the final remaining jump drive was hidden deep within levo, although its guards surrounded an empty room on palshife. much of the rebel fleet was stationed near the freeport, although very few ships were stationed close enough to draw attention; the remainder of the fleet closely guarded palshife to try to lure any attackers far away from their target. bob and riprock set out to blend in with the palshife guard while masters and hardslab went on "a diplomatic mission" to sol, stopping "for fuel" at levo.

the viper managed to make it to earth and even land before it was noticed, but masters and hardslab were met by confederation officials shortly after they entered the spaceport. before the officials could ask how a rebel ship could land on earth masters began to speak. "i know about your problem. that alien cruiser is much more dangerous than usual now, and it's partially my fault. i also know that my probelm is even bigger than yours and that's why i'm here." hardslab hadn't expected masters to actually turn this into a diplomatic mission, but he accepted it and played along. after a short discussion the confed officials led the way to the presidential palace.

as they reached the largest house (castle would be a more appropriate description) in the area, hardslab turned to enter. "no, no," one of the officials said, "that house belongs to william fences. he made it big selling factory rejects at discount prices; he was even able to sell more than the factories themselves." he then pointed to a fairly large building, which seemed tiny in comparison, and said "that's where we're going."

a few hours later the viper and two of earth's remaining patrol ships began their trip to palshife. when they arrived, the pilots of the patrol ship exchanged some communications information with a technician and set off for earth to establish a direct commlink. the jump drive was moved, still cloaked, into a hangar for temporary storage. hardslab looked out a window for a while, then left to find bob and prepare for a much more challenging diplomatic trip

--woohoo! first one on the third page

------------------
if tin whistles are made of tin, what's a fog horn made of?

(This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 09-17-2000).)

-Sorry if I mess up on any of the technical stuff, its a bit confusing

Hardslab found Bob and Riprock looking over the specs for a new Rebel dreadnaught. "So, whats the plan?" Hardslab asked.

"It will go like this, once this new Rebel dreadnaught is finished, we will go onboard. The dreadnaught, with a fleet of ten cruisers, fifty destroyers, sixty Mantas, and 100 Barracudas will use the sub-space becon to go to alien space. Once we are there, we will visit the Centaur alien faction. I think that we will be able to secure an alliance with them," Riprock replied.

"Then what do we do?" Hardslab asked.

"We'll give the Centaur knowledge of all of our technologies, and that includes the technology we use to get there. Then, the Centaur send a bunch of ships back here using our technology. They then hunt down the marauding alien cruiser. The marauding alien cruiser cannot capture any planets because of its small crew compliment of only 650. Not even 1000 aliens would help them. Not only that, but they can't produce any more ships, because of their lack of resources."

"What about our resources? Can't they use ours?" Bob asked.

"Actually, these aliens are a tad unfamiliar with our resources. And even if they knew everything about them, they still couldn't produce more. Our resources can't build their ships, at least I don't think so. I geuss it might be possible, but it would take a long while," Riprock said.

"Okay then," Hardslab replied. "When do we visit the Centaur?"

"In about 2 hours, by then the dreadnaught and the fleet will be ready."

------------------

--come on, I wanna know how it ends--

------------------
'Light a man a fire and he'll be warm for one night. Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.' Terry Pratchett

NOTE: This is my frist contribution, and I'm a little lost, so bear with me here...

