OOC: About ten pages in something else made me lose my temper and I deleted a vast chunk of Zosen character development to get this post finished so I can have a weekend off without having to think about any of this.
(- In hyperspace to Mark... -)
Zosens new Azdara, which he had named the Ranirakyin , glided through hyperspace smoothly as he had done for almost a day now. She was only a week and a half old, and had seen no action at all... Ironically, short of a brief test flight around the low orbit of Dames, the first time the Ranirakyin had launched was the time, roughly a week ago, when Zosen had joined the defence fleet of Chak where, Chyi-Azhar had told him, a warband would be formed to raid the lesser ones.
He had been excited by the prospect of a joining on a raiding expedition against the lesser ones, but he was somewhat overcome with what had actually happened. Apert had been attacked by the bears, the Igadzra, and a counter-attack had been launched so swiftly that Zosen expected strategy had been decided along the way. From what he understood, Hyaishi was behind it all, and now, what had at first been a daring raid on Notil as a counter-attack and warning had escalated into the current situation.
Ninety four Azdara squadrons and thirty Arada squadrons en route back to Mark, but not in retreat to Chak - they were going to attack. Zosen had to admit, when the bears Aradas had followed, he too had considered that Marks defences must be weakend, but still... One warband, as powerful a warband as it might be, was not enough to take Marks remaining defences by storm. It seemed like Hyaishis entire plan hinged about the expectation that the two warbands in Emnin would also be striking, a gamble that, if misguided, would result in a slaughter.
Zosen eyed the Ranirakyins fleet position display, watching the currently stationery readings of his comrades. Chyi-Azhar, Runar, Ka-ruul, and this... Isa. He had yet to meet any of them in person, although he suspected each of them had met Chyi-Azhar beforehand. Their squadron, which Chyi-Azhar had yet to name, had not been fully formed yet, as it was waiting for Azhaurais return. It had been forced into action however, and was operating with low teamwork. Zosens mentor had seemed rather disproving of this, but had responded negatively to Zosens suggestion that they get to know each other over comm. channels while in hyperspace. It is the azkhradi, Zosen. The moment before the kill. This time is a time to be alone.
Nonetheless, Zosen was curious about the nature of the others. Runar was one of Chyi-Azhars acquaintances, and they were alike in age and manner, though Runar, it was said, was more aggressive and more interested in the hunt than Chyi-Azhar, who was reputed to have born in the seat of his Kohatsa. From what Zosen had heard, however, Runar was a talented Azdara pilot also, and the two of them had a long history of co-operative efforts. Runars skills must not have fallen far below Chyi-Azhars if they flew wing-to-wing in battle. Not for the first time, Zosen wondered how Runar had earnt his name. He couldnt recognise what it might have derived from, but then again, he knew barely Ancient at all.
Ka-ruuls, name, however, was easily understood. It was Ancient for one who follows, and apparently he was named such as about a year ago, on one of his first patrols, he had followed a small Zidagar strike force across half of the Crescent rim, monitoring their movements and not allowing them to be lost, until they finally gave up whatever mission it was that they were on, and returned to Outpost Terapin. He was a year older than Zosen, and apparently was a major risk-taker, as one would have to be to follow a dozen Zidagar fighters from Qerid to Marafey, and then to Terapin, going through three of the wolves systems in the process. His skills were not doubted, however. Like Zosen, he was an aikaita - the third level on the Index. Unlike Zosen, he seemed to lack the drive to become a kidhasai (the highest level), however. To be aikaita at age twenty, or indeed nineteen, was impressive enough.
As much as Zosen tried not to think about it, it was Isa who he was most curious about. Chyi-Azhars vehement response to an azdhara piloting an Azdara was understandable enough. All they were good for was sexual release and various tasks the true Azdgari would not waste their time with. Zosen had never associated with azdhara , however, choosing instead to concentrate on his aim to become kidhasai with a singleminded determination that was unlike the Azdgari.
However inappropriate the situation, however, the question remained: why had Hyaishi allowed any azdhara to pilot an Azdara? And was she going to prove any good at all? Chyi-Azhar had made it perfectly clear that he didnt expect Isa to live out this battle, and he had said so with such confidence that Zosen wondered if he would kill her himself. Faced with that thought, Zosen felt nothing at all. It was just an (/i)azdhara(/i), after all. Barely even sentient. But he couldnt help but wonder...
