FTL Online: A Multiplayer Role-Playing Experience

[Antony]

Companion Stacie now registered!

Companion Character sheet instantiated.
-Antony

[ShadowStar]

I am really interested in Roleplay and ftl, I have had experience with Role play and Ftl. I would love to become part of the FTLOnline crew.

[Antony]

I am really interested in Roleplay and ftl, I have had experience with Role play and Ftl. I would love to become part of the FTLOnline crew.

Welcome aboard!

[Antony]

Title: The Rebels Strike Back!

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Continued from: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=10#p35065

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DMCI Interface Begin
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DMCI: Turn: +1 (Turn: 7)
DMCI: Fuel: -1 (Fuel: 17)
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(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: We're being hailed!

The Kestrel arrives safely at the beacon, and is immediately hailed by a ship that was lying in wait...

Lt. Vanguard: Hopefully they're peaceful, whoever they are, but I'm going to charge up the shields just in case...

Rebel Capt. Markus: Aha! You thought yourself safe ahead of the Rebel line, didn't you! You are not the first Federation ship to pass this way.

Capt. Antony puts the video of the hailing Rebel Rigger Captain across all ship terminals.

Lt. Vanguard: This looks like more trouble, if you ask me...

Rebel Capt. Markus: If you power down your weapons I will make your deaths swift and painless.

Ens. McAliber: What, and you want us to vent ourselves out the airlock as well?

Rebel Capt. Markus: There is no stopping the Rebellion, so you might as well accept your fate now, Federation scum.

Capt. Antony: Sensors indicate that they're powering up their weapons!

Lt. Vanguard: From the look of it, they should only have a basic laser, which I should be able to handle no problem here...

Rebel Capt. Markus: Fine, have it your way.

Rebel Capt. Markus glances over his instrumentation and sends a message to the weapons station to begin the attack.

Capt. Antony: Mac, I need an assessment of that ship's capabilities! What are we up against here?

Rebel Capt. Markus activates the drone systems, wondering if this Federation ship, like the last, will fall having underestimated him.

Capt. Antony: Any other surprises up their sleeves? A basic laser seem awfully light for a Rebel Rigger out this far.

Ens. McAliber: This ship looks like a pushover Captain! They've hardly got any firepower at all. They might have some drones or something to augment their firepower, but we'll have to wait and see.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Ens. McAliber: Ha! They do have a drone after all, but it's a defense drone. As long as we don't waste our Artemis missiles against it, we shouldn't have any problem with these Rebels.

Capt. Antony: These guys are sitting ducks against us!!!

Lt. Vanguard: Well, the shields are primed and ready. We should be able to absorb the energy from that basic laser indefinitely with no problems.

Capt. Antony: Mac, what do you want to take out first?

Ens. McAliber: I say we hit them in the helm with our first barrage. Show those Rebels what we think of their "unstoppable Rebellion"!


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Are you ready to offer your surrender yet? Your ship may be better protected than the defective drone I was sent to hunt down, but even so, you have no chance against our fleet. This is the last time I will make this offer.

Lt. Vanguard: At least he's confident. You've got to give him that.

Capt. Antony flickers on the comm to the Rebel Ship.

Capt. Antony: How about eating THIS!!!

Capt. Antony turns off the comm.

The Rebel's puny laser hit The Kestrel's shield doing no damage as expected. The Kestrel sends off 3 volleys of lasers.

Ens. McAliber: First salvo is away, Captain! Let's see what she does.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Rebel Capt. Markus sends an encoded transmission in the direction of the main Rebel force.

Ens. McAliber: Three direct hits to the helm, Captain. They aren't going anywhere now! Redirecting our aim against the shield system.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Another puny laser hits The Kestrel's shields doing...NOTHING!

Lt. Vanguard: Their aim has been good so far, Captain, but they won't be getting through our defenses any time soon.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: Their hull-strength is almost below 50%!

Rebel Capt. Markus: It seems I am not long for this world. You should have taken my advice, the next patrol may not be so... accommodating. In any case, if I have delayed you at all then I have already accomplished my objective. The Rebellion will prevail.

Capt. Antony: These guys never had a chance! Maybe they'll surrender!

Rebel Crewman: Captain, our shields have been knocked completely offline! If we can't get them back we don't stand a chance!

Capt. Antony: I don't want them escaping! Mac, disable them!

