgotten

pool of people that undoubtably have an opinion on the matter. SO, for you

lurkers out there, here is your chance to shine.

If any of you lurkers or waiting list people want to say anything, here is

your chance to 'pop' into the game. I am not rolling anyone's characters or

anything like that...If you want to say anything ICly, give yourself a race

and a name and add your comments as well.

Remember, you are still in a weakened state and will not be able to start a

fight or anything, shoot laser guns or fix robots....this is solely to

represent what you, as a recently freed prisoner with no ties to Streel,

think on the situation. This is commentary only.

=======================================

IC

A gruff old human, clearly an asteroid miner by the looks of what
remains of his jumpsuit, steps out of the crowd of prisoners.  He has taken
great interest in what the group of adventurers has been doing for the last
few days--but it is only now that his state of malnourishment and fatigue has
relaxed enough to permit him to speak.  

      "Looks like rain's a comin. . .'" he grips his jaw with his withered
left hand and spits a long stream of brown fluid from his lips.

      ". . .a dark, black rain by the signs of it."  Looking skyward with
his glassy eyes, a moment of nostalgia passes over him.   He looks ready to
weep.

      "You's done enough arguin' fer my tastes.   Even if aye were a
young-un I wouldn't be caught dead followin' the likes of ye."

      He looks at the group in their preparations for the destruction of the
pirate's base.  "Why, ah've done the Dramune Run more times than ye have
years--Can't even remember the last time I left Truane's Star.   I guess that
an' old codger like me can't keep his parts in order, much less fight what
youse come up against."  He smiles, shaking his head.  "None of ye are
talkin' any sense!   Destroy this here base?  An' what good 'll that do ye?   
The Star Devil will come back with more men--and then what?  Aaaahhh!"   

"Youse could always rig jump charges over where you think tha' next shuttle
would land--but what would one shuttle win ye?  Nothin'!"  He spits again,
this time in disgust.  

"I thought that that dralasite 'mong ye come upon a good point--why not
divide up this planet among us,  Streel or no Streel.  Contracts be damned!  
Never could understand those damn corpers, tryin' to run me outta business.  
Could'a had Volturnus here and a dozen more by now if it weren't for their
bickering!  But I sees that it wont make any difference to youse.   Ye won't
listen to reason and ye wont listen to me.   So give me old bones a couple of
laz rifles and a few clips--I'd rather try it on mees own out in the desert.  
 No, I won't make it too far in the state im in, but neither will youse!    
Go, blow up the damn'd thing, blow it all up, if that 'll make you feel
better for the loss of yer friends!" he says, pointing a crooked finger
towards the grave of the recently deceased Zhirrzh. . .

"Ye don't even see what youse up against!  Its like talkin' to a dralasite in
cold-stasis.  There's sompin bigger than youse ever dreamed out there *cough*
*cough*.  I just thanks the stars that I won't live to see it."

He turns away from the preparations to destroy the base and shakes his head
again.

"Black rain's a comin'  Comin soon too. . ."

Then, without ever telling you his name he returns to the group of recently
released prisioners-in-waiting.  He gives thanks for any weapons or survival
gear you provide him with and gives a solemn nod to each of you that you take
to be his form of  grudging thanks for freeing him.

OOC: (Daelstrom)

To everyone, and especially Bryan I would like to say I'm sorry for all the

attacks, I pointed them at your character but I did so in a OOC post and I

guess that's wrong. I'm new to this (this is my first attempt at a PBEM )

and I'm not used to having to say what needs to be said and then figuring

out where it should be said. to everyone in the game I would also like to

say thanks! this is the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. the people

whom I've been gaming with have known each other on average for 15 yrs and

its very hard to surprise each other after so many years of role-playing

together. its nice to find a new character in a new situation, with all that

you guys bring to the game IC the thing I like best is having so many new

perspectives to try to "view" the events through.

again, my thanks and we'll see you out there

Juggs & Dishes

James

P.S. anyone want to trade a Captain H rookie card for a Qball?, its never

been used and its still in it's original box

OOC (Klak)

I had the same problem with the IC - OOC thing, but this here dumb

monkey

can learn. I got a paper that says I'm edgycated.

When Daelstrom finally walks away, Telgar catches up to Brenon. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

… 

"Brenon, I don't like Daelstrom's attitude lately. I feel that you've given everyone ample opportunity

to express their concerns before making decisions. The fact that we open the discussion to others

who aren't even on the Streel team seems very generous to me. We didn't force Daelstrom or the

others to be with us. If they want to part ways, why don't we let them? After all, they do not have the

same motivations as we do for continuing this mission as we do. I don't really care if we torch the

place or not, but if Daelstrom wants to risk his life defending this base from us torching it, then I say

we just leave and let him have the damn place. As far as I'm concerned, you were elected leader and

have sinced proven your leadership ability to all of us in the group. We have been kept alive because

of your decisions, so I will continue to follow them. If Daelstrom can't recognize that we are a team with

a chain of command just like any other military force, then I'm with Raleigh about letting him stay with

the E. Ultimately, I will defend the members of our team, even if it means getting ugly with Daelstrom if

he gets violent. Just let me know if we are still torching the place or not so I can be on guard. In the

meantime, I will be setting the demos as you requested.

"Prep the charges asap and let's get the hell outta here,” Brenon answers. “Nothing fancy

mind you, just something that might maim a few people and make them think

twice about all their actions. Try to use items from the base for such

stuff...be creative with the items at your desposal. If you can get by

without using the TD i'd prefer that. As for the prisoners, we'll turn them

over to the E. I think I'm leaning towards searching out this mysterious

dino race..... not to kosure with the idea that someone's keepin there eyes

on us and me not knowing a thing about them....."

Klik'n Klak was packing some of the medical equipment into a crate. She

and Kah'liss had divided the equipment based on the needs of the

recovering prisoners. She couldn't help but overhead the warming

debate. Her eyes bugged out as she listened to Daelstrom's trenchant

retort. Her mandible dropped. She casually took cover behind a large,

sturdy crate.

