Note: Nobody else is supposed to have knowledge of exactly what I'm up to.

Darkk reboarded the StormBreaker.

He had no need to give orders. There was no crew, just an AI, same name as the ship. It didn't need orders either, being joined to Darkk's mind through the necklace. Darkk didn't even need to think orders. StormBreaker did what he wanted, just as you don't need to think to move your arms. They really were more 1 mind than 2, although they were seperate enough to talk to each other.

(StormBreaker's dialogue is preceded by a >)

I see the data is good.
Yes, very. A bulk freighter leaves without any warning, permission, or crew and opens a random jumpstream.
Exactly what you expected.

Darkk removed 5 of the gold bars from his uniform. Fleet Admiral, Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Coomodore, leaving enough for Captain. Afterall, one cannot be Fleet Admiral with no fleet.

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

(This message has been edited by Sundered Angel (edited 10-09-2000).)

Darkk looks out the window.

He glares at the point of light that is Salril, the point of light housing his enemies.

"StormBreaker, I see there are no updates on the trace.

It's impossible to do better. Nobody had time to track the ship.
"I know. I'm working on it.

A terminal appears in Darkk's mind's eye.

Let's see if this still works.

A series of red lines flash down it's screen. Then a white one appears, asking for a login prompt.

In seconds Darkk is looking back through the records of the Oracular Network. His old read-only accounts from his infiltrator days had been restricted, but not completely locked out.

In any case, the data he wanted was there. Only 10 places that ship could be now...

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

(This message has been edited by Fleet Admiral Darkk (edited 10-09-2000).)

Darkk entered the first gravetic pocket, a small trinary star system with no planets, no derelicts, nothing but gas and stars - to any normal sensor suite.

StormBreaker had been given the best sensors the other universe (at least the galaxy Darkk entered) had. Dead ahead were 20 Salrilian Cruisers on manuvers.

Sal Capatain: What is that ship?
Comm: Unknown, attempting contact.
Darkk: I read you. Go ahead, you slug.
SC: Why you! Who are you to call the leader of a Salrilian cruiser wing that?
Darkk. Formerly known as Fleet Admiral Darkk.
SC: Ha, I can see why you droped your rank. It doesn't exist anymore! Ha ha ha...
You think because I have no fleet and you do that you can taunt me safely?
SC: That's a big ship, but it has no crew and no weapons, so unless you ram us, we're safe from you!
You keep thinking that. In any case, I can't let you report in.

*a pulsing glow forms under StormBreaker

But you'd die in the war anyhow
SC: Raise Prime now!!
Comm: There's interferance emmenating from the ship. It's not the glow, though. Unable to access the net...

*the glow stabalizes as a stream of missles emerges from it and slags the ships

"Just a little skirmish

Lots of the vessles in the database can take 10 Sal cruisers.
"They won't know what did this. They'll blame it on terrorists or something.

Late that night Darkk ponders this "enlightenment" he heard about at the bar.
"It appears Saragatanus can interface people directly with the ON, with himself being the
"central hub. It's sort of like the system the Nijayas used. The pyschic links kept most
"everyone in harmony, but when the conspiritors assasinated the Emporer, the links fell
"apart and now look at everything. If something drastic happened, the Sals would fly to
"pieces.

(hope you don't mind this last part, Sarg. just my ideas, which used to be welcome, and I hope still are)

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

Quote

Originally posted by Fleet Admiral Darkk:
**(hope you don't mind this last part, Sarg. just my ideas, which used to be welcome, and I hope still are)
**

(Actually, that's just about dead on. Although the "something drastic" would have to be either my death (which would be extremely difficult), or the complete and utter destruction of the ON (which, considering that the Ring is now completed, would be even more difficult). But fret not; this whole thing is more or less mapped out and one of those will happen, just not for a long time yet.)

Oh, Sargantus, do I have a free hand or not?
I'm not going to go killing people left and right, but can I move my plans forward without getting permission from you (you did map this all out)?

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

Quote

Originally posted by Sargatanus:
(Actually, that's just about dead on. Although the "something drastic" would have to be either my death (which would be extremely difficult), or the complete and utter destruction of the ON (which, considering that the Ring is now completed, would be even more difficult). But fret not; this whole thing is more or less mapped out and one of those will happen, just not for a long time yet.)

I guess those powers work great

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

((I hope you don't mind, but I've chopped out the "in the bar" segment. Verad, Sargatanus, Cicion and me are in various different places at the moment, though Cicion and I are in the bar. I'll post a little thing in "The Buildup" noting where SA notes your return, and Sargatanus can do one for his side of the conflict.))

------------------
Sundered Angel ,
The One and Only

Ares Webboard Moderator, and all-around Nice Guy

Darkk checked the list. 2 left. If it wasn't in either, he would have to do an omniscan. Not something he was looking forward to, because although he and StormBreaker could probably handle the strain of examining every mind in the vicinity one by one, it might cause sevear(sp) psychiatric problems.

Entry into penultimate search destination in 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. 0.
"Those look like Nijayas battlecruisers.
They probably are.

Darkk suddenly was hailed.

Nijayas: This is Captain Kharadd, formerly of the NIN, now a pirate. 20 seconds to surrender or we take you apart and harvest what we can!!
" Do you know who I am?
Kharadd: I don't think there's anyone living I'd avoid robbing. All the people I looked up to are dead.
" Does that include me?
K: Your name?
" Darkk
K: Ha. You think I'd fall for that?
" If you don't how about falling for THIS?