What sort of azdhara flies with the greatest Azdara pilot of this age? What sort of azdhara flies at all?
----------------
In five minutes, the Ranirakyin would be leaving hyperspace, along with the rest of the Chyi-Azhars squadron and indeed the entire warband. Over the last few minutes, Zosen had received a string of messages from Chyi-Azhar, each impersonally addressed to the rest of the squadron. They outlined he expected his squadron to behave, and the targets they would take. The first priority Chyi-Azhar had outlined was simple enough. I will flag up an Igazra moments after we enter the system. We will destroy it. The five of us. No interruptions.
Zosen doubted it was entirely a personal decision on Chyi-Azhars part - he would have preferred to eliminate enemy Aradas, as they were to do immediately afterwards, one to each, with the exception of Runar, who would fly with Chyi-Azhar. The Azdgari behind this warband, Hyaishi of the Zaarisha , was said to be the greatest strategist of this age, just as Chyi-Azhar was the greatest Azdara pilot. Zosen already had the basics of Hyaishis plan down, as he had sent messages out to the entire warband. The majority of Azdaras were forming groups of eight squadrons, each octa-squadron hitting a separate Igazra. Chyi-Azhars squadron was not amongst those.
Those Azdaras which would fight independently of that were likely assigned to an Igazra each, a far more difficult proposition than the swarm. Or perhaps it was simply the elite squadrons, of which Chyi-Azhars would surely be one. Hyaishi still seemed convinced that the other two warbands, under the command of Soran Yain, would also be there. His entire strategy seemed to rely on it. The battle would be far, far closer if he was wrong.
As Zosen had expected, Chyi-Azhar intended the squadron to split after that, with Runar staying with him. Those two would attack Aradas head-on, annihilating them and moving on. Zosen knew what sort of skill to expect of Chyi-Azhar and his Kohatsa , and with the back-up from Runars Triada , they would be a deadly force. The others - no doubt Hyaishi had not wanted to name Isa - were to act individually and to be cautious, but also to bear in mind that how they acquitted themselves today would determine how they were seen in the squadron. Zosen thought it no coincidence that Chyi-Azhar wished for him, Ka-ruul and Isa to fly alone. He wanted Isa to die, and was counting on the fact that the azdhara would take on far too great a target in an attempt to earn his favour. He also wanted to test Zosen and Ka-ruul to the very limits.
A channel was open that moment from Chyi-Azhar. Zosen? his familiar voice inquired. Zosen quickly replied that he was present and alert, and awaited the unexpected message.
Stay alive, Zosen, his mentor said after a brief moment of silence, in which Zosen had checked to confirm that the channel was still open. Take opportunities, make sure other Azdgari do not die today. But do not take risks.
The channel went dead. Zosen had noticed the slight emphasis on the word Azdgari. A clear enough sign that Chyi-Azhar wanted Isa dead - he was asking Zosen to support other ships in the warband, but only those piloted by Azdgari.
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(- Residence of Aynakurai Vakhys, Xarnes -)
It was done. Five days ago, the Hypercube Project had been declared complete. The first Vakhys-chamber had been built as part of the project, underground on Dames. It would be able to produce hypercubes. Soon, Aradas would be refitted with dimensional phasers. Vakhys was feeling elated. Xiaan and Karyd were gone, and he hadnt seen from Yain again... No, he didnt want to think about Yain. Hed snapped before, firing at him, and he was afraid that next time Yain visited, it would be to kill him.
But that was the last thing on Vakhys mind. It was done. Sat in the upper chambers of his residence, which had been ruled by those upstarts Xiaan and Karyd for so many weeks, Vakhys was writing by hand in his diary. It was unusual to do anything by hand these days, but Vakhys preferred it. Quill pen and real ink - that was the way to record ones life events. Itd taken some brief dabbling in chemistry to actually synthesise something remotely like the same ink used millenia ago, and Vakhys had not enjoyed. Chemistry was not his field.
His handwriting was a wild, illegible scrawl, but that was not the only reason nobody would ever understand what was written here. It was in fluent Ancient, every word. In a time when only odd words of Ancient were known, and very few Azdgari could assemble a basic (and usually grammatically incorrect) sentence in it. Certainly, nobody could speak it, or write it so confidently. Vakhys had learnt in many years ago, out of interest. Oh, it was often said that there were not enough records left alive to recreate the language, but they were wrong. It had taken him about three years, and had involved a dramatic discovery that to this day, he could not begin to understand.