Eventually, she calls from behind the crate, "The wounded will remain in

the functioning hospital until Kah'liss certifies their recovery. And we

will not add more to their ranks by trapping this place. No edestekai

child will fall prey to the depredations of pirates and humans. Let the

edestekai dismantle what they will. They understand our need for the

hospital at the least. They are clearly more intelligent than we have

been.

"I don't want to delay our trip any longer, but unfortunately this is the

time for it. Under parlimentary rule, the prime minister is chosen by the

majority coalition. If said coalition dwindles to less than majority

and the prime minister backs a proposition that fails then the prime

minister is open to a vote of no confidence. Any other party or coalition

may call for re-elections.

"Although we have no parliment here, the situation is analogous. The

current leadership is now open to a vote of no confidence. We may be too

tired to deal with this, or there could be various other reasons for

avoiding it. If we choose to not call for a vote then the current

leadership remains until we fail again. The leadership should not be

challenged in the face of external conflict.

"I suggest we follow parlimentary procedure rather than democratic,

anarchical, or dictatorial.

Klak then steps down from the small crate she finds herself standing on,

the one labeled "soap", and resumes taking cover behind the large crate.

OOC

Notice the skill in Politics on Klak's character sheet. Jeff, where's my

XP? And as the guru of role-play Stephan Witz once said,

"Hi there beautiful. Who's your friend with the firm character concept

and ample background?"

Ha ha... Yeah, you're fine with the XP. I was joking. But hey, when was

the last time you saw someone, especially way out in BFE, use Politics? I

was worried that Klak was wasting a point, but it fit the character so I

went with it. I'm pleased that I got to use it, if only for 1 paragraph.

IC

A new wave of anger washed over Brenon;adding new anger to his already angry

mindset as the Vrusk dictacted to them how they should pick a new leader

because the Vrusk had no confidence in Brenon. Sure, it wasn't said in those

words but Brenon knew what the Vrusk meant. Brenon's eyes became darts as he

looked at the Vrusk. "You 'people' truely amaze me..." looking back and

forth between Klik and Daelstrom "...you'd think you two would respect what

we've already put in place. You'd think you two could show a courtesy for

our efforts here. They system w currently have works. I'm sorry if you feel

differently." Brenon walks away disgusted.

IC:
 Brenon calls a meeting near sick bay. Brenon, Raliegh & Telgar round up the following; All exprisoners, KlikNKlak, Martok & Daelstrom. Brenon addresses the crowd, "Hello everyone, some of you might be wondering now that you're free what your options are. You're free so you can go whereever you want to go. The people that freed you all are contracted for a company named Streel, and we're doing planet surveys and doing a little search and rescue. We believed that the team from the former Streel expedition might have been captured by the pirates and stowed here. They weren't but you fine people were. We're about to leave and do some more surveying but I wanted to offer you all the opportunity to join up with us and give us on our mission. Anyone joining us will receive an equal share of the pot based on the time you serve with us. Now those of you that wish to remain behind," Brenon shoots a hard look at Daelstrom, "when Streel comes to pick us up we'll have them swing by and pick you guys up too. As for the base, we're about to torch it. We're going to burn all the facilities down with the exception of sick bay, the power generator and the left most barracks. Guard towers, stockade, supply, HQ, Comm, Garage, etc... will all be burnt down. If you all want to save the computers as evidence against the StarDevils then right after this meeting we'll all head over to HQ and other facilities and strip them of their computers, you guys can keep them in one of the barracks or where ever suits you. If I were you I wouldn't recommend staying around here too long. I'd head for the trees or something. We'll try to salvage some radios so that those remaining behind," Again, Brenon shoots another look at Daelstrom,"can keep in contact with us and visa versa. We'll need a way to contact you once Streel comes back..... And there's one more thing, if you choose to come with us, we're an organized group with a chain of command. I'm at the head of that chain and Raliegh here is my second. If you don't much like following orders, etc... then it's probably best you stay behind. Because if you can't follow an order you can't be trusted....and if you can't be trusted we can't use you" Again Brenon shoots another quick glance in Daelstrom's direction. "So, those of you that want to form your own government, start a parliament or the first volturnus regiment........you all might as well stay here, because that's not our mission. We're here to survey this rock and then we're headin home."

OOC

Er, on a side note there Brenon, you *did* find what was left of the

initial expedition at the base. Colonel Jameson is the only survivor from

the original expedition. Grod, the Dralasite, was captured as well but died

in captivity. And, the crew from the Serena Dawn is among the prisoners as

well. As always, they are too weak to contribute to the team and will be

part of those recovering.

There are 2 different mentions of the original expedition in the turn

http://www.blacklagoon.net/starfront/Turns/spoils.htm

In the beginning, and in the descriptions of each rooms, specifically the

torture cells.

I'm surprised no one has posted anything with them ~~ perhaps everyone was

in shell shock from taking the base to notice they accomplished their

primary mission?

IC

    "....Ob-la-boom...." Brenon scratches his head trying to figure out the pronunciation of the Drasalite's name, he finally gives up and points at Ooob-a-loom, "Ehh...you, yeah You. You said you were a techex?" Brenon looks at Raliegh then back at Ooob-a-loom, "We need another Techex... you up for the job? And the rest of you, what do you guys do? What trades you know?"

    After the meeting Brenon will ask Colonel Jameson to follow him. A short distance off Brenon will speak with him privately. "Colonel, you're part of the reason we're down here. If you think  you're up to it I'd like you to come along with us. You can finish out your mission and help us finish ours out. I'm curious though if you ever had any additional contact with Streel?"

OOC:

    This message is mostly for the newbies but I just wanted you all to know that you're RPing is outstanding. I've never played with such a robust/diverse group of people. You guys make if fun. I've been playing this particular campaign with the others for nearly 2+ years and it's been a great source of fun. Jeff does a great job GMing the game. How'd you guys get suckered into this world, sure wasn't Jeff's advertising jingle....