• Kharadd's ship suddenly sets to self-destruct in 5 minutes.
  K: How did you do that?!?!?!?
  " Command codes.
  K: I guess you are Darkk, then. Welcome back, sir. *begins crying
  " Space the sentiment. This situation is hardly what I would have expected. It seems the
  " Sals had an idea to collapse us for some time. They founded those crime syndicates after
  " cutting some of us off from the calling of the Emprorer.
  K: Treacherous b-------!!!
  " Yah, tell me about it. Do you have a shipyard?
  K: Yes, well hidden.
  " Here's some schematics. Produce these as fast as you can, and crew them with the most
  " loyal of our people you can find.
  K: Impressive little ship.
  " Isn't it? (links Kharadd and his crew)
  K: I am back in the flow!!
  " Our collective subconcious is returning.
  K: There will be a Third Empire!
  " Yes. Hopefully with a similar bloodline to the last.
  K: <sob> The ---- Taeskors murdered the whole Royal Family!!
  " I'm not sure.
  K: You would have the eternal gratitude of all true Nijayases if you restore them!!
  " I'll do my best. Work your shipwrights to the bone. Don't do anything with the ships,
  " though. Keep them safe and HIDDEN.

(I'd be nice to hear what the Sals know about my movements and intentions, Sargatanus It won't be too much, as I haven't said much the ON could pick up, and have been gone for a long time, out of it's knowledge.)

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

StormBreaker silently slid up to the damaged bulk freighter. It was a big one, 2km long, mounting its own jump system.

2 lifeforms. Adult humanoid, Immature humanoid.
"I see that. No need to tell me such things.
I'm programing that out now.

It was finaly over. Darkk had found it - now for phase 2.

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

StormBreaker slid up to the bulk freighter and extended a boarding tube to the airlock.

Darkk had put the bars back on, as he did have a fleet now, or would soon. He could tell both people were in hibernation. As the lock opened, he knew why - the ship was exposed to vacuum.

Always happens when a jumpstream is terminated improperly. Ships can vibrate apart if they aren't up to spec, and this one was in sorry shape before it was hijacked. Darkk felt like he was scolding a cadet. Not the way to think about the new Empress...

He could feel the crack, and StormBreaker welded it shut with a tractor beam and some plasma. He then sealed all the doors not on his route to the bridge, and air pumped in from his ship raised the pressure to sufficient for one not accuanted with the intricate art of surviving without air (known only to a few families among the Nijayas, including Darkk's).

On the bridge he saw the survivors and confirmed his suspicion who they are Empress (when Darkk left, princess) Kelyra, and Prince Kalad

Waking them up would take time. He would do it on his ship in transit to Kharadd's base.

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

Kelyra woke up first.

" Ah good, you are awake, my Empress.
Kelyra: Empress?!?
" You're the oldest living child of the previous Emporer.
EK: (sobbing) I'm not Empress. There's no Empire. I don't know where to begin on reforming it.
" In that respect you are not. I have figured out what to do, though.
EK: Then you be Emporer!
" No. I'm not cut out. I have no training in civil government...
EK: Then why didn't you fulfil your military obligation?!? With you here, the traitors wouldn't have dared!!
" I couldn't help it. My ship hit a euclidian wormhole, and I was catapulted into another
" universe.
EK: TO Ó´ŇŇ WITH EXCUSES!!

Darkk could feel the attack coming. It was unmistakeable. There were many things he could have done, but he simply lowered his defenses and allowed it to connect to his jaw.

*1 of Darkk's molars flies across the room.

" (softly) The truth will set your teeth free..
EK: I'm sorry...
" I deserved it. My fault or not, I've failed in my duties. But I will rebuild the Empire.
EK: Feel free to place yourself at the top, I'm through.
" In a sense, I already have. The true function of the Emperor, I discovered, was to use
" his powers to unite the people into a sort of collective unconcious.
EK: What?!?!? I never heard anything...
" Noone new anything. It was shear instinct, the instinct of your family, that you unify
"when there is no more powerful force doing it. I am doing it, which feeds your sense of
" purposelesness. But I will not let that continue.
EK: A linking ceremony?
" Yes.
EK: I'll need time to think.
*Kalad awakens
Kalad: (weakly) Father?
" No, only me.
PK: You ... feel ... like ... father.
" Because I'm providing the calling for now.
PK: (now normaly) Calling?
" The linking of our race through our powers. The reason we need Emperors.

Darkk laid in a course for Kharadd's base, the location of which had been pulled from his computer. Time to drop off some passangers, and begin the second phase.

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)

StormBreaker arrived at a seemingly abandoned station deep in a nebula.

" Well, here they are.
Kharadd: Can it really be?!?!?
EK: Why yes it is.
K: My Empr...
EK: Space that. There's no Empire and father never trained me or Kalad to run or rebuild it. Lenkk was the oldesest, he got all the training, and the ƒ¨ç°ˆ˜Š Taeskors got him and everyone but us.
K: Horrible.
" You must not speak like that, Kelyra.
EK: Darkk-
*Darkk "calls" Kelyra
EK: What.. I feel so... calm?
" The collective unconcious. We all are dependant on it. We can discuss rank and all later.

Darkk leads Kharadd away.

" How's production coming.
K: We're retooling, and if you can "call" or whatever a few other groups, I can get them in on it. Production could exceed 30 per day in 6 weeks with all known cells working.
" Of course, these aren't as powerful as mine, but are better than anything we had before
" short of the gateships and MTBS's.

Darkk went back to his ship to begin the process of calling the others, using the locations Kharadd had gotten.

(Sargatanus/Verad, what the Sals are making of my return would be nice.)

------------------
Me: You ******* IDIOTS!! That planet was INHABITED!!!
Them: Ooops
Me: Let's resume this disscussion at the admiralty court near airlock 13.
(immediatly following the first disrupter missle test)