...confident that they will... continue funding later once I tell them of the future prospects, Vakhys spoke out loud in a whispered Ancient as he finished the passage. He was overjoyed, he wasnt going to pretend otherwise. Not only had his project been a success, but now he had surely earnt massive respect within the Council of Science. Perhaps hed even be given an honorary position at a council member? An influential one, of course. Power and fame. Thats what awaited him, for this.
Oh, it wasnt just the hypercube. It was more than that. Vakhys theories, that those narrow-minded warmongers had cared so little about, meant so much more than hypercubes. Because of these discoveries, they now stood at the brink of a new era of prosperity. There was much left to observe, and for that Vakhys would need...
Ah. The only thing that could get Vakhys down. He no longer had funding. He would likely not to receive it until the Council of War saw how effective hypercubes could be in a combat situation and decided to fund Vakhys again... But that would mean he would have to make another device for them to murder things with.
Foolish murderers, can they not _see _the potential? Vakhys asked of himself, returning to Common Azdgari mid-sentence. If he had to once again constantly be convincing some idiots that he was in fact working on something that would help them kill things and not some useless revolutionary scientific theory of the interconnectedness of all things, he swore he would kill something. And since the idiots who would be watching him unfortunately werent an option (yet), it would have to mean a trip to Meagh to partake in the ancient Azdgari tradition of murdering animals, only with the slight modification that Vakhys liked the idea of doing it with nuclear warheads. More satisfying that way.
Of course, the more he thought about it, the more he realised that the next project might make the members of the Council of War even happier. Although it wasnt a weapon, the way his research was leading... Yes, this could work out very well indeed.
As Vakhys closed his diary and quietly doffed his day robe, donned his cozy night gown and slipped into bed for a long nights sleep as he had not enjoyed for some time, there was one thought that kept entering his mind.
Whoever it is were meant to be at war with these days, my next project... Will likely be the end of it for them.
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(- Zaarisha (Hyaishis Arada), Mark -)
The Zaarisha exitted hyperspace along with a warband consisting of five hundred and sixty five Azdaras and one hundred and eighty nine other Aradas. It was Hyaishis personal ship, and while he was an oddity in not piloting an Azdara, his Zaarisha , like Sai-Varitairs Kisande warship, Hyaanls Chanari and Yains Tzi , was heavily modified, and little like the usual Azdgari Arada.
The moment Hyaishis warband entered Mark to meet the half-prepared Igadzra forces, there was a frenzy of sensor and comm. activity, of which the Zaarisha was the centre. Thousands of programs Hyaishi had spent the last day in hyperspace readying were initiated, operating on the raw sensor data and sending flags and comms to every ship in the warband based on the information. These programs were the ones that determined which octa-squadrons attacked which Igazras, where the elite Azdara squadrons hit, and the exact roles of the Azdgari Arada squadrons in this battle. They were simplified, however, but as Hyaishi quickly looked over the Igadzra position, he realised that there wasnt much to add. The Igadzra position was by no means foolish, and they had been cautious and prepared to face an attack back from Notil. The positioning was as expected for now, and so there were no immediate complications.
As he thought that, hundreds of unfamiliar projectile weaponry suddenly closed on the warband with surprising velocity. Hyaishi blinked. They finally eschewed their useless SAEs... what are these things? The Zaarisha would take sensor logs, Hyaishi didnt have any time to find out the answer to that. He opened channels with every Azdgari ship in the entire warband.
Funnel to ninety degrees, dont be hit! Hyaishi barked sharply, while he himself obeyed his own commands. Veering sharply upwards at full velocity, he aimed to immediately fly beyond the maximum range of whatever these weapons were. If theyd been SAEs, the warband would simply have dived through, darting out of the way of individual SAEs, but Hyaishi was not going to have his band take any risks.
As the stragglers were obliterated by the unprecedented power of this new weapon, Hyaishi was extremely grateful of his decision. The vast majority of the fleet had taken major evasive manoeuvres, and thankfully it seemed that these new missiles couldnt match a sharp turn over a short distance. Still, Hyaishis eyes widened with horror as he scanned through the losses. Seventy Azdaras, destroyed... the Igadzra had not shot in vain. He would have expected most of those pilots to overload their shield regeneration, but... Apparently they hadnt had time, overcome by numerous missiles at once.
Thankfully, the bears had been too smart, perhaps realising how many missiles it would have taken to destroy the average Azdara... And many, many more Azdaras that were hit survived, due to their new, more powerful shielding. The bears would not make the same mistake again.