Rebel Capt. Markus (turns to his crewman and quietly says): Time to make peace with our makers, for we shall soon be seeing them.

Capt. Antony keeps the comm channel between him and the Rebel Rigger Captain on mute.

Rebel Crewman: It was worth a shot anyway, Captain. At least we got that drone before this Federation ship showed up.

Rebel Capt. Markus turns to his crewman with a grin, a sudden twinkle in his eye.

Rebel Capt. Markus: We will have one last laugh yet before we go. Quickly, sabotage the supplies…I want them to get as little as possible from our wreckage.

Capt. Antony: Mac, what are you targeting?

Ens. McAliber: Got their engines in our sights, sir.

Rebel Capt. Markus: They won't know this, but that coded message I sent earlier was tactical data for the fleet command.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Rebel Capt. Markus: The next time our ships go in for rearming, they will be better equipped; these Federation scum will not last long.

Capt. Antony: Ha-ha! Their last shot missed!

Rebel Crewman: Clever move, Captain. They might get us, but the Rebellion will still have the upper hand... And they won't be able to profit from our meeting!

Rebel Capt. Markus: Ah, these targeting computers aren't what they used to be - can't hit the broad side of a frigate when you're not at the station it seems. Not that it matters in the end, of course…Just fate having one last laugh.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Rebel Crewman: Apologies, sir, but I've got most of our supplies rigged to blow for when we do get taken out.

Rebel Capt. Markus: While you were doing that I managed to get navigation back online. With a bit of luck we might just walk away from this. Forget weapons, get on the shield console and squeeze what you can from it.

Capt. Antony: They were about to begin charging up their FTL drive for a hasty escape! But I don't think so!

Rebel Engineer: Sorry Markus, but we just took some nasty hits down here. I don't think we can get the engine working until we deal with this...

Rebel Capt. Markus: Belay that, our engine's taken a hit. I shouldn't have to tell you; get on repairs asap!

Rebel Engineer: Already on it, sir!


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: I'm being hailed by the Rebel Rigger Captain!

Rebel Capt. Markus: I've been thinking things over, and perhaps we can come to an... arrangement.

Capt. Antony puts the Rebel Capt on The Kestrel's view-screens.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Your ship looks like it could use some more supplies. Of the non-sabotaged kind. If you get my drift.

Capt. Antony: What are you offering, Rebel scum!?

Rebel Crewman continues to heap up sabotaged supplies, careful not to be seen on the vid-screen.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Everything but fuel. We don't have any of that to spare.

Capt. Antony turns off the comm and talks to his crew.

Rebel Capt. Markus sends a status request to engineering.

Rebel Crewman: If we've got to give them anything, let's at least make sure they feel it. I think that if we mix in at least some sabotaged supplies that'll slow them down enough for us to make our getaway safely.

Rebel Capt. Markus: No, I think not. The Rebellion will not succeed if it is built on lies. If they accept our offer, give them the goods in workable condition.

Rebel Engineer: Those last hits hurt the systems bad, Markus. We're going to need longer than I had thought to get things working again.

Rebel Capt. Markus: By the time we get them transferred our engines should be back up and our FTL charged in any case. Moving cargo from one ship to another takes time, after all. So, let's just see how this plays out…not that we can do anything else.

Rebel Crewman: Roger that, Captain. I'll make sure we've got the good stuff ready for them.

Capt. Antony: Lt. Vanguard, Ens. McAliber. What do you think about their offer?

Lt. Vanguard: I'm just worried that if we let them go, they'll head straight for the Rebels and we'll be in even worse shape than we are now.

Capt. Antony: What's the scrap value of what they're offering?

Lt. Vanguard: It's hard to say for sure, but it sounds to me like we'd only be able to reclaim it into about ten or so units of useful scrap...I'm definitely no expert on the subject though.

Capt. Antony: Well I don't think we need the missiles or their drone parts. We need more scrap! Hopefully we can get more than the 9 that they are offering now...

Capt. Antony flips on the comm to the Rebel Rigger Captain.

Capt. Antony: Rebel Captain Markus...

Rebel Capt. Markus: So, have you reached a decision?

Capt. Antony: We graciously decline your offer of goods for your lives.

Rebel Capt. Markus: I see.

Ens. McAliber: Weapons are locked on to their engines to ensure that they aren't getting out of here anytime soon, Captain.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Well, I am touched that you know my name. Perhaps you will remember it the next time that Artemis launcher of yours has nothing to launch but space dust. Long live the Rebellion!