Rick looked out through the window of the viper at the massive fleet orbiting Paslhife, which was still tiny in comparison to the planet itself. It disturbed him that he found these ships so beautiful - after all, the main reason they were designed in the first place was to end lives. But perhaps that was why they were so beautiful - they had the grace of a cheetah, the power of a lion - and they scared the hell out of him.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by the beeping sound which told him a signal was coming through on the frequency which was to be used for the duration of the mission. He pressed the recieve button, then sat down and stared back into space as he listened to the transmission coming from the lead ship - the massive dreadnought which was the centrepiece of the fleet.
"Repeat, this is Command to viper, respond please."
Hardslab pressed the send button.
"Command, this is viper here. Ready to dock whenever you give the go-ahead."
"We're ready for you viper. Remember safety procedures when you dock - we may be huge but I, personally, don't want to see this ship get the slightest scratch until our first battle."
"Understood."
Hardslab manaeuvered the ship underneath the massive dreadnought, cut velocity, then fired the (snazzy military word for underneath???) thrusters in a short burst and the ship drifted upwards into one of the dreadnought's many docking bays. As the viper entered the bay, the dreadnought's gravity field kicked in and the viper was left suspended over empty space, before the bay doors closed and it lowered gently to the ground.
After a hiss of air that signified the pressurizing of the surrounding bay, Hardslab walked out through the viper's main external door and onto the largest human ship ever to be created. The docking bay itself was huge, and even his canvas chuck taylor all-stars seemed to make a tremendous sound which reverberated again and again eith each step he took.
Hardslab's gaze turned to where he could hear the sound of an opening door. Emerging from the other side of the doorway were Bob and Dash Riprock, who had gone to the dreadnought early after a call from the captain of the ship requesting their prescence.
"Bob, Dash." Hardslab greeted his two new friends.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"What did the captain want to see you about?"
Bob shrugged his shoulders. "You know what it's like. Always details to be arranged. Nothing major. Come on up to the bridge, and I'll introduce him to you."
Rick followed the other two through a series of clean and bare corridoors, interspersed with a lift here and there. After a few minutes of silence, Riprock began to speak.
"I think you'll like the captain. He's an ex-privateer, joined the rebellion only a few years ago, but moved very quickly up the ranks. Actually, I used to be his first officer on a freighter before I bought my first shuttle. His name's Stud Beefpile, and trust me, you've never seen anyone cooler in a tough situation."
Rick had heard of Stud Beefpile before. Everyone privateer had heard of Stud Beefpile. There had been questions raised about the disappearance of the man who, legend would have it, had taken out a pirate Kestrel with nothing more than a shuttlecraft armed with a couple of laser cannons. Now Rick had found out what had happened to the great Stud Beefpile, and he couldn't care. He was too overwhelmed by what lay ahead to think clearly about anything that was happening.
With a hiss, the doors at the end of the corridoor opened, and Rick found himself looking at the bridge of this massive ship.

------------------
[http://www.crosswinds.net/~pshep/page
Yeah](http://www.crosswinds.net/~pshep/page<br />
Yeah), so what if I'm an Emo Nerd?

--nice--

------------------
'Light a man a fire and he'll be warm for one night. Set him on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.' Terry Pratchett

When we were en route to our destination we were inturupted by a small alien fighter. We thought nothing of it because of our massive army and its puny little size. So we blasted it apart within 3 seconds. When it blew up there was a massive shockwave.
"Any damage to the ship," you say to the damage cordinator.
"None that I know of sir," He replies to you.
Then someone coughed.

Everybody started to cough. It seemed that the shockwave contained a bacteria that infested our ship somehow.

"Everybody get out of the bridge," you shout to the crew.

Half of the crew was lying on the floor or dead and you were feeling dizzy in the head, nassiated, and coughing.

You manage to get to an oxygen mask and you feel the symptoms starting to go away but then you fall to the floor, unconscience.

Kryptauros

------------------

Are You Ready?

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

Suddenly Hardslab awoke and looked into the eyes of Revzan, the alien defector. "You okay?" he asked.

"Uhhhhh, I feel like lead. Wha...What happened?" Hardslab asked.

"That alien fighter carried some kind of bacterial agent, that kills anyone you inhales it. However they didn't think about me, and how I know how to counteract the bacteria," Revzan replied, looking around. "About a quarter of the crew is dead. The engineer shut off the generator, and it is now powering up. Riprock is okay. He was in engineering when the bacteria was released. Also, I just got a report from Jason and Nancy Master. They're both on Palshife working on some new kind of ship, which I am helping them with. Sergei is also on Palshife, still working on a new base. Stud Beefpile, the captain of this ship, is also okay. Bob was on another cruiser, and his ship didn't get infected. In fact, only our ship did."