Draw them, Hyaishi uttered calmly over a channel to all the remaining ships, and a moment later, received a predicted maximum range of these missiles. Who sent this, then? He glanced at where the message had come from - an Azdara called the Kohatsa.
Quick response, Hyaishi mused. Inys was likely only half a second behind in doing the same and sending the messages out to all the fleet. It was one of his roles - he didnt actively pilot the Zaarisha , but Inys was surprisingly talented at on-the-spot battle analysis. That was half the reason he had hired him.
Once again, Hyaishi was proud of the discipline of the Azdgari chaos machine. They quickly moved to the range that they estimated would be just at risk from the missiles, as a second, lesser salvo was launched. Very few of the second salvo hit anything, as the Azdgari adapted and performed their standard SAE draw, darting out of maximum range and specifically aiming to avoid the attacks. However, the bears seemed to be smarter these days.
Seems we cant convince them to waste any more than that. That second salvo was just a small amount of lack of discipline, perhaps. Ive never seem them react quicker.
Rather than opening another series of channels this time, Hyaishi simply tapped one key that sent an automated command to every ship to hold back. Surprised, the Azdgari fleet responded, some quicker than others.
For several minutes it stood like that - a stalemate across the system. The bears would have been fools to break their defensive formation over Pimre Station, and they likely knew that any sorties they sent out from their main battlefleet would be wasted. The Azdgari had the speed advantage, and if they seemed to be pausing to catch their breath, there was no chance any Igadzra ship would force it into a fight.
Seventy different channels tried to open to Hyaishis Zaarisha , likely asking what the hell he was doing, but he closed every one. Inys and he had gone over the calculations a thousand times over the last day. Yain would be arriving in another minute.
The minutes dragged on endlessly.
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(- Kohatsa (Chyi-Azhars Azdara) -)
Cursed designs, Chyi-Azhar muttered, taking the bizarre battle silence to look over what he could fathom about these new missiles with their eerie blue glow, unlike anything hed ever seen from the bears. He had been the only one in his squadron to be hit by one, and two more would have followed and likely secured his demise had he not swiftly evaded them. They were far superior to SAEs, however, and even the best of evasion strategies would not be able to avoid the majority of these weapons. If it wasnt for the new shields...
Still, this silence bothered Chyi-Azhar. What was Hyaishi up to? The Igadzra formation was improving, and they had more time to plan how they would react when Hyaishi finally did order the attack... more deaths would come of this. What was he thinking?
It dawned on him, then. There was one reason hed wait, and one reason only. The fact that it allowed some of the sharper Azdgari pilots time to consider how they might combat this new weapon of the lesser ones was unintended, but somewhat useful.
He was waiting for another fleet. That was the only explanation. Chyi-Azhar was not party to all the information, and this annoyed him greatly. What did Hyaishi know? What reinforcements were coming, and from where? With the Igadzra position as it was, if another fleet was coming from-...
Emnin. Yain. Of course.
Chyi-Azhar smiled faintly. It seemed this child Hyaishi wasnt all that bad. Although it made little difference to Chyi-Azhars plans - he was challenging Hyaishi when this was over anyway. There were consequences for telling someone such as he that he must harbour an azdhara whore in his squadron.
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(- Diumin, Diudir -)
A battle hardened, one-eyed Azdgari crossed the platform outside and watched as the last ships came to dock at Diumin Base. Seventy Aradas - sixty of them unarmed - and thirty Azdaras. Diumin Base was small, although it had docks enough for far more ships, for several warbands at a time. There were two separate docks in the base - a smaller dock used by the regular patrollers, and the massive underground dock used by warbands in the past. It was this second dock that had been necessary for these visitors, and it seemed somehow sad that this cavernous facility was now being used to refuel ships from a retreat.
Diumin had been alerted several days ago - in fact, it had learnt of the impending loss of Apert at the same time the Azdgari at Outpost Rai had learnt of it, and had made preparations to refuel the ships quickly. They would not be staying - Dames was their location, and then the relocation of Outpost Rai was to be considered.
A group of Azdgari were already wandering around outside of their ships. They had unanimously refused accomodation, after learning that once again the heating systems were playing up, but it seemed the thirty Azdara pilots were happy to get an opportunity to walk around.