"Come see the beautiful sands of Volturnus, where if the worms don't kill you the sand sharks will. Visit primitive monkey men and psychic squid that ride weird animals. Come challenge your skill against the magnificient Quick Death."

IC

"Absolutely!" responds Ooob-a-loom "And with regard to Klak's

alledged acts of piracy, I merely remind you all that this planet is not

yet part of the Federation, nor does Star Law, Streel or Truanes Star

have total jurisdiction here. Possesion is pretty much nine tenths of

Salvage Law. The "Volturnus Futures Consortium" is acting well within

the parameters of the Salvage Act of the UPF Charter. My understanding

is that the members of the "Streel" team are actually sub-contractors

assigned to this Volturnus Expedition and not actual "Employees" in

either case you are not precluded from being a shareholder or partner in

the "Volturnus Futures Consortium". Therefore there is no conflict of

interest for anyone here to take advantage of the situation. Nor is it

nescessary for you to make us offers on behalf of your Contractors, this

option leaves us all free to be our own lord and master's."

Ooob-a-loom stops and turns his eyespots to the blank pages in his

pseudopod, he'd thought it was a pretty good idea but such a lukewarm,

even negative response was a little disconcerting. He places the paper

and charcoal on a nearby crate in the hope that perhaps someone will

reconsider and start thinking positively. He turns back to Brenon

"OK I can drive that flatbed truck if ya like. If there's room and

time I'd like to throw a couple of broken robot bodies on the back of

the truck to tinker with later?" Ooob-a-loom sets to work, diligently

carrying out whatever tasks needed to expedite the teams relocation.

(OOC)

Assuming there are no objections, I'd like to equip my character with

whatever extra bits you have lying around. Where can I find a list of

available equipment?

OOC (Klak)

I've been wracking my brains on how to get us together. Bryan, please

back off a bit. Brennon may feel that way, but with an ultimatum like

that there's no way I'm following.

OOC: (Daelstrom)

welcome to the fractionalized forces of Volturnus! CaptainH, is their

something else I can call you "OOC" CaptainH and Captain Howdy (Of Exorcist

fame) are giving me the creeps. Ha ha I OOC liked your Idea of a Consortium

(Check out Daelstrom's Background on the web-page) and I'll respond to it IC

soon.

IC

As Brenon started “his” meeting, Daelstrom listened and almost instantly it

was clear how things where going to be…when the Streel enforcer “let him and

the others, know what their options are.” He looked over to the gathered

former slaves, rolled his eyes and almost shouted, ‘Thanks, for letting me

know what YOU think MY OPTIONS ARE!’ Instead he just sighed away the

frustration, continuing to listen, when the Streel Enforcer started with the

“hard looks” he resigned himself to ‘rolling with the blows.’ He’d learned a

lesson once about ‘Don't scream so loud that you can't think’ he had

forgotten that in his earlier arguments today but now, it was necessary now

not to fuel the flames of discord.

In the end however it was apparent to him that these concessions were likely

straight from the mouth of one of the others in “his chain of command”

probably BudReep the Explorer and not some new enlightened stance of

Brenon's

Looking like he had given up all hope of talking Brenon out of this course

of action he smiled, a thin pained grin and said,

“I guess that’s what’ll happen then…well, It’s better than nothing.”

He looked off in the distance at the gathering darkness, and thought of the

“choice” to join the Streel team. To the young explorer it was just an

another in a long list of ultimatums, although thinly veiled it was just as

limited in thought as some of the “orders” the man was so fond of giving.

Daelstrom smiled weakly after the speech concluded saying, “I... don’t know,

I have reservations about joining your little team, I’ll need to think about

It.” Options and time were running out and he thought this may be the only

way off this planet.

As he looked about, in the aftermath of the “town gathering” he saw another

former slave had been “released” for duty. ‘More meat for the grinder’ he

thought imagining Brenon ordering the round-ish Dral, “to stand up

straight.” With all the slaves on hand Brenon could keep filling the open

slots until he found some “team players” or until people he ran out of

sentients to boss around. thinking of the orders that brenon had ‘pushed’

upon him in the last week. As Brenon took Ooob-a-loom aside and

congratulated him on his input about the damaged Com-bots he couldn't’t help

but think of his own first suggestion to Brenon, the “Head of the Streel

machine.” the "Master Teklar" as Ms, Klak would probably say. Daelstrom

looked down at the ground disgusted, and waited for Brenon to dismiss

'Oooba' as he walked over to the crate that held data reader that had the

notes that Bud had made of the team’s excursion thus far. He retrieved the

data card; the one he had used to make notes with, the young explorer

scanned though the data quickly finding a passage that he’d highlighted days

ago. It said that there was an outpost pirate base that had been taken

before and at that base was a still functional Com-bot encased in

Plasti-crete.

He had pointed it out back then and suggested that it might be useful,but of

course nothing became of it. he just handed the data-reader to the Dralasite

tech-ex, pointing to the notes about the Com-bot and said under his breath,

“Good luck” as he walked away. the sarcasm was not lost in the whisper.

Klak spins her eyes in her sockets. "Excuse me noble leader. You work

for Streel. Streel has the mining rights to Volturnus and I would have to

see the charter to know how far their authority extends. But even

mega-corps cannot buy planets. Oobaloom has an interesting suggestion,

but I would not want to get involved until I had a lawyer assure me that

Streel would not sue for property infringement, aka pirating. We know

what they do to pirates.

"On the other hand, I DO know that this base does not belong to Streel.

Streel employees do not get to loot and pillage as they please. And you

don't make contracts with us. You are contracted out to Streel. You

can't offer us the same rewards that you will get. It is not legally

binding and Streel doesn't have a soft heart for that sort of thing. And

Streel is actually under no obligation to pick us up.