Revzan stood up. "You were unconcious for four days. Now we are in an uninhabited system near Georges World. We are ready to visit the Centaur. And do not forget who the Cerebrus hold captive, or have you forgotton? Remember, Kristen, and how the alien duplicated her? Remember?"

Hardslab suddenly remembered Kristen, and how she, Riprock, and himself had met at that bar, and then seconds later the aliens had attacked. Hardslab also remembered that that was where Riprock had told him of the several alien factions. "Oh yeah, her. Where do you think they are hiding her?" Hardslab asked.

"I don't think, I know. I have actually been in contact with some Centaur soldiers, and they say Kristen is being held near the Centaur/Cerebrus border. We can easily rescue her, and this time to clones. I have a device that will allow me to tell the difference between a clone, and the origonal. I will be coming with you on my corvette, the Razor. Oh, and by the way, Andy, your former co-pilot, he is also with Jason and Sergei. Our ships are now all ready to visit alien space. Now then, lets go to the Centaur!"

------------------

-Sorry again if I screw up any technical stuff.

The massive Rebel fleet moved into position. Stud Beefpile had recovered, and now the ex-pirate was sitting in the captains chair. Dash Riprock was too be the operation commander. Rick Hardslab was the helmsman and sensor operator. "Ready to enter hyperspace into the sub-space buble?" Stud asked.

"All ready captain. Sub-space stabilizers on line," Riprock replied.

"All ships report ready," Hardslab added.

"Wait a second, where's Revzan?" Riprock asked suddenly.

As if on cue the viewscreen showed the black and dark red corvette pull into position directly in front of the Rebel Dreadnaught Hardslab was on, called the R.S.S. Vengeance.

"I'm getting a transmission from Revzan, he reports ready as well," Hardslab replied. "He also says that he will be going ahead of us to the Centaur to make sure we are well recieved."

"Very well, Riprock, activate the becon," Stud ordered.

Riprock pushed a large blinking red button on his consol. The Vengeance's engines powered up, as well as the other vessels engines. "Going into modified hyperspace, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...ENGAGE!" Riprock yelled.

Immediately the Rebel fleet shot forward, which was followed by a blinding flash. When Hardslab opened his eyes again, all he saw on the viewscreen was the twisted and distorted picture of stars and a planet. Everything seemed to glow bluish/green. In fact space seemed to be colored bluish/green.

"Where are we?" Hardslab asked.

"In the sub-space buble. Well, actually, only half way in. Thats why you see the stars and that planet. In just a second it will all disappear," Riprock said.

And with that the distorted images of the planet and the stars faded away, and it was replaced by a twisting and ever changing blanket of blue and green. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and then Hardslab saw that the blanket of blue and green changed into the shape of a tunnel, with the end seemingly never drawing closer, which right then was only a spot of white.

"The sub-space buble is now moving forward in the shape of a tube with both ends sealed off. In about 2 minutes we will exit the buble, and will be in the realm of the aliens. Right now the reason you don't see any other ships is because the rest of the fleet, including Revzan, is behind us," Riprock said.

"I have one question Riprock," Hardslab replied. "How DID the aliens reach this galaxy?"

"Simple, they used the same technique we used, except they used a difference resonance frequencey, that drew them deeper into sub-space. We didn't go as "deep". As for the reason the alien ship disappeared, well, the becon it had was incompatable with there technology. So they could only go half way into deep sub-space. Speeking of which, I think the becon is running out of power," Riprock said.

"Why do you say that?" Hardslab asked.

"The alien cruiser was spotted in in the Serpens Nebula, near an uninhabited planet. It appears they are about to construct a base, and I think I know why; the aliens have sent two more alien cruisers with lots of supplies. A Rebel scout detected them right before we left. Once we have things under control here, you will go back and join Jason Master and help him combat the aliens."

After about a minute Revzans corvette moved forward and out of sight. This was where Revzan started moving ahead of the main fleet, making sure they got to the Centaur safely.

