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Originally posted by Insano:
How about how it is in Star Trek? You can beam stuff out, but only on unsuspecting ships. Beaming can be counteracted by any sort of jammer. Deal? Or, if you still won't let me do that, how about just cargo?
You can beam cargo off my ships, unless i develop a counter. What I have a problem with is beaming parts off my ships, or any ships.
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Admiral Macvenger was now a 5 star Admiral, in charge of all operations in the Core Worlds and surrounding areas. He watched the news release from the AoE, and began jotting notes on paper. After it was finished, he tapped his pencil on the paper for a bit, then called his old friend Admiral Skyblade, chief of the Rebel Core Sector.
"Macavenger, nice to see you again. What's up?"
"What do you think? You just watched that fake news release from the AoE, right?"
"Yes. Off hand, I haven't thought of much to do about it yet."
"Well, I have, but that's not really why I'm calling. I'm thinking that the AoE is going to be a nuisance, and we should move as soon as possible to curb them a bit."
Skyblade scratched his head. "Don't you think that would further inflame public sentiment?"
"Not if we do it right. The key is that the AoE draws a lot of support from the pirates, and they're always a legitimate target. A blow to the pirates now could be a blow to the AoE. I suggest you take a task force of Supercruisers and Assault Carriers, maybe even one of the new big carriers, and attack Pirate's Cove."
"That could work. Pirate's Cove would constitute a very real threat to the peace in that area, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly. Better yet, it's cut off from their main bases of support, so the chances of them being able to reinforce it are roughly nil. The AoIW laws apply to them now too, I believe, which makes it much harder for them."
"Right. Plan is sound. I'll do it. Are you going to be handling the political side?"
"For now. If Pirate's Cove was even near my area of influence, I'd be going there myself and kicking the pirates and giving you my political thoughts."
"OK. I'll let you know how it went when we get back."
After refining his notes somewhat, Macavenger scheduled an emergency meeting with the govenor. After bringing Presiden Navarone in on the FTL holophone, Macavenger's lan was approved with some slight modifications, and an ISN broadcast was scheduled for 1800 hours that evening.
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"This is ISN, the Interstellar News Network. In response to the AoE broadcast earlier today, the Rebellion has announced that, with the inclusion of the Confederate population in the tax base, a large surplus has been projected. Reconstruction costs will be settled by cuts in military expenditures and some large donations that have been recieved, so they will not take up the surplus. In order to cover this, President Navarone announced an immediate .5% tax cut, effective at the end of the month on all Rebel alligned worlds. Further, since Rebel High Command believes it has more than enough force now to handle the AoE, should that become necessary, so drafts will be decreased somewhat, and with the inclusion of former Confederate worlds, they can make legal draft dodging much easier. For a final announcement, we give you President Navarone, from the Red House."
"Greetings, citizens of the Rebellion. I have come here tonight to flatly rebuff the charges of the AoE that we have been torturing Confederate prisoners since the surrender. The rebellion has not and will not engage in any such activity. The fact is, after the surrender, there were no Confederate prisoners. Of the 138,562 remaining Confederate soldiers, 46,238 have chosen to defect, again lessening our need for new troops, another 62,347 have been sent home to their families, and the remaining 29,977 left our space and are presumed to have joined the AoE. The Rebellion has no Confederate prisoners to torture, and would not if we did. Thank you for your time, and good night."
"Well, that pretty well sums that up, folks. We will not take you to one of our exprt political analysts, Jake Fowler, who will give you his opinions on wjo's telling the truth on this matter."
"Thank you, Bob. Well, past history would seem to suggest that..."
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Luke: which Alliance do you hate? The AoE, AoIW, which has still survived from BfS, or both?
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Almost doesn't count, but barely does.
"The problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable job. But if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night, drop them off at the wrong house."
- Jeff Foxworthy