Capt. Antony switches off the comm...

Capt. Antony: Enough of that garbage! Let's turn that ship into a debris field!

Rebel Capt. Markus: Well, it was worth a try. Blow the charges, they will not be getting a free haul from this little rigger.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: How did we miss disabling their engines?!

Rebel Capt. Markus: Engineering, keep working! The situation might be dire, but who knows, perhaps they will miss a shot or two and we can get the FTL engine charged.

Rebel Crewman detonates the rigged supplies.

Rebel Engineer: Amazing, Captain! They just missed like you said! I've got the engines running at a minimum level right now, but with a bit of luck we might make it out of here still.

Capt. Antony: Mac? I…NEED…that ship disabled!

Rebel Capt. Markus: These riggers might not be the best ships in our fleet, but they're certainly built tough. I'd say we can survive at least one more volley. That's all the time you've got to get the engines running.

Capt. Antony: We…can't…let them jump!

Ens. McAliber: Working on it, Captain! Should we target their helm or their engines again? Either one can help prevent them from getting away!

Capt. Antony: Your call, Mac! I just don't want to see them slipping through our fingers...

Ens. McAliber: The Helm it is then. It's not as sturdy a system, so we should only need to hit it once to stop their escape again.

Lt. Vanguard: I could do this all day, Captain, but I think Mac's plan sounds good if we want to stop them from jumping out of here!


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Next volley incoming, brace yourselves!

Capt. Antony: They missed us again! I'm getting really good at dodging these Rebels!


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Ship Computer: "Captain, the enemy ship's FTL jump is imminent!"

Rebel Engineer: You know what, Markus, we might just live to see tomorrow! I've got the engines working well enough that I think we could just about manage a jump in another moment or two. I just need a little more time...

Rebel Capt. Markus: I'm not sure we've got any left. Evading burst lasers is not as easy as it might appear, you know?


Click the above image to see the entire image.

The Kestrel crew cheer in unison.

Rebel Capt. Markus: I should have seen that coming.

Capt. Antony: We've delayed their FTL jump!

Rebel Capt. Markus: Forget the engines…grab the space electronics and come see if you can get this navigation console back together.

Capt. Antony: Ok, Mac! Let's not let them escape!

Rebel Engineer: Well, this looks grim. I'll do what I can. We're so close!

Rebel Capt. Markus: I'll send our last repair bot down to the engine room to take up the slack while you're up here.

Ens. McAliber: I'll keep the weapons trained on their helm then. It should be our best chance for keeping them pinned down.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: Another hit to our shields, Vanguard!

Lt. Vanguard: No problem, Captain! These shields might not be top-of-the-line, but they can handle this light barrage with no trouble.

Rebel Capt. Markus: Just...a little longer...Who'd have thought that hotwiring three different models of navigational computers while under heavy fire could be this complicated?

Rebel Engineer: Piloting is almost back online, Captain Markus...We're almost safe.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: Nooooo!!!! They're about to jump!

Rebel Capt. Markus: I'm transferring the calculations over now, it shouldn't take long to finish them...

Rebel Engineer: We've got it! Let's get out of here while we can!

Rebel Capt. Markus: Run down to the engines and help the drone with the repairs…you can't do anything more up here in the helm.

Rebel Engineer runs back to the engines to try to speed up the escape.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Ship Computer: "Enemy ship destroyed! Enemy Ship destroyed!"

Capt. Antony: YESSSSS!!!

Rebel Crewman: We gave them a run for their money, Captain...

Capt. Antony: Well done, Mac!

Rebel Capt. Markus smashes the little red box with glass covering as the ship falls apart around him.

Rebel Crewman is thrown across the room by an explosion.

The broadcast beacon is deployed, and “LONG LIVE THE REBELLION!” can be heard broadcast on all frequencies across the sector.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

The Rebel Rigger (and crew) explodes into a billion pieces. The Kestrel swoops in to grab its spoils.

The Kestrel takes on: Missile +1, Drone Parts +1, Scrap +12

Lt. Vanguard: Those Rebels never really stood a chance. They had me worried there when they were getting ready to run though...I can only imagine they would not have been spreading good news about us if they made it back to the Rebel fleet.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony pulls up the Beacon Map.


Click the above image to see the entire image.