Another minute later the Vengeance shuddered, and there was a blinding flash, then Hardslab, Riprock, and Stud Beefpile stared into a new galaxy. There awe was cut short by klaxtons suddenly starting to blare. "2 Cerebrus alien cruisers coming in fast!!!"

Hardslab saw two alien cruisers screaming towards the fleet. But before the Rebel fleet could fire a shot, another heavy fusion beam streaked forward and hit on of the Cerebrus cruisers. Hardslab and Riprock immediately saw what it was.

"Captain! Five Centaur Alien Cruisers coming towards the Cerebrus! Revzan's with them!"

The Centaur and Revzan immediately started to attack the outgunned and easily outmaneuvered Cerebrus cruisers...

------------------

After the initial fusion beam shots, only a few more hits were required until the Cerberus cruisers were left drifting in space, disabled. Already, though, the ships were beginning to repair themselves. The hull was visibly patching up into the strange red and black patterns that had been there before the Centaur had commenced shooting them up. Quickly, a number of Centaur cruisers grouped around the ships, and began tractoring them away.
"Can you patch me through to Revzan's ship?", Beefpile asked Rick.
"No need to - he's already hailing us", Hardslab replied. "On screen now."
The front vidscreen of the Vengeance flickered to life, and its the bridge crew were met with the image of Revzan's face. Beefpile was quick to begin asking questions.
"There you are Rev. What's the deal with those Cerberus ships?"
"The Centaur are tractoring them back to their own space. They were just a few stray ships that were feeling suicidal. We're making sure they have the time to think about the wiseness of their actions."
"Okay, fair enough."
"Captain, the Centaur wish to speak to you. Are you ready to receive them?"
"Yeah, rad, whenever."
"I'll send you their communications frequency right away. Later."
The screen went dead again for a few seconds while Beefpile, Riprock and Hardslab waited for the frequency to come through. Their was an air of anticipation on the bridge that was quite electric.
"Getting the frequency now", Hardslab informed the others. "Okay, got it. Ready whenever you are Captain."
"No time like the present, Rick. Go for it."
A few anxious seconds passed while the display flashed "Waiting connection...", before the black background and white writing were replaced by an alien face.
"This is Vastron of the Centaur Alliance. Welcome to the space which we occupy."
"Um... Greetings, Vastron. My name is Stud Beefpile, and I am here on behalf of the people of... on behalf of the human race. I assume Revzan has filled you in on the story as to why we're here?"
"Yes, he/she/it has." The Vengeance's translator was having problems with the genders that Vastron was using. "We, the Centaur, have discussed your problem, and we believe we can help. First, we shall send you information about our history, politics, religion and social structure. Then we will discuss the issue further."
"Alright", replied Beefpile, "but first I have a question. Why?"
"We knew you would ask that. Is it not true that one fears what one deos not understand? We do not wish for you to fear us, and so the obvious step for us to take is to make sure that you understand us. I ask that you also allow us to learn of your species background."
"Certainly."
"When would you like to recieve the information we have to send?"
"Well, there's no time like the present. Go for it."
Rick Hardslab was, at that moment, hit with a strong sense of Déja vu.

Note: I don't think it's right Beefpile being an ex-pirate and now some sort of leader guy. Privateer, sure, but pirate... Then again, this is probably quite inconsequential... just the pedant in me getting out...

Sheppo

------------------
[http://www.crosswinds.net/~pshep/page
Yeah](http://www.crosswinds.net/~pshep/page<br />
Yeah), so what if I'm an Emo Nerd?

-I like Beefpile being an ex-Pirate

After a few jumps the Vengeance, Revzan, and the Rebel fleet being accompanied by the Centaur, reached Vehr'Drek; a Centaur outpost. After landing, Hardslab met Vastron and gave him some data on the Rebellion and Confeds. Vastron gave Hardslab a large data pad on Centaur history.