"Now I'm not worried about that because all of us are members of the UPF,

except maybe that furry thing over there. They know of our situation.

Daelstrom's family will also learn of our situation and they can come.

Zappa has, shall we say, Family connections.

"We are grateful that we are at least free enough to wander about the

compound on foot, limp as we are. Certainly we appreciate that. But hey

little king, come on down from your throne.

"If I have to claim this compound I will. But you won't walk out with

anything but what you came in with. Not a byte of information, not scrap

of cheze, not a single bullet or SEU.

"I would rather we work together, but no amount of abuse is worth that.

Klak stands her ground.

OOC (Brenon)

This is really tough. Cuz Brenon HATES Vrusk with a passion, has hated them

all his life. And he's suspiciuos of all Vrusk and their actions. Something

also to think about is that he was mainly raised by Yzsyrians(sp?) so he's

got a temper at time. Took him a good couple of weeks to just get used to

Kah'liss being near him. And now a new Vrusk enters the arena and is telling

him what he can and can not have. As if the prisoners they just freed had

more rights to salvage than his team did. So it's a difficult spot for me to

be in and play. As for Klik, again, you're doing a kick-a$$ job. I like how

he's played.

IC:

Brenon brushes off most of what the Vrusk has to say, ".....uh huh.....well,

in case you haven't noticed we're kinda out in the boonies here. StarLaw

doesn't even know this place exists and I'm sure we don't fall within their

jurisdiction........so save the legal mumbo jumbo.........." Brenon pauses a

moment, then continues, ".....but I've seen your work here at Sick Bay, and

you're pretty damned good with your hands.........we always have need of

another medic......But as for Streel paying, oh they'll pay. They'll pay

what they promised and then some for getting us into this mess."

"I tell you what guys, if you want to come along and start your own

governments, claim your own mineral desposits, etc... then come right along.

The suits will have to sort it all out back at the big cheese but I'm here

just to do my job. We've lost half our team over the past month and we need

some hands out there. It's a rough planet. One of the roughest I've been on.

So really I need all of you. And despite our differences Daelstrom we could

certainly use another gun. Also, anyone wanting to work with us for Streel

doesn't need to worry about getting paid, This is Streel and Truane Star's

deal....and Streel is sucking up to Truane's star for mining rights so they

don't want to piss off the government right now.......trust me, they'll want

to pay out. Not only to keep your mouths shut but so that Truane's star

doesn't see them as greedy money hogs....you'll get paid."

Brenon pipes up at Ooob-a-looms idea. "I was thinkin of leavin the flatbed

behind but I'm really liking the idea of putting some of those bots back

together. Do you do any programming too? And uh....once we get under way

your first priorities will be whatever Raliegh throws your way. But

definitely in your free time I'd like you to work towards getting those bots

together.....that would be excellent. And take more than a couple, we can

always stash them on top the explorers or something.....I like that. Way to

use your head."

The maligned Vrusk relaxes when that Telkar backs off a bit. She doesn't

care that he never leers that pigk-ugly face in her direction. Lieutenant

Ashroy was ugly enough, but wow, this one beats all. She gives a sideways

look at the odiferous dral, a look that only Vrusks, birds, zharks, and

cartoon characters can manage.

"Blob-ala-boom. You have a decent idea, although we don't see eye to

eyespot on the details. I'm not particularly interested in business

deals. I have other interests here. And Telkar," she waves in Brennon's

direction, "I must admit that I have never seen your contract with Streel,

so I retract my statements there. I still believe them, but they are not

supported by knowledge of fact, just a basic understanding of how Streel

works." She gets a little (depending on your point of view) long winded

and philosophical...

"But we really must come to a better solution than the current autocracy.

I trust Telkar's aim is true and he might have a little training in

leading zombie soldiers. I appreciate that you took my suggestion to

place a sniper. Actually, it surprised me a little. How about a little

more give and take?

"Boom-blob suggested a business structure. We could have the combat

officer, the technical officer, the liason officer, the business

dralasite, recon officer, etc. In fact, the only redundancy I see here is

with shooters. When in combat, we follow Telkar the combat officer.

When dealing with intelligent races, negotiations, etc, the liason

officer leads for the moment. THAT is a team rather than a squad."

"The only thing I see that unites us right now, and something else may

come up, is that we are all against the pirates and we all want to explore

more of this world. Let's build on that.

BudRREEPboopboopboop, standing firmly with pseudopods folded in a loose braid

responds, "GRRRRRRREEEEET blubb WHISTLE toot." His poly-vox translates,

"Hrm. Well put, Raleigh, old chap. I believe you have struck a prudent

medium. Destroying anything the pirates may use against us or the population

may be a wise tact, and keeping INtact those portions of the infrastructure

which can only HELP us and the population, seems even wiser. Of course, I'll

concede to final decision of the group on this matter, but for what my input

is worth, I agree with Raleigh."

OOC: (Bud)

Gang, I'm leaving on Friday for Orizaba, Mexico, where I'll be climbing a

volcano, the highest peak in North and Central America, Citlaltapetl. For

all intents and purposes, tonight (Tuesday night) is the last night I'll be

able to check my e-mail until I return on Monday, February 5th.

Jeff, you know what Bud's doing and I've given you a fairly detailed account

of his motivations and thoughts, so I leave him in your capable hands until I

return...IF I return. :)

Anyway, I look forward to rejoining the PBEM when i get back. Wish me luck,

gang, I'm gonna need it!

Best regards,

Rob

IC: (Qball) Noticeing all the comotion I decide to go for a walk. I need to gather my
thoughts. Its been who knows how long since ive seen real civilization. Im
not quite sure of these people. They say they are here exploring, what if
that is a cover. Im just gonna keep to myself for awhile.