Capt. Antony: Well, it looks like the best route to go here, Lt. Vanguard, is towards the long-range beacon and circle it till the last possible minute.

Lt. Vanguard: What worries me, Captain, is that if we're forced to go north from that far beacon, we'll certainly be overrun by the Rebel forces. Do you think we can reach that beacon to the east in one FTL jump?

Capt. Antony: I think we could go either way...

Lt. Vanguard: If you think we can do it, we might as well try. You're the expert after all!

The Kestrel jumps to the sector's N/NW toward the pursuing Rebel fleet.

Lt. Vanguard: We're going to be right near their front-lines here so I hope nothing delays us...


Click the above image to see the entire image.


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DMCI Interface Begin:
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DMCI: Scrap: +12 (Scrap: 49)
DMCI: Missiles: +1 (Missiles: 12)
DMCI: Drone Parts: +1 (Drone Parts: 1)
DMCI: Crew#1|Piloting: +2 (Crew#1|Piloting: 2)
DMCI: Crew#2|Shields: +3 (Crew#2|Shields: 3)
DMCI: Crew#3|Weapons: +5 (Crew#3|Weapons: 7)
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DMCI Interface End:
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Continued at:: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=20#p36008

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Visit http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=FTLOnline to participate!:

Click HERE to return to the Story Directory.

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[DryEagle]

Played an enemy captain for an encounter, was fun. Add me to the list for upcoming crew please!

[Antony]

Played an enemy captain for an encounter, was fun. Add me to the list for upcoming crew please!

Welcome aboard!

[Crimsonsabre]

Hey, I would really enjoy playing a part in this Saga with you all. May I be appended to the list of hopefuls?

Thanks!

[Antony]

Hey, I would really enjoy playing a part in this Saga with you all. May I be appended to the list of hopefuls?

Thanks!

Consider yourself appended!

[Antony]

Title: Revenge of the Mercs!

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Continued from: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=20#p35909

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DMCI: Turn: +1 (Turn: 8)
DMCI: Fuel: -1 (Fuel: 16)
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(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: More Mercenary scum! Mac, what are we up against here?

Ens. McAliber: If my eyes don't deceive me, these Mercs have a heavy laser and a basic laser that they could bring to bear against us. They aren't charging them yet, but I'm sure they'd be ready to go in an instant if we showed any hostile intent.

Capt. Antony: If we can knock out their weapons systems as soon as possible, they shouldn't cause us much trouble...

Lt. Vanguard: Their first volley might be able to get through our shields, though, unless you can dodge one of their shots, Captain.

Capt. Antony: The last Mercenary we ran into had an Artemis and was a bit of trouble. Lt. Vanguard almost lost both eyebrows.

Lt. Vanguard: Have the Mercenaries hailed us, or are they just sitting out there? Because we don't even know what they want as it stands.

Capt. Antony: It's the usual channel chatter wanting to offer their services for exorbitant scrap. This one doesn't appear to be as cocky as the last one we ran into...

The Mercenary Captain hails.

Capt. Antony: Wait a sec, I'm getting a hail from the ship.

Capt. Antony opens the comm channel.

Merc. Captain Roberts: Look, all I'm saying is, you've got some spare scrap and we've got the ship and the guns to lend you a hand.

Capt. Antony mutes the comm channel.

Merc. Captain Roberts: For a nominal fee we can easily harrass those Rebels on your tail, and we've got some fairly decent sector data we've pulled from a Rebel drone not too long ago I'd be happy to send you...

Capt. Antony: Lt. Vanguard, they must have scanned our ship to know that we've got a fair share of scrap.

Merc. Captain Roberts: Damn, they've muted us. I suspect that either means they're going to head out soon, or we'll be under fire shortly. Battle stations, people. Safety first.

Lt. Vanguard: So they know we might be worth fighting then, if they think they can take us...

Ens. McAliber: Cap'n. They've got a drone system and we have no clue what they've got up their sleeve.

Capt. Antony: If it's a defense drone then our Artemis will be useless. I simply hate Mercenaries...They are as bad as Rebels! We'd be doing the sector a favor by ridding it of one more.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Ens. McAliber: Profiteers, that's all they are. Trying to make as much as they can from this chaos. We fighting them, Captain?

Capt. Antony: Yes, so charge up those weapons!

Merc. Captain Roberts: They're powering up weapons, gents, so it looks like my intuition was right! Looks like we're going to have to fight for our dinner tonight!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: You were right! A basic laser and a heavy laser! I'm not picking up any external drones.