Hardslab immediately went to his living quarters on the Vengeance and began looking over the data pad Vastron had given him. Centaur government was quite simple. Every planet belonging to the Centaur was like a state, and the Centaur HQ was the capital. The Centaur were very close nit and friendly to each other, giving them strength. Not only that but they usually all agreed with each other, making decisions easier and simpler.

Before the aliens attacked the humans, they were all called by the same name, the Threath. They had been a very advanced and very aggressive species bent on conquest. When they ran out of aliens to conquer in their space, they developed technology to reach other places, called Slip Stream Hyperspace. They reached the humans within months. However the humans were far more resistent than the former Threath had ever imagined.

After the Confeds beat back the alien marauders, the Threath government collapsed, splitting into hundreds of tribes all fighting each other. During this time all Slip Stream Hyperspace technology was lost. After many years, they all joined together into the factions they are now. The Centaur were on of the calmer ones, and one of the smarter ones.

Suddenly, the door opened and Revzan and Vastron walked in. Hardslab suddenly noticed that Revzan and Vastron looked highly alike. "Ahh, so you see our similarity," Vastron commented on Hardslab.

"Heh, well thats not unusual. Hardslab, Vastron is my brother," Revzan said.

"You...Your bro...brother?!" Hardslab exclaimed. "Wow! Happy to see each other again?"

"Yes, very. Anyway, we are organizing a strike force to rescue Kristen. We'd like you to join us, two dozen Centaur and Rebel soldiers, and Dash Riprock. Like to come?" Revzan asked.

"Sure thing!" Hardslab exclaimed.

------------------------------------

Hours later the strike force was assembeled. It actually wouldn't be that hard. The Centaur were better ground fighters than the Cerebrus, and the place they were going was not high security. The only problem would be getting past and holding off the Cerebrus ships. In this case the Rebel ships would come in handy.

Hardslab boarded a Centaur cruiser (which would be the transport vessel for the troops) along with the other Centaur and Rebel personnel. Riprock, Vastron, and Revzam followed.

Within hours the strike force took off, and jumped into hyperspace. Five more jumps, and the Centaur/Rebel fleet streaked into the Cratacher system, held by the Cerebrus. They were in luck. There were very few ships there, most of them were off attacking another faction.

The Centaur cruiser Hardslab was on immediately headed towards the planet, Tacher. After a few minutes the vessel landed. Hardslab, along with Riprock, poured out. Riprock breached the front door with a neutron grenade, and the troops ran into the building.

While the Centaur troops freed some other Centaur already being held hostage, Hardslab and Riprock went looking for Kristen, their primary objective. Riprock found the cell she was in by noticing that, unlike all the other cells, three guards were posted their. Riprock killed one with a laser blast, and Hardslab killed the others.

Riprock took out his laser pistol and blew apart the lock, and then kicked open the door. Hardslab rushed in, and found Kristen in the dark, dirty, and cold cell. She was lying on the ground, pale and thin. She didn't look healthy. She had been in the cell for three weeks.

"Kristen, KRISTEN! Are you awake?" Hardslab asked.

Kristen stirred, they lifted her head. "Huh...Hardslab?...Riprock?....Hello..." and then she collapsed.

"Hey! Hey Revzan!! Could you get a stecher over here! We found Kristen!" Riprock yelled.

Soon Revzan, Riprock, Hardslab and Vastron carried Kristen on a strecher out of the building and into a waiting Rebel destroyer (which had just landed). Immediately the destroyer and Centaur cruiser took off after loading up the remaining troops.

After the two vessels cleared the atmosphere, they joined up with the rest of the Centaur/Rebel fleet, and they started hyperspacing back towards Centaur space.

When the got back, Kristen was rushed to a hospital. After two days Revzan, Vastron, Riprock, and Hardslab were able to visit her. She was better, but not fully recovered. Kristen was still thin and not feeling good. "You feel better now?" Riprock asked.

"Yeah, kinda, still feeling a little sick," Kristen replied.

Hardslab was glad they had freed not only Kristen, but several other Centaur prisoners. But he knew there was still work to be done...