    After the meeting and some private conversation Brenon keys up his Chrono, "Payne......if Mining equipment area is clear proceed to blow it. Everyone go about your original tasks. I'll help Payne with Demo'ing the base and destroying the targeted facilities." With that Brenon will head off to meet up with payne, they'll burn all the facilities down with the exception of the Power Generator, Sick Bay and the two left most barracks. Precautions will be taken to ensure that those bulidings going up don't take down those remaining behind. Once the job is done we'll proceed in search of the dino's.

Payne will make sure that no friendlies are in the area of the

mining equipment to be blown, then detonates it. As the dust settels he

will wait for Brennon, and proceed to put the torch to what needs to be

burnt down. When all is complete he will grab his gear and be ready to

leave.

OOC (Referee)

We'll need to tighten things up here on details. Telgar is going to set

the charges on the mining gear first, correct? To answer a question I've

been asked once or twice (sorry for the delay, but I'm trying to put the

last 50+ posts into one turn, and man I keep running into questions I didn't

answer - I was overwhelmed by the fast paced fisticuffs that were going on!)

Anyway...The mining machinery is typical of the age - big, bulky, slow

machines, big drill heads, that kind of thing. Nothing I can see the party

taking use of, unless you want to use some imagination of sorts. They're

slow and cumbersome things. There are 3 large drilling machines at the site,

plus a handfull of smaller 'wheelbarrow' type haulers, and an array of

SEU-powered handheld drilling tools. You know, use your imagination. It's a

mine.

So, take a look at the map at

http://www.blacklagoon.net/starfront/slave_city.jpg and tell me the plans

for detonating the base. The mines are obviously not listed, but I don't

believe that needs to be mapped. Also, where is everyone going to be - what

about the Edestekai? They're going to show interest in watching the base

detonate. If they've gotten wind that you are going to do this, you notice

several priests gathering on the outside of the compound, with over 100

Edestekai slowly gathering around. This will be the party's first real

ritual you have seen, with many multi-colored scarfs being worn and used in

bizarre patterns while Edestekai join in dancing in very intricate

ensembles. Singing to the gods Egarit, Elenehet, and Edesti will dominate in

their songs, but multitudes of Gods are mentioned in the chants. For anyone

interested in Edestekai culture, it will be a treasure to behold.

IC:

Nudging Bud, Raleigh points out the gathering crowd of E. "You may want to get some of this for your records."

BudRREEPboopboopboop nods his pseudopate as he pulls out his data pad. "GRRRRRRORP lup blup," he responds, and his poly-vox translates, "I am right with you, old chap." He proceeds to feverishly and meticulously journal the activities of the Edestekai during their ceremony.

Before walking away, Raleigh has another thought and assembles Bud and Kahliss together. Sitting down, he suggests a tour after the demolitions so that the E will see what buildings survived and why. He will also have Bud and Kahliss point out that most of the facility can be used by the E as well with the exception being the hospital of course which stays under Kahliss' supervision.

Bud nods in agreement. "GRREEEFgoop duLOP PLLLLLLllllll *fart*," he responds, and his poly-vox translates, "Agreed, my good man. It was wise of the party to meet this compromise in sparing those portions of the facility which will prove useful. I shall explain to the high priests of the Edestekai, after their ceremony, why we have chosen the course we have, and entertain any concerns they may raise.

I shall also inform them that although Kah'liss will remain as the chief medical officer and custodian of the hospital facility, that our medical services and supplies will be available to the Edestekai as well. Agreed?"

Klik'n Klak will be as involved with the Edestekai as possible. Not

actually dancing, but standing nearby and watching. If they invite her to

join, she does. (The E do not invite anyone to participate.)

As for the Yazirian's funeral, Klak was at the hospital working.

Klak looks at the communications equipment before it is leveled. Can we

watch the skies for incoming ships? If so, then there is no way we are

blowing that up. I can't imagine that their radios can't listen. It's a

standard feature and, being pirates, they would want to know if someone

was coming. Someone has to keep an ear open.

We can't tamper with evidence or these sleazy pirates will get off on

technicalities. We must keep the computers intact and the paper evidence

must be safe. Hm. Safe. Do they have a safe anywhere? I didn't see

one before, but Klak looks again. If there is no safe then how much room

do we have at the hospital? It doesn't sound like much, but some patients

want to wander off so there should be more room soon.

Klak and Kah'Liss make sure that the hospital will not be damaged. in any

way including _loss of power_. But let's please incinerate those electric

fences.

There's been talk about saving the computers for evidence. What exactly are

the plans for this? Are you just taking the hard drives, or saving all of

the computers? If you are saving the computers, where do you intend on

keeping them? Matter of fact, where are you planning on keeping all of the

files? - there is paper evidence as well, procured from the main office

room....

With the explosives onsite at the base, you now have 400kg (appx 881 pounds)

of TD-19 on hand. This is more than you'll probably ever need. Without

measuring the distances of the walls and dividing that by the structural

points divided by the blast radius divided by bla bla bla, we'll just say

that it's going to take 150kg to destroy the entire base - HQ building, the

4 towers, buildings #4, 10, 11, HQ building (16-25), 13, 14, and 15, and the

mines. THat's 330 pounds of explosives. This will pretty much raze the

intended buildings.

So now that there appears to be a solid plan of sorts, I need details filled

in so I can continue with the turn..

Daelstrom was the only on who has posted on Zhirrzh's funeral, as well.

Anyone else?

IC

Raleigh - Hey Brenon, how about leaving some of these intact and motoring them over to the E camp. Maybe the survivors can put themselves to good use with this stuff? They wouldnt be mining of course, maybe just helping the E with agriculture, building more efficient dwellings, etc. Couldnt hurt could it? Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Brenon - I agree with you on all points Jason. Good idea with the "farming

equipment", in fact I say we just park all of it over there. They could use

it to pull hoes, rakes or whatever.

Only concern I have is that I think we need to be getting our of here. I say

we ask the E if they have a lot of predators out in these parts. If they do

we keep the fence intact, if not we'll pull it down with the mining

equipment and explorers. (This one depends on you Jeff, predators or no

predators).

