Topic: The Pyracies  (Read 3713 times)

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Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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The Pyracies
« on: May 12, 2006, 09:34:03 pm »
Well, the crew are finally ashore, happily throwing their shares at anything that catches their fancy: wine, women, food, fights - anything to cast off the drudgery of too many nights cooped up together.  Normally I'd lead them ashore as happily as aboard ship, but tonight I need the time to plan, and to reflect.  Let them enjoy themselves, our next voyage promises to be the most dangerous yet.

    It seems so long ago, the beginning - one brat amongst many on the freighters plying the shipping lanes.  Space trash - destined for poverty or piracy, or both, and a painful early death either way.  But even as children some of us knew in our heart that 'twould be better to be hang'd for a pirate than to starve planetside.  Fortune smiled on me more than most - I made myself useful time and again, and eventually learned the arts of navigation and combat aboard a tired old vessel preying on the most pathetic derelicts on the poorest routes of space.

    The captain's death hadn't been planned any more than anything else we'd done.  The remnants of the crew chose a new leader from amongst ourselves, but perhaps the hand that held the bloody knife gave my voice more weight than it might have had ... in any event, now I was
    Captain, albeit of a freighter manned by thieves, given to all manner of lying, cussing, gambling, drunkenness, insolence, boasting, and the most abominable lewdness.  (And exactly fitted for their company I was.)

    Perhaps a new role does weave some sort of alchemy on the soul, for that very night I began plotting a
    future, not a mere existence.  Why should we fear the pathetic patrol craft of the crumbling empires?  Truly, were not we a match for the tiny and far flung police vessels?  Others had done it, why not us?

    We embarked on our campaign - taking one vessel after another, and if the new vessel proved superiour to our own we transferred our flag (and whatever would fit in the hold) and left any survivors in whichever stripped and derelict vessel we left in our wake.   Many a brave volunteer (and many a rogue and scoundrel) chose to join us rather than be cast adrift.  Most became mere cannon fodder, but the best, the brightest, the strongest, the most loyal, or the most brutal, are with me still.  Now we command a plasma armed cruiser laden with drones and marines and able to stand toe-to-toe with the line ships of nearly any fleet in the known galaxy! 

    Our coffers have filled time and again, but the crew is beginning to stagnate - our spirits crave a challenge ...
    [/list]

    Once we were all back aboard and well out to space (and they'd recovered from the worst of the aftereffects), I told the crew of my plans and called for volunteers - I wanted no cowards on this mission. 

      "Men, when we first banded together I promised you fame and fortune to the far ends of the galaxy.  We've taken and spent a fortune many times over, but we have grown used to raiding the same lanes for far, far too long.  I say it is time to seek out new challenges, and establish our names across the galaxy, to plunder our way across the galaxy to each and every homeworld and return alive to tell the tale! 

    Riches beyond your dreams men - and fame beyond eternity!  WHO IS WITH ME???!!!"
    [/list]
    [/size]
    ... to be continued ...

    <ok ... first crack at writing fiction in a fair few decades, but for a S'ip server I had to at least try.>



    Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #1 on: May 13, 2006, 02:19:29 am »
    Well we were off to an inauspicous start ... why do old friends make the worst enemies?  What had begun as a simple adventure had rapidly devolved into the destruction of two Wyldefire cruisers!  Not to mention the acquisition of a colourful, if not too complimentary, nickname. Ignomy or infamy - the choice may already be made.

    Rumours travel like, well, wildfire through a pirate fleet, and it seemed our plans were known throughout the region almost before I told the crew.  Needless to say, the imminent unscheduled departure of a line ship didn't sit well with the rest of the cartel, but I was still surprised at the vehmenance of the reply - I've never been comfortable with a price on my head!  We resolved to solve the problem by fixing the source, and the search for Demonfly began in ernest.

    We were sifting through the remains of what appeared to be an attacked convoy in the vicinity of his last known location, when we detected his vessel coming in from the east.  The bigger surprise was a pair of Prime light cruisers at the same instant!  After opening salvos the lighter vessels turned towards open space, and my crew and I turned our full attention on our "internal situation".

    The battle didn't last long, and (in spite of a couple of decent salvos into our opponent) things looked poorly for my ship and crew even before I got an urgent (but late) report that the Prime vessels HADN'T departed - and were coming in hot and heavy, prepared to make the rest of our lives very miserable indeed.  I never saw who launched that final drone salvo (having my head halfway into the escape pod by then) but reports have it that D'fly's ship didn't outlive mine by long.