------------------

-Hey, slipstream space is from star trek!-

------------------
"5 exclamation marks: The true sign of an insane mind."
Terry Pratchett

-Yes....

------------------
To Escape Velocity 3 and Beyond!

-Hey, what happened? Why hasn't anyone posted?

------------------
To Escape Velocity 3 and Beyond!

I'm kinda confused about what's they're s'posed to be doing. Otherwise I would have posted again.

Sheppo

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I'll do this bit later.

--and i suck at stories- :frown:

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'Never ask for directions in wales baldric, you'll be washing spit out of your beard for months'
-Blackadder

C'mon, guys, lets get this thing going again. I reckon someone ought to turn all the posts into on long continuing story and post it on the EV downloads page.

------------------
I fed my signiture to my my killer gerbils
reued@lineone.net
http://website.lineone.net/~reued/

-Yeah, I like that. I can do it!

-Back to the story...

Hardslab looked out the window at the alien sun. It had been a busy week. They had been making lots of sneak attacks on the Cerebrus, and now they were in engaged in a large conflict with who they thought was attacking them: the Tiamat. Riprock had designed attacks that would make it look like Tiamat had been attacking the Cerebrus, when instead the Centaur were. Now the two factions were caught in a desperate all out war with each other, with no side yet winning. The Cerebrus had better weapons and tactics, plus overral experience with war. However the Tiamat were resisting pretty good, because they had the best overral technology.

Kristen was schedueled to go back to her home on Nemesis in a few days. Riprock and Bob were gone with a few Centaur diplomats to the Pheonix faction. Apparently the Pheonix wanted to negotiat an alliance between them and Centaur. Not only that, but the Cyclops and Titan factions had recently resisted the Cerebrus when they tried to send ships into their territory. Hardslab was stunned by all that was happening. Right then the only person besides Kristen that Hardslab knew on the R.S.S.Vengeance was Stud Beefpile.

Suddenly his thought were interrupted as alarms went off as enemy ships entered the system.

"Hurry up Hardslab!" Stud yelled. "Lets get to the bridge!"

Soon Hardslab and Stud were in the bridge, Hardslab deciding to be in helm control. On the radar screen were nine red dots. Suddenly a Centaur on the bridge of the Vengeance turned towards Stud.

"Only two of those ships are Cerebrus! The other seven are Confed!"

Hardslab realized that the Confeds, in their wishing to catch up and beat the Rebels, must have signed an agreement with the Cerebrus, perhaps with a ship the Cerebrus sent over. Either way, the small fleet was doomed. They were tremendously outnumbed, and the Confed ships stood no change against any Centaur ship.

The two fleets engaged in battle, the Confeds and Cerebrus loosing immediately. Hardslab now knew that the battle against the Cerebrus was going to be a tougher one with the Confeds now helping...

*Oh, by the way, I am in the process of turning all these posts into a long story, which I will eventually post on the EV Addons page, and update it as the story continues.da hAkCer suggested it. Just to let you know!

------------------
To Escape Velocity: Nova and Beyond!

(This message has been edited by Captain Carnotaur (edited 11-04-2000).)

"Activate the time warp bubble," you yell aloud.
"Charging Sir."
"There's no time for that dipface. Were only going to warp to Centaur headquarters."
"Yes sir."
You can see the beams on the ships getting brighter and bigger as they come towards you. You hope that this 'idea' of yours is going to work.
"Let's move this thing people, come on."
Suddenly the bridge front glass area goes bright white. Your insides start to churn. Then you are in the Centaur HQ.
There is a loud cheer coming from the bridge of the ship. Then the bridge suddenly shuts up to this announcement.
"Sir," Bob says to you,"Those ships have followed our hyperspace signature and well see for yourself."
You jaw drops. There they are. All 9 of them. And the beams are still fully charged.

Kryptauros

------------------

Are You Ready?

(This message has been edited by Kryptauros (edited 11-03-2000).)

-Come on people! We have to keep this thing moving!