Merc. Captain Roberts: Make sure the drones are ready in case they try anything. Their defenses look flimsy enough that we should be able to get through no problem...

Lt. Vanguard: Looks like we got unlucky then, Captain! Those lasers are more than enough to give us a hard time. Hopefully we'll be able to take out their weapons before they can do too much damage...

Ens. McAliber: Targetting their weapons systems, Cap'n.

Lt. Vanguard: Shields are primed and ready, but this one is probably going to hurt!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Merc. Captain Roberts: We should be able to get the first hit easily, gents! Let's make them feel it!

Capt. Antony: Their heavy laser hit our shields, but their basic laser took out our sensors!

Lt. Vanguard: At least we were able to block the heavy! Do you us to deal with the sensors now, or can we leave it until later?

Ens. McAliber: Captain, their weapons systems has been taken down.

Capt. Antony: Lt. Vanguard, Go ahead and begin repairs on the sensors since they won't be firing anytime soon.

Merc. Captain Roberts: So much for good luck going into this thing... Danny, get those lasers operational ASAP if you want us to see tomorrow!

Lt. Vanguard: Sure thing, Captain…I'll see what I can do. We'll have the internal sensors working again in no time.

Capt. Antony: Mac, conserve missiles and keep hammering their weapons systems!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Ens. McAliber: They've got their basic laser back online and charging. No worries, Cap'n, we're about to blast it to bits and anything in that room!

Merc. Captain Roberts: Danny, we need those weapons back online now! I've sent the repair drone down as well to speed this up, but if you can't make sure we get some more hits in against these Federation fools, we're going to be in a lot of trouble.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Lt. Vanguard: I've just about managed to get the sensor panel working again. Luckily the impact only threw the calibration off a little bit.

Capt. Antony: We hit them hard, but they've got their weapons up again...temporarily. OK, Lt. Vanguard. Return to shields just in case we miss our next volley.

Merc. Captain Roberts: About time. How I put up with you lazy oafs I don't know. If you can hit them again before they can hit us, I'll make sure you get more than your fair share of the loot!

Lt. Vanguard: Already on my way, Captain! We'll be as ready as we can be, if they manage to get another volley off!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: Cowards! They're attempting to escape! Mac, take out their helm. Use a missile if you have to.

Merc. Captain Roberts: Alright, that's enough of this garbage! Time for a tactical retreat if we plan on living to fight another day. Full power to the engines, and let's get out of here!

Ens. McAliber: Helm is locked in, Captain. Firing when ready.

Lt. Vanguard: Thankfully, we managed to do enough damage to their weapons that I should be able to handle anything they throw at us for now..


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: Great shooting, Mac! They're not going anywhere!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Merc. Captain Roberts: Look, Danny, I don't care if you've got a fire down in weapons! We just took a heavy hit up here on the bridge and I need that repair drone here NOW. If we don' get out of here, we're going down!

The Mercenary ship finally breaks apart as the final salvo of lasers hit

Capt. Antony: Chalk down another Mercenary scum taken out the galaxy!

Lt. Vanguard: Nice shooting, Mac!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

The Kestrel swoops in to collect its spoils. 2-Fuel, 2 Missiles & 17 Scrap!

Lt. Vanguard: Looks like these Mercenaries had been able to sucker some other fools into accepting their deals before we arrived...You know, Captain, I think I could probably use some of this scrap to give our shields a bit of an overhaul. Might be able to squeeze a second layer of protection out of the system if I can bolster the system enough. What do you think?

Capt. Antony pulls up the beacon map.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: Well, I don't see any trading posts nearby so we'd better go ahead an upgrade those shields! Lt. Vanguard, How long will it take you to make the necessary upgrades using the materials on hand?

Lt. Vanguard takes some of their scrap into the shield room and after some time manages to double their shield efficiency.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony checks the reactor situation.

Lt. Vanguard: Whew. I needed to put 50 scrap into the shields before I could see any real change, but that should make us much more resilient! Only problem now will be powering it...

Capt. Antony: Well, we've got the second layer if we need it. We can always divert power.

Capt. Antony checks the sensor array.

Capt. Antony: I'm picking up a distress signal!

Lt. Vanguard: Anything that gets us further away from the Rebel fleet sounds good to me!

