Bugs Itch: The second Bug War

[Cobra5]

"So Jalathas will ambush them in orbit? They're ships are too small to bother boarding..."

*He is speaking mostly to himself, hoping for a way to engage in direct combat with the hunters. If can take them on, after all, then there would be no-one able to stop him...*

*His glace crosses tassatul...*

*...No-one from the outside, anyway.*

((on a side notw, what title should cobra use when speaking to tassatul? 'My Prince'? 'Lord'? 'Sir'? etc... Or some alien bug word?))

[BugHunter]

((ooc: I wouldn't say my ships are that small not to board.... not that i would let you *cough*))

*amongst the cluttered conversation on the com-link and during the intense battle in space. The ships are fighting around one of the planets defense space-stations, ruined now*

Young-Tusk: (on the Swatter) "Hey BugHunter, thats 125 frags, hehehe"

BugHunter: (on the Hunting Star) "What? Only?"

Young-Tusk: "Wut u talkin 'bout? Thats goood!"

BugHunter: "Well I'm already up to 367" (their gunning stations actually have a program that keeps track of frags... yep, thats the hunters for ya)

Young-Tusk: "What?!"

BugHunter: "Ok guys, enough fun. Time to mop up this area and move on"

*acknowledgements are heard on the com-link*

BugHunter: "Top-Knot, how you doin?"

Top-Knot: (in his ship, doesn't have a name...) "No problem at all. Havent these renegade bugs learned their lesson from the last time? This is no contest" (by the way, he's up to 513 frags)

BugHunter: "Unfortunate we didn't get here earlier. The local militia didn't stand a chance..." (there's debree of fallen non-infested ships everywhere)

*BugHunter's ship flies around the corner of the space-station. There's less activity with most of the bugs in this area now eliminated (still got the surface and other areas to do), so he observes the damage the bugs did to the space-station. In flying around behind it, BugHunter notices the tell-tale signs of it in the process of being infested (the flesh-like stuff can be seen on the outside. There's a big concentration on this side of the station that BugHunter is looking at)*

BugHunter: (speaking to self) "mm... Looks like we're gonna have to destroy this one too"

*The hunters have already destroyed another space-station and 4 satellites. And thats not an easy task, you know how big those stations are? They haven't seen any big infested ship though. except for that ship that was in the intro news broadcast...*

BugHunter: (to his crew) "Men, aim your missiles at this space-station"

The Other Gunners: (mostly in unison) "yes, sir. Target locked. Missiles ready"

BugHunter: "Burn it"

*With the command, a large volley of missiles are launched from the Hunting Star. We then see the space-station getting destroyed (use your imagination...i'm running dry right now to describe it in a cool way... But it should involve multiple explosions followed by a really big flash, which would indicate that there was a really really big explosion and thus, destroyed space-station, yay)*

((ooc: Can't wait to do surface bombardments like the Protoss ))

[Tassatul]

((Hmm. Prince of Blades? Prince of Bugs? Lord of Bugs? i cant think of any cool alien bug words right now. . .))

*Tassatul watched calmly as a large part of the bug Swarm was destroyed. They were not important. Bugs were expendable, and the countless hives in the Draconis sector could easily replenish them. Infesteds were another story. The loss of the sattelites and space station did not bode well for certain commanders. If they were lucky, they died with their losses quickley. Tasssatul would not be so mereciful to any survivors*

"Where is Jalathas? The Hunters are completely unawares right now. . ."

[Jalathas]

*coming in from the other side of the moon is a small, heavily armed fleet of modified infested ships, headed by Jalathas' command ship, the Blademaster. They come in fast and hard, firing at the hunters and doing quite a bit of damage.*

Jalathas: This is Blademaster command reporting in. All is going as planned on our front. What is the situation with your forces?

[Cobra5]

*Cobra's anticipation almost overflows, and he wanted to ask Jalathas right then and there if there was any sign- any sign at all- of his twin. But luckly, he catches himself, and keeps his words inside. The report was obviosly meant for Tassatul.*

Patience... I will have my chance... to test everything I have become...

