The Chiron Chronicle: 2181

[Clear Skies]

double post - my apologies. Either my ISP or the Apolyton server are being very slow tonight.
[This message has been edited by SMAC Fanatic (edited March 28, 2001).]

[Clear Skies]

triple post. godsdammit, i thought zakharov's probe teams had been remarkably active!
[This message has been edited by SMAC Fanatic (edited March 29, 2001).]

[Natan]

OOC: Lordlmp, I can agree to that. Although please note that I did not upgrade all of my forces, none of my rovers are upgraded. I only upgraded the garrissons and infantry. Is this fair? If not, I'll be happy to adjust this some more, but I wanted to clarify first. But my production for the year was acceptable?


Hive forces at planetneck are not beginning to use high explosives in conjunction with nerve gas and napalm. The idea is to blast open the bunkers, kill anything in the open, and toast anything which moves, and some things which don't. Three artillery regiments, pouring fire down on the PK bunkers.

From: Chairman Yang of the Hive
To: General Braddock of the Peacekeepers

I have not reinforced my forces at the planetneck in any way for years. I do not know what you are talking about. My forces there are hardly sufficient to mount a large scale attack, although you are provoking me to do so.

OOC: I had to make up the forces at the planetneck. I did not move them there, I just invented them there. It's natural for the Hive to have troops there, as it's one of two land borders they have, and it's with a violent faction with whom they have vehement disagreements.

From: Chairman Yang of the Hive
To: Sister Miriam of the believers

Let us reason together. We have our disgreements. Let's be honest, we don't get along. But the Chiron alliance is licking up its sorroundings as a cow licks up the grass. We must cooperate to destroy them, or they will end both of our plans in the name of "human rights" which are an affront to God and to right thought. What say you, sister?

OOC: The cow analogy is from the bible, that's why Yang used it on Miriam

From: Chairman Yang of the Hive
To: CEO Morgan

Do not listen to our enemies and do not negotiate. How will your free markets fair when the Chiron alliance forces its irrational green markets on humanity? Do you not know who is your friend, Morgan?

[Argonaut]

Data Angel probe steals stupid double post!
[This message has been edited by Argonaut (edited March 28, 2001).]

[Argonaut]

00C: Lord LMP, I know you said that your planning on duping Morgan, but Roze doesn't know that yet. This explains the following. Oh, and Guardian, what applies to the Cyborg garrisons applies to the Data Angel rover groups as well. Throw'em into the thick of it if you need too.

***Private Message : Advanced Encryption***
To: Captain Ulrich Svensgaard c/o Nautilis Pirates
From: Datajack Roze c/o Data Angels

What the hell do you think you are doing Ulrich? What makes you think that you have the authority to return Morgan Bank to Morganite control when that base is under my jurisdiction. While we are allies, I will continue to negotiate my own treaties with my enemies, and if you plan to make your own arrangements, bargain with your own chips, not with mine. Morgan has stabbed me in the back one too many times and Morgan Bank will not be returned to him without a fight. And you can wipe that shocked look off your face Ulrich. Did you really think that I wouldn't have informants crawling all over Morgan Industries, that I wouldn't find out about your little deal? Don't think to pursue this matter, for you will find that I will not be compliant.

Roze

[Guardian]

Planetneck

"Cover! Cover! Incoming!"

The ground shook as the high explosives detonated on and around Peacekeepers' positions. Damn, damn and double-damn! This was something new. They would inevitably take losses, and the bunkers and defensive positions would take a pounding as well. -And they had no artillery of their own now that the spore launcher had left. Something had to be done, and soon, or else they would just sit here and be pounded to pieces.


To: General Braddock
From: Commander Grafton, Special Forces, Planetneck

Sir, I am afraid we have a situation here. The Hive forces have changed their tactics and started pounding us with high explosives, and lots of them! We're holding our ground for the time being, but we don't have any artillery of our own here and so we are unable to return fire. In other words, Sir, we're sitting ducks here at the moment. I estimate 10-20% damage to each unit per day, so if we don't do something about those artillery regiments pretty soon now, we're gonna have to retreat or be blasted to smithereens!