Capt. Antony punches in the coordinates and activates the FTL drive!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)


==================
DMCI Interface Begin
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DMCI: Hull Strength: -1 (Hull Strength: 21)
DMCI: Missiles: -2 (Missiles: 10)
DMCI: Scrap: +17 (Scrap: 66)
DMCI: Missiles: +2 (Missiles: 12)
DMCI: Fuel: +2 (Fuel: 21)
DMCI: Crew#2|Shields: +2 (Crew#2|Shields: 5)
DMCI: Crew#2|Repair: +1 (Crew#2|Repair: 2)
DMCI: Crew#3|Weapons: +6 (Crew#3|Weapons: 13)
DMCI: Scrap: -50 (Scrap: 16)
DMCI: Shields Lvl.: +2 (Shields Lvl.: 4)
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DMCI Interface End
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Continued at: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=20#p36176

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Visit http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=FTLOnline to participate!

Click HERE to return to the Story Directory.

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[Antony]

Title: Lost in Space!

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Continued from: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=20#p36008

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DMCI Interface Begin
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DMCI: Turn: +1 (Turn: 9)
DMCI: Fuel: -1 (Fuel: 20)
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DMCI Interface End
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(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

As the Kestrel arrives at the site of the distress beacon, they soon recieve a hail from nearby.

Capt. Antony broadcasts the signal throughout all ship monitors.

The Kestrel crew look on expectantly as they view the image of the Captain of the civilian spaceship.

The Civilian Spaceship sends a signal requesting open communications.

Capt. Antony (to his crew): It sure is nice to see another Federation craft out here.

Lt. Vanguard: Well, I wouldn't be too confident about that until we know what they want. With our luck, it could be anything...

Ens. McAliber: I don't trust anyone...until they give me liquor.

Capt. Antony turns on the comm opening the channel.

Capt. Quigley: Subject: Captain Quigley, leading Federation/Engi HMS Nostromo. Situation: Critical FTL faliure. Requesting assistance.

Lt. Vanguard: You sure you're not an Engi, there, Quigley?

Capt. Quigley: Correct.

Lt. Vanguard: Is everything ok? You sound a bit choppy.

Capt. Antony makes some adjustments to the ship-to-ship comm panel.

Capt. Quigley: McAliber, HMS Nostromo is currently absent of liquor. Apologies.

Lt. Vanguard: Ah, much clearer. I guess the Federation transmission wavelengths had changed somewhat.

Capt. Antony: What seems to be your ship's malfunction? I can see that your FTL drive is not powered up.

Ens. McAliber: Well, if you don't have any liquor we might as well cut to the chase. What happened to you out here? It seems safe enough to me.

Capt. Quigley: Our FTL drive is malfunctioning following an... encounter. We've been floating here for a week. We would need one of your engineers to come aboard and help fix it so that we can lock on to your ship and follow you to a station for full repair.

Capt. Antony: We can take a look at your FTL drive if you wish.

Lt. Vanguard: An encounter? You were attacked then? It wouldn't be like most Pirates to abandon a ship unlooted. I'd hate to be unprepared if they were just waiting somewhere nearby for someone to come help you.

Capt. Antony pulls The Kestrel alongside the port of the civilian vessel.

Lt. Vanguard: What was it that damaged your ship, Captain?

Capt. Antony heads to The Kestrel's starboard airlock to prepare the ship-to-ship docking conduit.

Capt. Quigley: Not Pirates; no attack. HMS Nostromo is a science expedition; testing advanced new shipboard AI. It's had a few... bugs. One of our boarding drones went haywire.

Capt. Antony: Boarding drones?

Capt. Quigley: Drones. Did I say boarding?

Capt. Antony: That's some dangerous equipment!

Lt. Vanguard: Hang on, you may or may not have hostile drones on your ship?

Capt. Quigley: Only for use in case of emergencies. Purchased from trader three jumps earlier in exchange for some scrap and our spare scanner system. Can't be too careful.

Capt. Antony begins to rethink docking with the civilian ship.

Lt. Vanguard: Caution is all well and good, but if you've got a berserk combat drone running around...

Capt. Antony: If you can assure us that everything is under control on your ship, we will initiate a ship-to-ship docking procedure.

Capt. Quigley: We shut the shipboard AI down. Currently running manually. Hence why we lack capabilities for repair.

Lt. Vanguard: Especially if it's an advanced new AI, I'd be more then a little wary of heading over there..