*It may well have been bred into him purposly, but Cobra had a near-limitless, nagging, bloodlust... a bloodlust which he had no intention of keeping in check.*

[Tassatul]

Tassatul: "We have taken heavy losses to the Swarm, but that is to be expected. Continue your attack, reinforcements will be on their way," *Tassatul glances at the anxious Cobra standing next to him, sences what he wants* "Also, report any rogue ships in the area, but do not engage"

*Tassatul then picks up the nearest message bug and transmits his new orders to the remaining bugs and to the reserve Swarm. Soon, the Hunters should be overwhelmed*


((I was thinking, when the good Cobra arrives, is the bad cobra going to board his ship so they can fight? If so, what kinda ship is it? Cause i was thinking, Tassatul is more of a ground/melee fighter, and id like to get him back to more of that soon. So if Cobra arrived in say, a ship with a bunch of soldiers on it, my char and the evil Cobra could go on a little killing spree after boarding the ship, on our way to get to cobra. Ideas?))

[BugHunter]

((ooc: aww, come on... I never got to any surface bombardments and i didn't even get that far in this planet battle.....and already Jalathas is attacking...))

*Heavy fire is coming from their portside but its still pretty distant. The hunters find themselves under surprise attack*

BugHunter: (turning away from his targets to see where the unusual amount of fire is coming from) "What the hell?! Light-Stepper what's going on?"

*Light-Stepper boots up an enhanced vision vid-link scope. He speaks while he does his piloting manuevers*

Light-Stepper: "There's a fleet of heavy ships coming up from behind the moon!"

BugHunter: "Shouldn't they be with us? Why the heck are they shooting at us!"

*Light-Stepper zooms the vid-link to get a closer look*

Light-Stepper: "These ships are infested"

BugHunter: "Infested!?" (to self) "large heavy ships, infested...how can this be..."

*specific voice can be heard on com-link. Its coming from the hunter ship that is closest to this enemy fleet*

Hunter Ship #12 (i'm just gonna use numbers to identify my other ships...: "This is Hunter #12. New unidentified hostiles have appeared. We're taking heavy damage..."

BugHunter: "#12, our hands our busy down here. 11, 10, and 9, go help him."

Hunter Ships 11, 10, and 9: "Yes sir" "Roger that" "Lets rock!"

TopKnot: (is also getting pestered by the lazer fire) "Annoying infested fleet ships... BugHunter, I'm gonna take them out myself!"

BugHunter: "Have it your way. Remember hunters, we have a lot to clean up here, dont take too long."

*The ships go off to their designated positions*

((ooc: Hey Jalathas, I hope your ready accept a few losses before we pull out. My guys are not to be taken lightly. And you're definitely not going to say that you destroyed all the ships that i sent!!! Only i will decide which ones get destroyed or not))

[Jalathas]

((I like ground/melee too, and bughunter, did I imply that? I didn't mean to. I just meant that I was dealing quite a bit of damage before you turned.))

[BugHunter]

((ooc: moving discussion to the discussion thread))

[Cobra5]

*Cobra, in his mind, feels a slight twinge. Then, faintly... he feels his brother.*

"He is searching for me. He knows where we are, now..."

*A grin grows across his face, as he tightens his grip on his brother's beloved sword*

"It is only a matter of time, now..."

((I posted in the discussion thread, asking how exactly Cobra should be introduced. He'll either join bughunter, and we board them, or he'll get cocky and come and board us straight away.))

[Deimos]

((guess i'll just wing it for now))

*By this point, the Black Squall had outstayed its welcome in lightspeed drive...Sho needed to get his ship out...and the nearest point would do*

Sho: "Cygnus...we'll need to break lightspeed drive, get us to the nearest sector from our position"

Cygnus: "calculating.......that sir, would be Draconis- getting a really hard time in trying to pick up a read on any sort of stop in the area"

Sho: "the heck with the stop for now, just get us there and think of the rest as we go"

Cygnus: "great...another one your schemes"

Sho: "shut up and go, before I restart your mainframe"

*With a harsh grunt, Cygnus plotted the direction for the Black Squall, the Draconis Sector...which unbeknownst to them...was more of a stop than they could bargain for*

[Tassatul]

**Somewhere far, far away**

*The Kaiou-Tur Warmonger sits in orbit around the unnamed jungle planet. The nearest civilization is lightyears away, making this the perfect spot for Agrithno to hide*

"Is the Pop-Up engine stabilized?" says Agrithno in his mechanical voice.