Yeah, we wanna blow everything with the exception of the buildings mentioned

Previously.

I would prefer to "burn" everything rather than "explode" everything where

possible.

After the meeting Brenon will ask Colonel Jameson to follow him. A short

distance off Brenon will speak with him privately. "Colonel, you're part of

the reason we're down here. If you think you're up to it I'd like you to

come along with us. You can finish out your mission and help us finish ours

out. I'm curious though if you ever had any additional contact with Streel?"

Jameson is obviously too weak to travel, having been malnurished and

treated terribly. The Star Devil seemed to not rely on him to help with the

labor - the fact that their operation on Volturnus had been disrupted by

this Streel team made the Pirates take out their anger on the expedition.

They were held for the sake of being held, and treated worse than the other

prisoners that slowly trickled in.

Jameson grins weakly at the retorical offer. "I'd come along, but Kah'liss

here says my knees won't yet hold the rest of my body up...Much as I'd love

to get out and stretch my legs, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here. We've had

no additional contact with Streel, no...Our ship was attacked as we entered

orbit around Volturnus. We crash landed, killing Geeko-sur-Mang(Yazirian)

and Itklikdil(Vrusk). Grod and survived the crash, took what we could, and

headed for the hills. The Pirates were nosing around a while with their

jetcopter, but we eluded them. We wandered for a few weeks until we meet up

with the Kurabanda. Knowing Volturnus would soon be crawling with the

Frontier races, we took it on us to teach them Pan-Gal...We remained with

them for a while, until we were captured in a Pirate raid. Both Grod and I

were with a hunting party. It seems these Star Devil enjoy hunting the

Kurabanda themselves...We were captured by the Pirates, and been here ever

since. Well, first we were captured at that small outpost south of here, but

once they found out who we were, they shipped us to HQ real quick-like. They

didn't like the fact that we eluded them for so long, and especially didn't

like the fact that an official expedition from Truane's Star was interfering

with their lucrative trade." Jameson winces, be it from anger or from a

resurfacing nightmare, Brenon could not tell. "They sure as hell let us know

they didn't appreciate our being on their turf. Soon after, other Frontier

races began coming in. Perhaps they knew it was a matter of time before

they'd be uncovered, once they found out who we were. Surely before too long

there would be a rescue operation. I admit I thought it would come sooner

than you have...but you're here, that's what counts. So no, I've had no

contact with Streel whatsoever."

<<<< END BRENON'S QUESTIONS>>>>

Later, Klak finds Jameson. The Vrusk goes over the man's vitals, makes sure

he is comfortable. He cannont imagine what the commander looked like before

serving as prisoner of the Pirates. Surely the commander of such a mission

would be big, strong, muscular. Now, after endless months living in a

roof-less stockade, Jameson was the mere shell of a man. Weak, sunken

cheeks, malnurished. Klak had never seen such treatment, not since the Great

War on Triad some 60 years ago. Jameson looked like the poor souls suffering

in the death camps of that war. He remembers watching the Frontier News

Network, seeing the images of the death camps, of the walking skeletons. He

couldn't imagine people could do that to each other. But here he stood, next

to the malnurished Jameson, and once again he found himself in disbelief.

"Commander sir, I would like to speak with you." Klak waits for

permission. Jameson nods. Kah'liss had done a good job of stabilizing the

commander, and he would recover. Jameson knew that, and his spirits were as

high as could be expected. Klak continues, "You have been here the longest,

you are employed by Streel who has the charter on Volturnus, and you are the

ranking officer here, sir. What's more, I have heard of you and your

career. I trust your

judgement, sir.

"What general information do you have that could help the Federation

authorities and/or Streel? Do you know more details on the Star Devil,

like who is the Star Devil (race, gender...), how long they have been

here, where they came from, etc? What do you know about the intelligent

races on Volturnus? What did you learn of the planet before capture? I

understand that your mission was to find a suitable place for habitation.

Did you find one and if so where? Anything else?

"I appreciate your time, sir. You should be well enough to travel by the

time Streel arrives to take you home. Good day, sir."

Jameson answers. "Well, Grod and I weren't really used for labor, so I

can't say I knew much of their operation. Once the other prisoners came in,

they let us know what was going on. They really didn't know what to do with

the two of us, so they defaulted to beating the hell out of us mostly. They

/really/ didn't like us being here. I don't know who the Star Devil is. He

came onsite a few times - I believe he had his personal quarters here. His

identity was quite a secret...None of the other prisoners knew either. It's

not like we were in good speaking terms with our guards. As you've found out

through the Pirate prisoners, I did hear that several of the Devils were

former employees of MINER, which actually made sense - MINER had initially

won the rights to mining on Volturnus, but the 'quake of 49, and the murder

of the MINER CEO a few years ago shut that corporation down and left a bunch

of experienced mining employees out of work. From those prisoners that

may've seen the Star Devil himself, all they can say is that he's a Vrusk,

but no one ever got close enough to identify any features. If you ask me,

the unknown murderers of H'rrik Sen'tkl (The CEO of MINER) are those who

became the Star Devil. But hell, that was during the Pale Wars, and all

kinds of hell was going on. Mining companies playing against mining

companies, Farmers playing against farmers, not only was that a war between

militaries, but between countless factions from both planets trying to reign

power from the other. Crazy time to be around Truane's Star, that's for

sure.

"We only spent time with the Kurabanda, and I'm glad to say got to teach

them some decent Pan-Gal...The Edestekai we never learned anything from.

Funny looking race, for sure. We didn't have the luxury of a poly-vox to

learn anything. Those two are the only one's we've come across. Damn

curious, isn't it, that all these completely seperate races evolve on this

one damned planet?"

"As far as finding a place suitable for habitation, well, this place

right here seems a grand place, doesn't it? The Kurabanda forests are too

thick for any civilization. The desert is a hell of a place, but I imagine

there are plenty of places here that'll take to a city nicely."