--Oh, and remember, Centaur: Friendly, Cerebrus: Mean

Fortunately for the R.S.S. Vengeance, they were in Centaur HQ, the most highly guarded of all Centaur systems. Right then there were 17 Centaur cruisers with 21 Centaur fighters.

The Cerebrus cruisers speeded towards the Vengeance, firing seeker drones. As the drones smashed into the Vengeance's shields, Stud Beefpile launched several heavy rockets at an oncoming alien cruiser, and then he launched three squadrons of Viper Attack Fighters.

The Vipers preformed excellently against the Cerebrus cruisers. They could dodge seeker drones, outmaneuver Cerebrus fighters, and could do a lot of damage. With their proton pulse cannons and heavy laser blasters, the Rebel fighters blew apart two Cerebrus cruisers easily.

Suddenly two of the Cerebrus cruisers fired their heavy fusion beams at the Vengeance's front shields, smashing them back to 27%.

"Sir, our forward shields are about to collapse!!" Hardslab reported.

"Fire torpedoes!!" Stud ordered.

The torpedoes streaked forward and blew apart the front section of another alien cruiser. Three down, four to go.

Suddenly the two alien cruisers fired again! The fusion beams blasted through the Vengeance's heavy shields and blew apart chunks of armor from the dreadnaughts forward section.

"Forward shields destroyed!! Armor taking heavy damage!" Hardslab reported, just as the entire crew heard a clanking sound.

"The Cerebrus!" Stud yelled, grabbing his proton gun. "They're boarding us! Arm yourselves!"

Suddenly the door was blasted open as a group of Cerebrus ran into the bridge. Stud shot three but was stunned by an energy blast from one of the aliens.

Hardslab's gun was taken from him, and as the aliens started to round up everyone on the bridge, an alarm sounded.

"Thea humansi!" the lead Cerebrus said in a worried voice. "Security iss comingg! Get ouht ofm here!!" the aliens grabbed Hardslab and quickly ran out of the bridge, and immediately the Cerebrus cruiser detached from the Vengeance and hyperspaced out of the system.

Soon Stud was awake, the rest of the Cerebrus ships were destroyed, and Beefpile was furious. "They've taken Hardslab!!!"

---------------------------------

Hardslab was led to a dark cell somewhere within the alien ship. The cell was constantly guarded by two mindless alien drones who were ever watchful. The cruiser made a few jumps before it landed at a Cerebrus base somwhere within their territory. Hardslab was taken from the cell and led out of the ship and out of the ship.

Hardslab looked around at the alien spaceport. It was highly unusual. Weird shaped buildings and so on. It was interesting to see that everything was colored the same red and dark red coloration of the alien cruisers.

Hardslab was then taken to one of the larger dome shaped buildings. As he was being led to another cell, he sensed his chance.

Hardslab jabbed a arm into the guard of his right side, then swung around and punched the left guard square in the face, sending the alien back 4 feet.

Immediately Hardslab bolted away down the corridor. He came to a door which was marked "fighter bay". Maybe he could commandeer a Cerebrus fighter. He hit a button and rushed in. Hardslab was dissapointed when he saw only two alien fighters guarded by a group of six aliens.

Suddenly a door not far from Hardslab opened and none other than Bob rushed into the hanger!!

"You!" Hardslab yelled. "How'd you get here?"

"They captured me while I was meeting with the Pheonix, and I was brought here and then escaped," Bob replied looking uneasily at the approaching guards.

Hardslab could offer no resistence. He tried to run but was cought by one of the guards. As two Cerebrus held him by the arms, a Cerebrus guard tried to apprehend Bob, who was curling his fists and moving away from the alien.

All of a sudden a door behind Bob opened and Bob stepped out! Hardslab blinked his eyes. There were TWO Bobs! Suddenly, he remembered! An alien had posed as Bob and thats how they had gotten the becon! This must have been the one.