*In front of Agrithno, Thron, a young Kaiou-Tur, stands and delivers his report*

"Sir, it looks as if we might have a problem. We've stopped the engine for now, but for some reason whenever its activated, now it produces tremendous heat. Most of Deck 9 is melted and blackened. Luckily, noone was hurt."

Agrithno: "Have the engineers take care of Deck 9 repairs. I want to see the Pop-Up engine myself"

*The Thron nods, then leads Agrithno to the elevator. Thron can feel the acceleration in his gut, but Agrithno's mechanical walker body cannot. A few seconds later, the doors slide open, and the mutilation of Deck 9 can be seen*

*Nothing was untouched. Normally straight walls were incredibly warped, and some walls now only existed as hardened pools on the floor. Nearly everythinng was blackened. Kaiou-Tur engineers moved through the area in a panic, extinguishing any remaining fires, setting up lamps to replace the destroyed deck lights, reconnecting power conduits, and anything else that needed to be done*

*Agrithno moved through the wreckage nimbly, avoiding the areas of worst damage, and made his way to the main section where the prototype Pop-Up engine was stored*

"by the Khala. . ."

*No walls existed near the engine, they had all been melted, and as a result the floor sloped irregularly. Adamantium alloy walls had been melted*

The energy output must've been enormous. . .

Thron: "As you can see, sir, we've erected some makeshift beams to support the hull of the ship. Its a wonder we didn't collapse in on ourselves back at Draconis"

Agrithno: "A wonder, indeed. How is the engine?"

Thron: "Interestingly enough, it is not in very bad shape. Only a few of the outermost areas have been scorched"

*Agrithno thought this over. How was it that the engine was nearly untouched, yet the entire deck was in ruins? And why the heat output now? A dozen test runs, and nothing before even close. . .*

Agrithno: "And what of the Pop-Up crystal?"

*Thron walked up the the tangle of wires, metal sheets, pistons, and circuits that was the Pop-Up engine. He flipped a few switches, reached into an opening and pulled out a small blueish shard, the crystal which made the entire engine function*

Thron: "Fully functional, sir. It seems tha-"

*Agrithno shot one of his mechanical arms out at the crystal and grabbed it. He pulled it in close to his sensor devices, and quickely examined it*

"Thron, alert security. We have an problem"

*Agrithno held out the crystal, and showed the small vein of fleshy substance within the crystal.*

[BugHunter]

*Um... BugHunter and the rest of his clansmen are still fighting down at the Draconis Sector....*

[Deimos]

((don't know what the hell is going on anymore...but i'm going to post anyway...tell me if anything is wrong via discussion thread))

*After being adrift in lightspeed for god knows how long, the Black Squall had finally broken out of its warp drive...Sho, having fallen asleep...was rudely awoken to sounds of blaring alarms*

Sho: "dammit...the hell is it man!?"

Cygnus: "err...you might want to take a look at the radar...we...have a bit of a problem"

*Sho then floated over to the blinking radar panel...It was flashing its emergency beacon, as a good few signals were clustered together with signs of heat trails and energy fire...Sho had moseyed his way into the heat of a battlefield*

Cygnus: "well...sir? your command?"

Sho: "...hmm...give me a moment...we may have to play observer for a bit...I think I recognize the signal one of those ships is giving off..."

Cygnus: "then, may I suggest re-activating the stealth systems"

Sho: "...get to it"

[Abishai]

Damien sat in the captain's chair and stared out the window ahead of him. Getting to the Draconis Sector seemed to be taking forever. Sure, from the reports that he had heard there was a full scale battle there. . . but he wanted, no needed, the opportunity to kill bugs, and many of them. He stopped his racing mind momentarily to study once again the charts infront of him. Just like the last time, everything was in perfect working condition.

He'd have to order another battery of tests done to verify that before the Alpha Wolf arrived. No point in entering a battle with your weapons systems down.

"Dar, get your big ass up here on the double".

"Yessir, whatcha need boss?"

"Recheck these tests, and do it now."