Capt. Quigley: Everything is under control.

Capt. Antony: Lt. Vanguard, don't we have an ion blaster aboard? Just in case?

Lt. Vanguard: I'm not sure Captain. I don't recall picking one up since we left, but you'd know what's in your hold better than I would.

Capt. Antony: Ah yes

Capt. Antony fetches the Rebel Blaster and checks its settings.

Capt. Antony: This Rebel blaster has an ion setting.

Capt. Quigley: I reassure you; weapons will not be necessary.

Ens. McAliber: Really? Do they give those to all their recruits? That's some powerful multipurpose hardware!

Capt. Antony: We're bring aboard an ion blaster in case we need to disable any haywire drones aboard your ship. Do we have permission to dock?

Capt. Quigley: Permission granted. You have our thanks.

Capt. Antony: OK, please open up your port airlock docking interface. Lt. Vanguard, Ens. McAliber, please join me at the starboard airlock.

Capt. Quigley disappears from the screen in the Kestrel's bridge. Shortly afterwards, the port docking interface on the Nostromo opens with a groan.

Lt. Vanguard: Everything about this ship feels more and more ominous.

The Nostromo appears to have taken a remarkable amount of damage for a science vessel. Capt. Antony activates the docking mechanism. The two ships are now joined via an umbilical shaft.
The Kestrel crew make their way inside the civilian ship.

Ens. McAliber: Are you sure you weren't attacked, Quigley? Your ship looks like a bit of a mess from close up.

Capt. Antony: Lt. Vanguard, can you smell that?

Lt. Vanguard: I can sure smell SOMETHING.

Capt. Quigley: Tried to navigate manually after drone went haywire. Shouldn't have traded the Sensors for it; our other set was damaged. Found ourselves in an asteroid field. Only just made it out.

Capt. Antony: For a bunch of Engi scientists, they sure are untidy.

Capt. Quigley: Ignore the smell. FTL core this way...

Lt. Vanguard: I'm pretty sure it's just the lovely combination of burnt and singed plastics.

Capt. Antony: What have they done to their ship?

Capt. Quigley: Unfortunately our crew is mixed. The other Engi and I have had to learn to... relax our standards of cleanliness.

Lt. Vanguard: But my nose has never been that reliable.

Capt. Quigley: You have my apologies.

Capt. Antony observes all the wires and thrown together systems.

Capt. Antony: We'd like to meet the rest of your crew. (to Vanguard and Mac): No wonder they're drifting out here in space...Look at this mess.

Ens. McAliber: I hope this goes better than the last time we went near a damaged FTL core.

Capt. Antony: Vanguard, check your sensors. Are you picking up any radiation?

Capt. Quigley: Not necessary for objective. The other crew are currently working on the engine and in the research chamber on floor 2.

Lt. Vanguard: It looks more or less clean here to me. The core seems stable. It's hard to pinpoint where the problem is actually coming from, but I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was just "in there".

Capt. Antony inspects the mess of wires.

Capt. Antony: Is that what I think it is?

Capt. Quigley nervously checks a personal timepiece.

Capt. Quigley: What?

Capt. Antony (to Vanguard and Mac): They implanted a baby Engi in place of their navigation system!

Lt. Vanguard: I guess a miniature Engi would have much more processing power, Captain...

Capt. Antony: Capt. Quigley! Is this common practice?

Capt. Quigley: Experiment sanctioned by Federation and Engi governments.

Lt. Vanguard: But if it was only activated recently, it might also have a hard time dealing with the overwhelming ammount of data. It would probably be fairly easy to not compensate enough in the code...

Capt. Antony: Well I think we have discovered you problem. We're going to need to get you to the nearest repair depot.

Lt. Vanguard: It must have gotten jarred when the drone went berserk, and lost it's grip on the starmap.

Capt. Antony: Do you have manual override of your piloting system?

Capt. Quigley: This Engi is in fact not a baby. As you may know, we are sometimes considered synthetic by your kind. Its code was simply rewritten to be more appropriate for this use.

Capt. Antony: Well we'll let you figure that out at the depot.

Capt. Quigley: At a repair depot we could find a replacement FTL unit, then return to a station to rewrite this one. We would be greatly indebted to you.

Ens. McAliber: If we gave it our ship's FTL signature data, I'm sure it'd be able to follow us, at least, even if it couldn't handle the full starmap.

Capt. Quigley: That seems an ideal solution.