Bob 1 (good) turned around and blinked his eyes and Bob 2 (bad). Bob 2 then landed a square punch in Bob 1s face. As Bob toppled backward, the alien who was trying to catch him backed off. Bob 1 got back up and swung at Bob 2, who blocked the first punch but got socked in the stomach by the second one.

Bob 2 then lunged at Bob 1, and the two of them started to struggle on the ground. Neither one could beat the other.

Hardslab tried to help his friend and freed himself from his two captors. As he rushed at Bob 1 and 2 another door opened, and none other than Hardslab 2 stepped out!

Hardslab realized what had happened and tackled Hardslab 2. The two of THEM then started to struggle. Suddenly Hardslab 2 threw Hardslab 1 away and started to help Bob 2, but was tackled from behind and Hardslab 1 lunged at him again. This continued for about three minutes, with no one winning.

As the Hardslab 1 and 2 struggled, Bob 1 finally threw off Bob 2 and threw a punch at Hardslab 2. The alien duplicate crumpled to the ground and Hardslab 1 and Bob 1 started to go at Bob 2, who had gotten up.

"Get them!" Bob 2 ordered the Cerebrus guards. The guards drew there guns and started to advance on Bob 1 and Hardslab 1, as Hardslab 2 began to get up.

Suddenly three doors to the hanger were blasted open and suddenly alien troops poured in, along with Dash Riprock!

"The Pheonix!" Bob exclaimed.

The Cerebrus guards were quickly shot, and Hardslab 2 was captured and disarmed, but Bob 2 got away. Riprock quickly told Bob and Hardslab that the Pheonix were now allies, and that they had come to rescue both of them.

Quickly Bob, Riprock, Hardslab, and the Pheonix commmandos exited the building and boarded a Pheonix cruiser. After a few jumps they were back in Centaur HQ. Hardslab knew he had been spared from a very mean fate, but fortunately he was alive. However he knew that it could change, and that there was much work to be done...

*Long post huh.

*Oh, by the way, I am in the process of turning all these posts into a long story, which I will eventually post on the EV Addons page, and update it as the story continues.da hAkCer suggested it. Just to let you know!

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To Escape Velocity: Nova and Beyond!

(This message has been edited by Captain Carnotaur (edited 11-04-2000).)

The surface of the space station that was serving as Ceantaur HQ was made of smooth metallic panels - a sharp contrast from the black and red that seemed so predominant in the materials of this sector. The metallic surface also appeared to Hardslab, as he sat in thought in a viewing port towards the highest part of the station, to be almost mirror-like in its reflectivity.
As he looked off into space, he realized that the stars he was now seeing were different to the ones he saw from his home galaxy, yet they gave a sense of comforting familiarity to him nevertheless. We came from one of those stars, he thought. We came from just one of those tiny pinpricks of light, and now look at us. We have technology that allows us to travel between them. We have technology that allows us to observe their minutest details. And, we almost have technology enough to destroy them.
This last thought concerned him. But, he thought, I wouldn't trade the advances they'd made for the whole universe. It was better to be responsible - no matter how scared you felt - than it was to be ignorant, surely. There were reasons why. And these were reasons he would not forget.
A beeping noise from his wrist brought him back to the physical world. He spoke into his cronommunicator (cool name, huh?) with a soft but firm voice. "Yes?"
The voice that emanated back from the device on his wrist was a familliar one - Dash Riprock. "Rick, thought you might like to come down to C & C. We're just about to begin our strategy discussions with the Pheonix."
"Sure. Sure, I'll be there in just a minute."
Taking a final look at the spacescape (heh, it's like a double word!), Hardslab turned and exited the viewing port.

***Sorry that this is such a filler thing, I'm really not sure where this story is going, but I just felt like contributing again.

Sheppo
"I strapped my memories to my back - I'm leaving.
I'm already gone.
And I was on a train somewhere wishing sweet stings to you.
To make you never forget the poetry in wanting.
I want those days to hold you"
-Planes Mistaken For Stars, "Standing Still Fast"

(This message has been edited by Washer (edited 11-05-2000).)

(This message has been edited by Washer (edited 11-05-2000).)