It had been years since the one-eyed Azdgari had piloted an Azdara, and he never wanted to go back. The long days in the cramped conditions killed him. These last eight years hed been the unofficial commander of the Diumin Base, and had hardly set foot off Diumin. He had been a decent pilot in his day, but he hardly considered his dayto include the now anymore.
One of the Azdara pilots noticed him and walked over to intercept him. Ah, Diugar... its been a while!
He didnt recognise the Azdgaris face at all. Probably someone who played cards with me a few years back... Azd only knows how some of these people remember me. In reality, it was quite obvious why people would remember Diugar - a one-eyed Azdgari who looked as if hes been chiselled from obsidian, and who had a heart that no hearth could ever warm.
Diugar made a noncommital sound, and went back to observing the other Azdgari who were leaving the ships. Refuelling had begun already, as dockworkers swarmed over the ships in a chaotic mass that was never as efficient as it tried to look.
The talk is that were going to rebuild Outpost Rai in 1273, he continued as if he didnt realise that Riugar couldnt really care less. The lesser ones arent hardly likely to find it there.
And its serves no use there, neither, Diugar spat, turning his attention upon the younger Azdgari who bothered him. Outpost Rai will be rebuilt in Apert, or else this worlds surely gone mad. Only other place it serves any use is right up against the bears backside.
The other Azdgari looked surprised at Diugars harsh response, and seemed to take offence from the last comment, as if somehow it was a personal one against him, which wasnt how Diugar had intended it at all, but he had could care less. Well be heading on to Dames for now, however... until the counter-attack is over. What will you do if and when Diumin is attacked?
Ill do the only damn thing I can do, Riugar replied, annoyed. Ill pack up and run like the winds, cause thats what Hyaishi and the others say I should do and I dont have the ships to do much else. Riugar wasnt much happy about it, either. Theyd sacrifice Diumin and Muid for nothing. There was a reason Diumin had been held for generations, and this new upstart general didnt seem to realise it. Even Apert had its purpose, in a sense, although itd never been used for the most obvious one.
The other Azdgari smiled then, knowingly. I heard a rumour that a major attack against the lesser ones out of Diumin is planned soon, soon after this false counter-attack goes ahead.
Riugar blinked, and studied the Azdgari closely. You heard this from who?
From Hyaishi. A few weeks ago, discussing general strategy... he basically predicted everything thats happened up until now.
Riugar blinked once more. You might not be that bad after all... him neither... do tell me more about this, raid out of Diumin, you said?
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(- The Myrihas Wastelands, Chaka IV, Chak -)
A lone Azdara slashed through into the lower orbit of Chaka IV in a matter of seconds, at velocities so extreme that nothing in the known galaxy could have sought to pass it. It struck directly downwards at full power, and then, hovering fifty metres from destruction on the planets surface, the vessel... Stopped.
It was a prototype Azdara, unique in that it was the first ship in existence to utilise the gravitational impulse drives recently invented by the master engineer, Tsurai Kyaand. It was Kyaand himself piloting this Azdara, although he rarely did so anymore. He knew he wasnt much of a pilot, and had vowed never to fly an Azdara again after nearly dying on the very course he intended to fly today.
Oh course, hed changed the specifics of his promise several days ago, to mean that hed never fly the most dangerous course on the Myrihas in a ship using an ion drive. In what was now the fastest vessel in the galaxy by a long way, a ship capable of coming to a halt almost immediately, turning without pause... strafing without turning... He felt a newfound confidence in his abilities. And, failing that, hed mapped out the entire course so that this new prototype could fly it even if he couldnt. Which, at these velocities, he probably couldnt.
Kyaand smiled to himself, congratulating himself on finally completing a design that had taken him and his team of engineers eight weeks to build, after a lifetime of dreams. Accelerating to high velocity quickly, his Azdara darted through the Myrihas Wastelands in a way that would mock all Azdaras to go before it.
The key to this new propulsion was that no longer was the Azdara being powered by the standard ion drives, but instead, by an (anti-)gravitational singularity focused just inside the ships shields. The raw power was immense, and because the new system was fully flexible, the full propulsion power could be assigned to turning in an instant - which was why all of a sudden turning had become no issue at all, making the Myrihas... Laughable.
Indeed, Kyaand was laughing. This Impulse-1 drive exceeded all his dreams, and it was only just the beginning...