Klak nods. "I appreciate your time, sir. You should be well enough to

travel by the time Streel arrives to take you home. Good day, sir."

Klik'n Klak grins at Commander Jameson. "Thank you. You have been more

helpful than you realize."

Klak skips out of the hospital in high spirits. She taps the chronocom.

"Daelstrom, good news. Let me talk to you. Where can I find you?" She

taps the chronocom again, changing the band to the team channel.

"Brennon, team, and anyone who is interested. I think I know who the Star

Devil is. Anyone who cares, let's meet at the comm room in, say, half an

hour."

Klak sits down at her desk in the hospital and reviews her notes on the

Star Devil. "I hope I'm right." But her intuition confirms the logic.

OOC

Ever seen a Vrusk skip?

IC

Brenon shows up to Klik's meeting with mild interest. He was sure the meeting the Vrusk had called was probably a waste of his and his teams time, but he decided to entertain the Vrusks wishes by showing up.  For the first few moments Brenon kept a close eye on his watch thinking they needed to leave soon. Brenon had a bored look about his face as the Vrusk started....

To whomever assembles, the Vrusk announces, "I believe I know who, or

approximately who the Star Devil is. Commander Jameson confirmed that

many of the pirates were formerly employed by MINER, the company that

originally had the charter to mine Volturnus. And they were particularly

upset that Streel was coming to Volturnus.

Brenon looks at his watch again....wondering how long this would take. Sure it was pointless.

Also, the Star Devil is a Vrusk. I thought I'd noticed the pattern - the

attention to detail, a smoothly running pirate operation. The CEO of

MINER was H'rrik Sen'tkl. Although there are endless possibilities, all

of the evidence points to MINER. The Star Devil was a top employee of

MINER... perhaps H'rrik Sen'tkl himself.

Brenon seemed shocked at the revelation that Klik had made, but it made sense..... perhaps he was on to something afterall. Brenon drew a little closer to the Vrusk and for the first time showed genuine interest in what he had to say.

The so-called murder of H'rrik Sen'tkl was very unusual. The only

evidence for it was a vid of a Vrusk getting spaced. The "murderers"

never claimed an identity. There was mass confusion from the quake and

the Pale Wars. MINER and H'rrik Sen'tkl were forgotten, just like the

murderers wanted.

It was a while before Brenon looked at his watch again and instead, intently listened to the Vrusk. "Of course...." Brenon mumbled..... The Vrusk had his full attention. Brenon was amazed at how Klik had pieced this together. His mind ran amuck with thought after thought; digesting what Klik had just said, it all began to make sense.

All salvagable assets of MINER were liquidated - so they could relocate

to Volturnus.

Before we destroy any more mining equipment let's see if they still have

serial numbers. Those are stored within the electronics and also

physically on the machinery. The serial numbers may be wiped or the

equipment could come from some different source. Getting all new

equipment, especially during a war, would be very expensive. I'd say

there is a chance that this mining equipment used to belong to MINER.

Even if it is not, we should see who the top level management of MINER

were. Pick out the Vrusks and it is narrowed down. If one of you

technicians will check the recognition lock on the Star Devil's door, hint

hint, then the game is over.

I will forward my findings to the authorities. Anything to add?

Payne speaks. “No...I have nothing to add. I don't think I should be antwhere near

if Star Law snoopa around.”

"Good work!" Raleigh exclaims, amazed at the detail of the Vrusk's detective work. "Log all of that info and we will turn it over to Star Law when we finally get out of here. As to the mining equipment, Brennon and I have decided to leave it under Jameson's control here, he should be able to find some use for all of that stuff. If anything it will give him something to do."

For the first time Brenon pipes in....."Hrmmm........while taking down the Star Devils is high up on my list. Keeping your butts safe is at the very top. I think you have an excellent point and we should jot down as many numbers as we can. So let me propose the following, we'll go ahead and rig the key buildings to blow, let's get everything we plan to use for our journey and move out a few clicks and use the hills as cover....and we'll move the mining equipment into the E village.... once done some of use will come back to the base via flat bed truck and jot down as many serial numbers as you can in an hours time." Brenon looks to Klik, "Do you think an hour is enough?"

Brenon will pull Klik aside and speak to him alone, "......this isn't easy for me to say but I think I've.... misjudged you. I'll be honest with you, I've no great love for your kind....Kah'liss will tell you that. But sometimes it's hard for me to put my prejudices aside and see the light for what it is. You've got a good head on your shoulders, I see that. We might not always agree but I welcome your input......." Brenon leaves that trailing and goes about his next duty.

OOC:

    Damn good fine piece of detective work Darrell!

IC

Klik does one of those weird Vrusk laugh thingies. "Look Payne. We're

saving a bed here for you. The doctor is in. Now tell me how it all

started. *scribble scribble* Uh-huh. You seem to feel aggression toward

Star Law. Tell me about that.

"But seriously, I don't recall your background [and it's not on the

webpage]. I would like to hear it. We can put it in BudReep's biography

if you don't want a whole biography to yourself.

"As for myself, I grew up in a very large city, went to med school,

served my time in the military, mostly playing psych doctor and trained

on interrogation. I am a civilian who works for the UPF government. I

was assigned as medical officer of a UPF vessel and we came here on a

short exploratory mission - not as a challenge to Streel, of course. I

wasn't told any details about that. We received what we thought might be

a distress signal and a few of us came down. The pirates grabbed me while

I was looking at a fruit plant. That was a couple of months ago. I

haven't seen the other two that were with me.

Payne looks at Klik. "I wouldn't call it agression to Star Law. We

may not see eye to eye on some things, is all." "If they

knew...understood the truth, it would not be so bad, but they don't" "My

superiors will look at me as a deserter, as well as my original

superiors back home, I'll end up in the brig for that. For doing my job

under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, is a crime amongst you

civillians, my superiors, may not like what I did to one of there

officers. Especially from one they would consider a deserted." "If only

listiened. I never ment to hurt her...I could never hurt her...I loved

Nyssa." With that Payne walks away.