To: Commander Grafton
From: General Braddock

Don't worry commander, help is on the way and should be with you in less than a day now. Also, you will receive significant reinforcements within a week or so. Just hang in there and don't give those Hivers an inch!

General Braddock


To: Chairman Yang of the Hive
From: General Braddock of the Peacekeepers

Maybe you didn't send any additional forces to the Planetneck, but you sure did put the ones you had there on a war time footing. I guess I might have done the same in your place, as it would seem a natural response to the growing tensions between us, but... well, what can I say? Maybe conflict between us is inevitable, but I still think it is unfortunate. You know, we would have preferred to leave your forces alone and concentrate on the Spartans, as they are our real enemies. We don't really have any quarrel with your people, although I have to admit that we don't get along very well. Anyway, I guess you must think we're trying to "divide and conquer" here, and that you reckon if you left us alone to fight the Spartans now, we would pose an even bigger threat to you at a later stage, right? Well, I guess I can't really blame you, although once again, I do find this most unfortunate.
The Peacekeeping Forces were never meant to threaten anyone, but maybe we're just too different...
Anyway, do what you must and I'll do the same, just know that it's nothing personal...

General Braddock


U.N. Missile Foil Crusader

The six foils were a bit closer together now, ready to provide covering fire for each other, but they still had plenty of space for individual maneuvers. They were still heading north at full speed. The landlubbers at Planetneck needed help in a hurry...


U.N. Defense Line, north of Data Acquisition

Colonel Christopher had heard stories about how the Spartans, during their war with the Hive, had loaded up rovers with the mutilated bodies of dead Hive soldiers and programmed the autopilot to take them back to the nearest Hive unit... One of the Spartans' advantages, he thought, is that they fight with a degree of ruthlessness nobody else has ever matched. -But what if their enemies are as ruthless as they are? What if we start using their own methods against them? Okay, maybe we'll never go all the way and resort to nerve gas and sh!t like that, but if we go some of the way, will that be enough to give them a scare? He decided to give it a shot... The troops didn't seem to mind the idea, although some of them looked kind of pale as they went about doing "the dirty work"...

30 minutes later, a rover started rolling back towards Data Acquisition, stacked full of mutilated dead Spartans, some wrapped in their own guts, others burned and blasted beyond recognition. The message scrawled on the windshield said "Spartan scum! By the time you leave this place, you'll be looking like this."

[OOC: The Peacekeepers don't expect the civillians at Data Acq. to survive in any case, so they're pretty much ignoring the fact that they could be used as "hostages". Yeah, I guess there would be just under 2000 civillians left, but "those who didn't rebel" would be rather few (maybe 2-300) and even these wouldn't be very cooperative. They'd be working slowly and inefficiently, and although they might not actually sabotage anything, they'd stall and delay things whenever possible.]


North of the Defense Line, near Haven City

It was a coincidence that they were discovered.
A flight of interceptors coming out of Haven City was doing a routine patrol just north of the lines. Suddenly, their sensors detected movement on the ground, and in an area where there wouldn't be any friendlies. The jets flew a bit closer to investigate... there they were... 2... 3... 4 regiments of infantry, heading south towards the line. This could be it! This could be what they had been waiting for. The jets turned around and made another pass at a safe distance, looking for other signs of the oncoming enemy, but nothing else was detected. That was strange... four infantry regiments didn't seem like much if there was going to be an attack on the bunkers. But... those weren't regular infantry. They were moving too damned fast! Anyway, it was time to report these findings back to HQ...


U.N. Artillery Regiment, stationed at the Defense Line, near Haven City

"Hostiles! Bearing 0-2-7 degrees, range 2-1-3 kilometers, heading 1-8-2 degrees at 2-0 kilometers per hour!"
"Looks like we've got ourselves a fire mission!"
"Target laid in."
"Fire at will."


U.N. Reserve Units, further west...

"Sir, should we move out, sir?"
Commander Cooke studied the incoming data for a moment, then shook his head.
"No. That thing over there is not their main push. Could be a diversion. Let's just stay put and see what happens next..."