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(- The Battle of Mark -)
Four minutes stalemate was broken in an instant when the Igadzra suddenly faced the last thing they had expected. A brief energy signature was all the warning there was before Yains warbands exitted hyperspace at the other side of the system, at maximum velocity and not slowing down. The two combined warbands under Yains command were so large as to immediately dwarf all the forces in the system at that time. Almost twelve hundred Azdaras and two hundred and fifty Aradas appeared in an instant, and suddenly everything had changed.
It took five seconds for Hyaishis warband to move into action, as they had in fact never decelerated, instead choosing to move in small patterns outside the Igadzras maximum missile range so as to keep their velocities, as per the instructions of their commander. By the time Hyaishis warband had begun to close the distance on the Igadzra forces, however, Yain was upon the Igadzra with unprecedented fury. Igadzra missile weaponry struck with devastating force for a few seconds, but it was not enough to change the sway of the battle. Seconds later, Yains forces quickly gained the information Hyaishis had gained regarding these new weapons, and seconds after that, they gained new information.
Yains warbands met the Igadzra armada first, and immediately were struck by sapphire-coloured beams instead of phase burst fire, and from an unexpected range. The first few Azdaras targetted fell immediately, but then others began to roll away from the fight and regenerate their shields quickly. Two Azdaras that wouldve been annihilated overloaded their regenerators and left the battle immediately, decisions being made in an instant that made the difference between life and death.
However, despite the impressive display on the Igadzras part, their response to Yains warbands was not quick enough, and within a few heartbeats the Igadzra forces were falling. The battle was quick and tremendously devastating, Igazras lasting only seconds against concentrated fire, Azdaras either being destroyed or being forced out of the battle by burnt-out regenerators every second.
The Igadzra attempted to meet Hyaishis forces also, as salvo after salvo of their new missile weaponry struck the Azdgari attackers, but they had the disadvantage of speed, numbers and ferocity. As the Igadzra numbers immediately began to twindle, particularly amongst the Igazras, it became clear that the battle would be quicker and less satisfying than anyone could have wished for.
Early Igadzra tactics were quick to develop to the abilities of individual Azdgari ships to take hits, however, as originally many salvos were badly placed as they were designed to take down ships with the least amount of missiles. But similarly, once the Azdaras were in amongst the Igadzra, the Azdgari quickly adapted.
The Igadzra also demonstrated the use of their tractor beams, although by sheer coincidence Hyaishis orders for Azdaras to form octa-squadrons and attack from maximum range to allow all ships to hit their targets reduced the otherwise devastating ability of these beams. Groups of Igaras tried to tractor damaged Igazras away, but this tactic failed on the whole due to their inability to due so faster than the Igazras fell. It quickly shifted to being done to damaged Igaras, as there were many when the Azdgari Aradas joined in the fray.
Once the chaos rose to a certain level, Azdgari Aradas began firing off salvos of dispersal rockets, vast numbers to each Igazra at a time. By this point, however, most of the Igazras had already fallen... as had far too many Azdaras, to the surprisingly powerful new weapons they faced.
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(- Tzi (Yains Azdara) -)
The Tzi darted away from a series of larger missiles launched at it, the ethereal-seeming blue phantoms unable to alter their trajectory fast enough. Two of them crashed immediately into the Igazra the Tzi had run up against, and two more smaller missiles luckily dispersed and lost their target, their range exceeded. A brief hail of phase fire struck the already massived damaged Igazra, an unfortunate survivor of a massive attack from dispersal weaprony which had left it so badly damaged that barely any of its weapons were still even functioning. Several beams were trained on the Tzi , but it used the damaged Igazra as cover. Yain had quickly realised that although these beams were powerful, one or two at a time wasnt too much of a threat against his upgraded Azdara.
A few seconds later, the Igazra finally went down, after a trio of Azdgari Aradas joined the cause, finishing it off. The Tzi was drawn into a brief firefight as two Igadzra Aradas went to take their revenge. They both fell quickly, although one of the Azdgari Aradas was lost under overwhelming missile fire.
Yain found himself enjoying this battle more than he had enjoyed any in a long time. The odds were too much in their favour, but these new weapons proved interesting. Finding ways to make them hurt the bears more than they hurt him was what Yain enjoyed most. He had quickly learnt not to go too close to these new vessels, except for Igazras like the one that his allies had just destroyed. Those mostly destroyed wreckages were the perfect cover.
The battle was raging on, but most of the Igazras were destroyed. Yain glanced at the sensor display, pondering his next move, when it was chosen for him as an extremely impressive salvo of missile fire was shot directly at him. Far too much for one Azdara... Yain pondered with some amusement. Seems they know me.