IC (Klak)

Sorry, I really don't want to prolong this any longer. I took a look at

the size and location of the hospital/sick bay. Let's keep the officer

quarters instead of the others on the other side of the compound. Also, I

would think our new dralasite would like the robotics repair room intact,

but since we won't destroy that building now then the point is moot. In a

similar vein though, if Rayleigh wants to destroy his workshop, the

garage, then go for it. The way I've seen you guys treat vehicles...

Anyway, let's get on with it.

Star Devil: We have information on politicians in the pocket of the Star

Devil. I think that finding his (or her, I suppose is still possible)

location is currently beyond us. I would like to send a message to Star

Law now to not give the Star Devil much of a head start. I also plan to

stay behind at the base for a while. I want to do a thorough job on the

serial numbers and I want to monitor the stars to make sure no one else

is coming. When your fleshy white butts get shot up you'll know where to

find us. I think Kah'Liss and I want to get to know these Edestekai,

too. We never know when their friendship could come in handy.

OOC

unless you remember the campaign's conclusion. It's been 16 years since I

played this game and I still remember the conclusion. It was rather

disappointing as written. Jeff has spiced up this game beyond

recognition. Pirates with a purpose other than target practice? Unheard

of!

The whole pirate thing has had me going for months. Now, granted, I'm not

sure that I'm right, but... let's say I'm in a good mood.

Unfortunately I'm really swamped at work for the next several weeks so I

want to hold off until March. So stop tempting me with good role-play.

Go on, ya'll. Git!

(The principle instigator wanders off.)

Once packed, Klik'n Klak scuttles back for a public address.

"Once you are all done stomping away from each other, you may recall the

account of the marine on Gollywog. It was a dark, stormy, night. The

marine was on his first assignment, guard duty.

A Commander stepped out taking his wog for a walk. The nervous young

soldier snapped to attention, made a perfect salute, and snapped out "Sir,

Good Evening, Sir!"

The Commander, out for some relaxation, returned the salute and said "Good

evening soldier, nice night, isn't it?"

Well it wasn't a nice night, but the marine wasn't going to disagree with

the Commander, so the he saluted again and replied "Sir, Yes Sir!".

The Commander continued, "You know there's something about a stormy night

that I find soothing, it's really relaxing. Don't you agree?"

The marine didn't agree, but responded "Sir, Yes Sir!"

The Commander, pointing at the wog, "This is a Golden Reliever, the best

type of wog to train."

The marine glanced at the wog, saluted yet again and said "Sir, Yes Sir!"

The Commander continued "I got this wog for my wife."

The marine simply said "Good trade Sir!"

Klak ignores the moans and the "Yeah, I've heard that one."

----

"Then there were the two Land Forces Generals, Majikthyze and Yuudaman,

always in competition.

General Majikthyze was visiting General Yuudaman. Majikthyze arrives

at the military camp and is greeted by Yuudaman. They both walk around

the place, and Majikthyze asks: "So how are your men?"

"Very well trained, General Majikthyze."

"I hope so. You see, my men over at Point Frish are so well trained, you

could see they're the bravest men in the Federation."

"Well, my men are very brave, too."

"I'd like to see that."

So General Yuudaman calls Private Kuper and says: "Private Yonsen! I

want you to stop that tank coming here with your body!"

"Are you crazy? It'd kill me, you idiot!" As private Yonsen ran away,

Yuudaman turns to a bewildered Majikthyze and says: "You see? You have to

be pretty brave to talk like that to a general."

-----

"Oh, and one more. The Captain called the Sergeant in. "Sarge, I

just got a telegram that Private Zkitl's mother died yesterday. Better go

tell him and send him in to see me."

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation and lines up all the

troops. "Listen up, men," says the Sergeant. "Yonsen, report to the mess

hall for KP. HiccBelchAaaaahh, report to Personnel to sign some papers.

The rest of you men report to the Motor Pool for maintenance. Oh by the

way, Zkitl, your mother died, report to the commander."

Later that day the Captain called the Sergeant into his office. "Hey,

Sarge, that was a pretty cold way to inform Zkitl his mother

died. Couldn't you be a bit more tactful, next time?"

"Yes, sir," answered the Sarge.

A few months later, the Captain called the Sergeant in again with, "Sarge,

I just got a telegram that Private McGrath's mother died. You'd better go

tell him and send him in to see me. This time be more tactful."

So the Sergeant calls for his morning formation. "Ok, men, fall in and

listen up. Everybody with a mother, take two steps forward. Not so

fast, McGrath!"

----

Klak takes evasive action.

OOC (Referee)

Okay, everyone has been emailing everyone until we are all blue in the

fingertips on this matter. I appreciate everyone's honest responses to me

concerning the currect schism in the game.

I'm sure we all agree we've labored on this enough and it's time to move on.

If I may toot our horn this is a kickass PBEM (thanks for the compliments on

the creative license I took with the otherwise flat Volturnus campaign,

Klak). And I for one am ready to continue. For those unfamiliar with the

Volturnus modules, there's much more to come. For those that aren't, oh man,

this is only the beginning.

So anyway, now that everyone understands the situation, and now that

everyone has had time to vent their frustrations, give their concerns, etc,

I know everyone is ready to get this behind us and move on. Daelstrom and

Brenon have butted heads, and as some of you say, this could be good RP to

have some 'personality conflicts' - we've done it all before ICly with no

problems OOC (aka the Brenon-Zhirrzh/Telgar-Kah'liss conflict a while back)

- so, that isn't necessarily a downfall to the game. Spices things up, in

fact.

I propose everyone as a group continues the meeting of all the minds Brenon

had pulled together.

IC

Ooob-a-loom revs the engines on the loaded flatbed. "Room for at least one more up here. Ready when you are boys!"

Payne with a somewhat troubled look grabs his gear and climbs into

the flatbed. "Lets blow this popsickle stand!"