[OOC: The Peacekeepers have detected the Followers of War and started blasting them with artillery. The reserve forces are still holding their positions further west...]

[This message has been edited by Guardian (edited March 29, 2001).]

[Guardian]

U.N. Enforcement Base

The Cyborg troops were moving out, heading for their new base of operations which was to be set up near the Planetneck. Meanwhile, armorers were working day and night to finish upgrading the Data Angel rovers. In a few more days, the job would be done and the Data Angels could head north, while the workers at Enforcement Base could get back to work on building Assault Rovers...


To: Prime Function Aki Zeta-5
From: General Braddock

Thanks again, my friend. The troops are moving out even now.
And yes, I do realize that your units are defensive in nature, and will use them accordingly.
I am afraid we don't have any base to spare at the moment, but maybe we can arrange for a new one to be established somewhere... Unfortunately, I do not have time to ponder this issue at the moment, but will keep it in mind. Hopefully, our peoples shall see better times than this.

General Braddock


To: Chairman Domai of the Free Drones
From: General Braddock

I hear you're still standing strong, and this is good. Don't let them walk on you.
I know you're neutral at the moment, but let us know if there's anything we can do for you, okay?

General Braddock

[This message has been edited by Guardian (edited March 29, 2001).]

[Cyber]

The Clash of the Titans

The cultist quickly spread as artillery fire started pounding them.

As if the followers could sense the incoming artillery shells, and take cover before the missile shell hit the ground.
Of course, some were unfortunate and didn´t have enough time to get out of the missiles way.

Soon enough, the four bloodthirsty regiments could see the bunkers.
The soldiers had been running for days, but now the priest were frenzying them into a “once more onto the bridge” state, and the soldiers complied.
They always complied, as a command from a priest was as if the God of War had given the command. Their frenzy wasn´t a blind rush towards their enemies, but a controlled state in where a cultist didn´t feel pain, emotions or fatique.
They were the ultimate creation of war. They knew nothing else except war.

The cultists began their frenzied attack on the bunkers, greeted by intense bombardment and long-range fire gatling fire.
But no matter what, the peacekeepers just couldn´t hit them properly, as the cultists were moving and dodging incredibly fast. The large Gatling gun platforms were just too slow, and the machine guns couldn´t shoot that far.

However, the situation changed as the attacking infantry regiments got close enough for the machine guns to come into the game.
Still, that wasn´t enough…


Chaos reigned amongst the defenders.

“Die, scumbags! Die!!!” Private Keller shouted, manning one of the machine guns.

“” The damn b*stards… they´re too fast…”” another soldiers next to him remarked while shooting the incoming cultists with his gatling rifle.

The cultists swarmed towards the bunkers, as dark shadows attacking it pray.

“I got one! I got one!” keller started chearing, glancing at his comrade next to him.
His comrade was dead, shot square into the head.
He glanced around, seeing everywhere dead or dying peacekeepers soldiers.
Snipers…
“All right, where are you! Where you hiding, huh?! Damn cowards, taste this…” Keller continued his furious firing, while looking with his targeting system for any snipers hiding somewhere.
Instead, he saw only running and dodging cultists, with some of them stopping for second and shooting series of gatling fire towards the bunker.

A terrible thought rose in his mind.
It can´t be…they can´t be so precise…or can they? They´re monsters, not humans…

He started shooting a small group of attacking Cultists, hitting one of them in the stomach before the group dispersed.
Got ya… he watched the dying cultists. Strange enough, the damn bugger wasn´t screaming of pain, but aiming with his gun this way.

Oh… you´re trying to hit me? C´mon, give me your best shot… Keller laughed at the thought

The next moment, a gatling bullet hit Keller straight into the left shoulder, ripping his arm off and throwing him on his back.

“Meeediiic!!!” He screamed, with a thousand knifes of pure pain slicing his stump of an arm.

*************************

The next moment, mortar shells started falling down on the bunker walls, releasing their deadly nerve gas. Everywhere, soldiers who hadn´t been fast enough to hide deeper into the bunker, were dying or badly paralyzed by the gas from Hell.