Ens. McAliber: Of course, we'd need to be sure they wouldn't hand that data off to the Rebels...

Capt. Antony: Alright Capt. Quigley, we're off back to our ship. Just follow our jump signatures till we get you to the repair depot.

Ens. McAliber: But I'm sure the good Captain is trustworthy... I mean there's hardly been anything suspicious so far at all, has there?

Capt. Quigley: Many thanks. We will see you on the other side of the jump!

Capt. Antony: I have a plan to give us some more breathing room from the pursuing Rebel fleet once we reach the long-range beacon and jump to the next sector.

The Kestrel crew head back to their ship and retract the umbilical docking mechanism.

Capt. Antony: So, gentlemen... What do you think?

The civilian ship hails The Kestrel.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Ens. McAliber: I think they were as suspicious as could be. But it'd be hard for us to not at least give them the benefit of the doubt. They certainly seemed to be Federation, and we owe them that at least. Even if they didn't have any liquor.

Capt. Antony: Capt. Quigley gave me this before I left his ship.

Capt. Quigley sends a message over communications.

Capt. Antony activates the comm.

Capt. Antony: Yes, Capt. Quigley. I received what you slipped in my pocket.

Capt. Quigley: Once again, you have our thanks. Ensign McAliber can use this to buy whiskey at the next station.

Capt. Antony takes out a bar of platinum and shows it to the crew.

Capt. Antony: This gentlemen, is worth 9 whole scrap!

Lt. Vanguard: What, is it only Platinum-coated? I'd have thought that would be worth more... Who am I to complain though.

Ens. McAliber: Hey now, anyone who gives me whiskey money is a friend in my books!

The Kestrel crew return to their respective stations. Capt. Antony pulls up the beacon map.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony analyzes the beacon map data.

Capt. Antony: We don't want to get overrun by Rebels before we make it to the long-range beacon. My calculations indicate that we can jump two more times before they reach it.

Lt. Vanguard: I think if we head towards the beacon Captain, we might be able to jump past it to that southern beacon before coming back around. What do you think?

Capt. Antony: Yes, I agree. There is a signal coming from the sector north. A trading post. But I don't think we have enough scrap on us to benefit.

Lt. Vanguard: We kind of need that scrap to upgrade our generator as well, if we want to be able to power our new shields consistantly.

Capt. Antony: That is true.

Capt. Antony pulls up The Kestrel's Systems, Subsystems and Reactor screen.

Lt. Vanguard: In fact, I bet you we could upgrade our generator right now if we wanted to put some scrap into it. We wouldn't get a whole lot more power, but it might be enough to run these new shields more consistently if we sacrifice some of our engine power temporarily!

Capt. Antony heads to Lt. Vanguard and hands him 20 scrap.

Lt. Vanguard: Fantastic. Now, if we can temporarily disengage the power generator, I think we can get it upgraded pretty quickly. I'd hate to be working on it and have it surge on me for whatever reason...

Capt. Antony powers down the ship's reactor.

Capt. Antony: Are you all clear of the reactor, Lt. Vanguard?

Lt. Vanguard and Ens. McAliber manage to bolster the reactor's power output by carefully optimizing some of the heat-sink positioning near the base, and by replacing some of the older panels with newer parts, while Capt. Antony keeps an eye on the ship's status.

Lt. Vanguard: Looks like we're done here, sir. Mac and I are both clear.

Capt. Antony: OK, let's power this baby up!


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)

Capt. Antony: 2 layers of shields, gentlemen!!

Lt. Vanguard: I feel safer already.

Capt. Antony: I feel that I'll be sleeping much sounder tonight. So, gentlemen, sector's south it is.

McAliber pulls a thin flask from under his weapons console and takes a quick swig, running through targeting calibrations on the Burst II.

Capt. Antony punches the coordinates into the nav computer.

Lt. Vanguard: Looks good to me, Captain. I'll make sure these new shields are ready in case there's anything waiting for us.


(Click on the above Image to see the full image)


==================
DMCI Interface Begin
==================
DMCI: Scrap: +9 (Scrap: 25)
DMCI: Missiles: +2 (Missiles: 12)
DMCI: Scrap: -20 (Scrap: 5)
DMCI: Reactor Lvl.: +1 (Reactor Lvl.: 9)
================
DMCI Interface End
================


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Continued at: http://www.ftlgame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10510&start=30#p36306

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