    Our coffers and a few key crew members made it to the lifepods, and (after the longest days of my life) into the hold of a passing freighter whose captain was only too pleased to keep our location quiet - for a price.

    Word in the 'lanes is that DemonFly also survived the battle, and is somewhat less than pleased with recent developments.

    As soon as we can outfit a new ship, and seal the lips of those involved, we must be away - a somewhat less enthusiastic crew than they were such a short time ago, but this has cinched our choice of an initial path: the cost of our dead ship must clearly come from Romulus and Remus!

    ... to be continued ...

    GG Tobin, TonyS, and Dfly -- though I wouldn't have turned on Dfly quite so enthusiastically if I'd thought you two were still in the picture.  Ah the price of betrayal!  Time to rename my ship the "Linseman".  The mission wouldn't end once you left, so had to alt out, but I'll SD the cruiser when I log in tomorrow.
    « Last Edit: May 13, 2006, 02:44:51 am by Shtarker "The Rat" »

    Offline FPF-Tobin Dax

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #2 on: May 13, 2006, 10:52:57 am »
    Shtarker Sd' his ship while I was online. Thank you sir.
    Suspected leader of Prime Industries, #1 Pirate Cartel

    Offline Dfly

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #3 on: May 13, 2006, 12:22:35 pm »
    I will be doing the same when I get on later today.

    Offline FPF-Tobin Dax

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #4 on: May 13, 2006, 02:41:35 pm »
    saw you do it, ty.  8)
    Suspected leader of Prime Industries, #1 Pirate Cartel

    Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #5 on: May 14, 2006, 06:22:24 pm »
    Perhaps some enemies are best left unmade.  Our ship, the absolute newest of the new double-raider hulls, had just finished going through it's final checkout with some friendlies on the Gorn homeworld (yes, I still have friends in Wyldefire space - but they're getting harder to find) when a Wyldefire cruiser warped in.  True to our luck of late, it was Dfly - and in no better a mood than on our last encounter.

    We'll make a short story shorter - I was back planetside searching for a new vessel within hours, and Dfly's fury continues unabated.  He has even taken the extreme measure of going outside the clan with his price on my head!  I can only think that perhaps Skaren's way was best after all.

    In any event, after shoring some defenses near the planets of our birth, we have quitted Wyldefire space - perhaps for good.  The men have taken the leap from clan pirates to renegades in good humour.  After all, there are still worlds and enemies aplenty  - though the latter seem to  multiply faster than the former!   In spite of some misgivings on my part, the men have christened our new cruiser "The Rat",  her destination ....


    < gg Dfly - til we meet again! >

    Offline Herr Burt

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #6 on: May 16, 2006, 09:29:09 am »


    Good work!   :thumbsup:

    I'd been saving the last couple of fiction threads unread, until I could sit down, read then altogether, and truly enjoy them.   These roleplaying threads are one of my favorite parts of D2.

    I wish I'd read this one sooner!  It's very well written, and it gives so much more character to your online battles wtih D'fly.

    I'm hoping there will be more.  ;D

    -Herr Burt
    Happy Warmongering!

    Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #7 on: May 16, 2006, 08:31:26 pm »
    The vastness of the universe is nothing if not strange...  A pirate isn't normally given to musing about such things, but these are not normal times.

    For nearly two days now the crew had been trapped in some kind of vortex - there are fragmentary glimpses of the universe, once even long enough to see the planet we had been orbiting so recently.  Then, as quickly as they appeared, they were gone again - replaced by an eerie blue light so disturbing that it seemed to tear at one's very soul...

    I've broken out the emergency supplies (rum and a Best-o-Jinn vid collection) but that can only keep the men busy for so long.  We've heard tales of troubles in these parts - one man regaled us with tales of ships that vanish from the universe, appearing as ghosts everafter... Another is spreading rumours that the Romulans are using us to experiment on - saying they have developed an offensive version of the cloaking device that blinds the target ship, rather than cloaking the source...  Yet another claims that there is a set of vortexes or gates here that suck ships in to claim their money (the legend of the Bill Gates) ...

    All we can do is wait, wonder, and hope ...

    < Sorry HB, it just came out ;D  Good luck with the DB repairs! >

    Offline Bartok

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #8 on: May 16, 2006, 09:31:26 pm »
     :thumbsup: - really nicely done.  Though I haven't flown in a few days - reading your vignettes was just as satisfying!

    Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #9 on: May 25, 2006, 10:09:59 am »
    The rows of numbers began to blur as report after endless report flowed across my screen.  Who would have thought the Wyldefire would come to this ... a businessman ... a businessman!   But the might of the second largest fleet in the known galaxy was hard to ignore, and that is precisely what Prime Industries had become since the takeover.  "Number two but we try harder" was the half-sarcastic word among the crew.

    The good and the bad news was that Soprano was no longer on the other side - thrice our paths had crossed, and twice our ship had been left for dead.  There were ugly mutterings amongst the crew about attempts at revenge - I'd have to crush those quickly, the men didn't yet fully appreciate the business we were now in.

    Better news was that the takeover opened up the Prime shipping lanes for travel - allowing faster access to the realm of the vile BeastRaiders.  We wanted fame and fortune?  That is where we'd find it.  Though they were an even more disturbing opposition since their acquisition of the Camboro fleet.  What a combination: bearded religious fanatics with a penchant for doing Mudd-knows-what with the ugliest beasts of the lanes [KATBEARD included], paired up with sadistic feline cannibals. Great...

    The screen snapped off - it was time to earn some money, not just write reports about it!

    "Navigation!  Plot me a course..."


    Offline Herr Burt

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #10 on: May 25, 2006, 01:55:35 pm »
      Though they were an even more disturbing opposition since their acquisition of the Camboro fleet.   What a combination: bearded religious fanatics with a penchant for doing Mudd-knows-what with the ugliest beasts of the lanes [KATBEARD included], paired up with sadistic feline cannibals. Great...

    A classic description!    Sort of paints this last phase in a classic good guy/ bad guy light, doesn't it?

    Except of course that the good guy isn't quite so good, so I guess it's more of a The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly than it is a The Dragon and the George type event.  (An ex-girlfriend always called that movie The Not-as-Bad, the Bad, and the Ugly.)

    -Herr Burt



    Happy Warmongering!

    Offline Shtarker "The Rat"

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #11 on: May 25, 2006, 02:06:49 pm »

    Well, it is a 3-way fight (Prime versus Beast versus Admin) and since KATBEARD's side is clearly the ugly, that means we have to pick between Tobin and Herr Burt for which one is Blondie and which one is Angel Eyes.

    One's my new boss, one's the admin ... I ain't goin there  ;D

    Offline Skaren

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #12 on: May 25, 2006, 02:32:16 pm »
    Shatakar your writtings on these forums are truly entertaining and a welcome addition.

    double thumbs up !
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    Offline NuclearWessels

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #13 on: May 25, 2006, 02:35:17 pm »
    OH CRAP!!!! I GOT A BEARD!!!!

    NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THE BEARD!!!!

    Geez!!!

    Yours is on the parrot  ;D

    Offline FPF-Tobin Dax

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #14 on: May 25, 2006, 02:53:34 pm »
    OH CRAP!!!! I GOT A BEARD!!!!

    NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THE BEARD!!!!

    Geez!!!

    all those vaccination shots did it to ya...
    Suspected leader of Prime Industries, #1 Pirate Cartel

    Offline CaptJosh

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #15 on: May 25, 2006, 06:14:33 pm »
    "Work" with him? Is that what they call it these days? *runs away...FAST*
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    Offline Dfly

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #16 on: May 25, 2006, 06:49:29 pm »
    apparently it it "work" when it involves a specific type of "Kat" as they lay in waiting all the time.  ;D

    Offline Dfly

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #17 on: May 25, 2006, 07:17:53 pm »
    This Pirate campaign and these piracy games make me feel so "Piraty" that the Jamaican Rhum has been flowing so smoothly tonight that I fear Shadowlord,Shtarker or Skaren, or even Chutt may actually be able to kill me tonight, and 3 of those guys are on my team  :o

    Offline CaptJosh

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #18 on: May 25, 2006, 09:01:27 pm »
    You have to admit, though, that once I knew you were married, I instantly backed off, though. I'm an honorable pirate.
    CaptJosh

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    Offline Dfly

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    Re: The Pyracies
    « Reply #19 on: May 25, 2006, 09:17:21 pm »
    You have to admit, though, that once I knew you were married, I instantly backed off, though. I'm an honorable pirate.
    considering your post came<<insert joke here>> immediately after my post, you have me worried.