The Cultists charged in, climbing in or blasting their way into the bunker. Soon, skirmishes were reported across all sections.

And, deeper inside the bunker, a trainer and his swarms of mindworms attacked the charging cultists.

************************

“Damn it, don´t go there!” Private Jackson shouted to a group peacekeeper soldiers, who were running up a darkly lit tunnel.

“It´s a God damn ambush… listen to me!”
The other peacekeepers continued their run forward, not even bothering to notice his warning.

don´t go there… the warrior ones are there, again that voice came into his mind.

“Who… are you?” Jackson looked around him. Nobody was there.

Suddenly, sounds of gatling fire stirred his attention back to the tunnel in front of him.
Distant flashes lit the tunnel…and then nothing.
Nothing, except dark shadows, seeming to come his way.

“Sh*t…” he cursed under his breath and started running the other way.

He came to a cross section of a seemingly labyrinth of tunnels, when a bullet hit his knee.
Jackson fell down, cursing and screaming at the same time.

“God, it hurts…” he held his blasted knee, glancing behind him.
The dark shadows were near him, getting all the time closer.

Jackson closed his eyes and started signing quietly some long forgotten song.

Don´t be afraid… I will help… keep your eyes closed… The voice said again.

Suddenly, the roof of the tunnel above him was rumbling. Jackson instinctively glanced upwards, and saw large pieces of the roof falling on him. The whole cross section collapsed.

But he was still alive. Jackson opened his eyes, and he saw the tunnel as it had been a moment ago.
The shadows behind him had stopped, as if puzzled about what had happened.
He instinctively reached for his rifle, but again the voice came to him.
No, don´t… keep quiet…

The shadows stood there for a while, touching some kind of imagined border of the collapsing, then turned away and left.

Jackson let out a deep breath, he was safe now. Then he suddenly succumbed into a deep sleep.

A small swarm of mindworms came next to him and started dragging him up through one of the tunnels…

********************

Even with the help of the mindworm and its powerful illusions, the retreating peacekeepers couldn´t stop the cultists. They were like a cloud of darkness, coming from the shadows and killing everyone.

Soon, what remained of the peacekeeper garrisons was surrounded in the center buildings. Outside, the mindworms and their trainer already had been surrounded and burned to ashes.
The peacekeepers fought a brave and desperate battle, but the superior cultists kept coming.

After eight hours of bloody close combat, the last remains of the peacekeepers were massacred inside the bunker. Hundreds of combatants laid on the floors and the ground all around the base, pierced by gatling laser or poisoned by nerve gas.

After the end of the battle, the cultists lost their frenzy and succumbed into an overwhelming fatigue. But it was not time to rest.

The still able cultist soldiers and priest started gathering dead peacekeeper bodies in the center of the bunker, preparing for a ritual.

And at the end of that ritual, the fatigued cultists unleashed their lust for blood, a thing only thought to happen in vampire stories.

The few peacekeeper prisoners that had been captured watched the whole happening, paralyzed of horror, and fear that they would be next.

(OOC: Some gothic rituals, can the PKs beat that? Okay, one regiment got completely hammered out of existence, and the rest have somewhere 10-30% dam. I´m going to post the attack by the Main army later.)


[This message has been edited by Cyber (edited March 29, 2001).]

[DarkCloud]

OOC:
Note: If you have any objections about what I am about to do with Antimind- please voice them;

Tonight I will have them transfer 10 of their 20 or so antiworms to the University...
Remember Zakharov and the Axis Alliance are allied with Antimind,

[DarkCloud]

OOC:
Note: If you have any objections about what I am about to do with Antimind- please voice them;

Tonight I will have them transfer 10 of their 20 or so antiworms to the University...
Remember Zakharov and the Axis Alliance are allied with Antimind, but Christantine what I would like to know is how Anitmind is different from Planetmind.

[Christantine The Great]

OOC: The AntiMind is more of a computer program. It is run by the monoliths in the Ruins. Have fun.