As the blue phantoms closed surprisingly quickly, Yain wondered how hed deal with this one, checking to see if there were any likely looking carcasses nearby. Another two Igadzra Aradas were moving to cut him off. He realised then that he was in the middle of an improbability - a small concentration of Igadzra ships in the sea of Azdgari. Such things occured periodically in the chaos of battle, it was unavoidable at this level. His sudden misfortune, however, was a problem.
Rolling and U-turning in an attempt to avoid these smaller missiles, two struck his ship anyway, too fast to dodge. The larger ones couldnt turn anywhere near fast enough to track him, and he was able to dart around an enemy Arada and have it take some of the heat. Combined with his phase weaponry, it fell, although his shields were low. If he took another hit soon, it would be-...
The missiles chasing him were suddenly obliterated by an explosion from a dispersal rocket, and surprisingly quickly, two Aradas hunting the Tzi were annihilated by extremely accurate phase fire.
Yain was relieved as the Zaarisha darted past him, moving far faster than any normal Arada could. Hyaishi would not let Yain forget that one.
Somewhat annoyed that he had needed such rescuing, the Tzi nonetheless moved to follow the Zaarisha , to watch Hyaishis back from now on.
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Within a matter of minutes, the Igadzra fleet had been annihilated. Several Laziras were able to escape, but Pimre Station was not entirely evacuated by the time the Azdgari warbands fell upon it and annihilated it, leaving the system for Emnin afterwards.
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R &D
Phase Stealth Field
6/9 days.
Impulse-1 Refit
1/2 days.
Subdimensional Research, Stage Two: Subspace-Interface Nexus
0/10 days.
Phase-Arada Refit (2/2, complete 24/02/05.)
Graviton Impulse Drive (Model: I-1) (8/8, complete 24/02/05.)
Subdimensional Research, Stage One: Hypercube Project (12/12, complete 23/02/05.)
Azdgari Hyperdrive (5/5, complete 16/02/05.)
Level 4 Phase Shielding (7/7, complete 18/02/05.)
The Subspace-Interface Nexus will be explained later. It is a continuation of the Subdimensional Research by Vakhys. It will allow energy signals to be transferred subdimensionally from one nexus (hypersphere network) to another, or back to itself. In part it is a prerequisite technology to various advancements which will follow, although it has two other applications which will be explained in the OOC thread probably on Sunday.
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Azdgari Fleet
400 Azdaras, 20 Azdgari Aradas lost in Mark.
(i)50 Igazras, 90 Igadzra Aradas and Pimre Station destroyed in Mark._
Fleet: 2740 Azdaras, 736 Azdgari Aradas, 150 Azdgari Warships, 600 Freight Aradas, 6 Hypercubes, 10 Phase-Aradas.
Production: 140 Azdaras, 20 Azdgari Aradas, 3 Hypercubes.
Tollb: 900 Azdaras, 246 Azdgari Aradas, 3 Phase-Aradas(2 Hypercubes).
Molar: 900 Azdaras, 246 Azdgari Aradas, 70 Azdgari Warships, 4 Phase-Aradas(2 Hypercubes).
Chak: 795 Azdaras, 191 Azdgari Aradas, 80 Azdgari Warships, 3 Phase-Aradas(2 Hypercubes).
Muid: 30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas.
Diudir: 30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas.
Raigar: 85 Azdaras, 36 Azdgari Aradas.
(i)30 Azdaras, 10 Azdgari Aradas, from the Apert defence fleet, are... somewhere. By normal 1 RTD = 7 game days rules, they would be in Tinar by now, but as the entire region is in strict-time, where they are depends on what day youre looking at._
60 Azdaras are said to be involving in scanning and patrolling.
Patrolling... DSN-2298, DSN-9041, Novish, Racet, Karra, Funit, Reban, Kacca, Calb, Elridi, DSN-2143, DSN-1273, Elder, Dafi, Emnin, Dirach, Lontri, Toi, Plate, Kade, Tinar, Meagh, Azdgari, Leka, Kelmaon, Marafey, DSN-682, DSN-2189, DSN-8204, Mark.
Scanning... Qerid, Fluron, Plogok, Terapin, Notil, Mordus, Nujja, Norhis, Motif.
This post has been edited by SilverDragon : 27 February 2005 - 06:27 PM