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Omegas XXIV: Fasten / Zip?


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#1 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 04:39 AM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:

1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you. :)

3. I'm listening to the Grim Fandango soundtrack... it's all... jazzy... I like it.

4. Killboard's gonna start seeing a lot of action starting this chapter. ;)

5. Two words: "Snipers - free!" :P

XXIV: Fasten / Zip?

Alternate Title: Boom II

Confed APC 1-001
Morellian Plateau
0.94 miles northwest of Primary Landing Zone
0912 Hours, Local Standard

“This is the part I hate most… the waiting…”

“Mmmm…”

Imoen Llyr turned in her seat. “Mind if I ask you a question, Sarge?”

Valygar stared at her for a second or two before replying with his customary, distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I suppose.”

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”

“What kind of question is that?” he asked in response.

She shrugged. “Well, look… we’ve got some time to kill…”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice had more of a gruff edge to it than usual. “Forget it.”

Imoen looked apologetic as she turned away. “It’s just a question.”

“Why do you want to know?”

She turned back, her expression registering confusion, as if she couldn’t comprehend why he would even need to ask such a thing. “Why do I want to know? Because I think of these things sometimes. I was getting dressed the other morning, and for a second I couldn’t remember which I did first. So, I started thinking about it. Does everybody do it the same way? Is it a left handed – right handed thing?”

“Do you think about this stuff a lot?”

“Yeah!” She held her hands out contritely. “Look, okay, I’m sorry I asked. It’s just… you’re always so serious all the time. Not every conversation has to be the end of the world as we know it.”

He nodded his head, catching the hint. He tried not to smirk. “I didn’t mean to…”

She shook her head. “No, never mind, it’s okay. I’ll just… check my equipment. Don’t worry about it.”

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”

She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.

“How much longer?”

“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”

“No.”

“It’s just a question.”

“I’m not having this conversation.”

-----

1002 Hours, Local Standard

“Alpha Red… standing by…”

“Delta Green… in position…”

“Epsilon Blue… reporting weapons hot…”



“How you holding up, Ensign?” Omega One asked of the naval officer crouched down next to her. To her credit, Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse was mostly composed, even though this was the first time she’d ever been quite this close to a real battlefield situation. The standard issue laser pistol she held looked oddly out of place gripped in her small hands, and her finger continued to hover nervously over the safety. She checked the ammunition magazine, ensuring it held a full charge.

“N- not bad…” she stammered out. “Considering I haven’t fired one of these things since the Academy,” she commented sheepishly.

“You’ll get the hang of it.” Despite the storm-clouds that had been dominating Falynn’s mood of late, she managed to scrape together a small smile to reassure the young Ensign. “But until you do, stick close to the rest of us, ok?”

Nalia nodded solemnly and checked her weapon’s ammunition counter… again – she was already developing the “proper” habits, it seemed. “Yes, ma’am.”

Falynn peered out from behind the small collection of shrubs she was using for concealment. Some distance away, to her left, she could see faint clouds of dust being kicked up into the air – a clear sign of the approaching enemy. The sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears as Imoen dashed in from the right and dropped into a crouch next to her and Nalia. “Status?” she asked her younger sibling.

Imoen Llyr gave her sister a jaunty thumbs-up. “Charges set. Let’s drop the hammer.”

Falynn nodded gravely and toggled her communications rig on. “All units: execute.”



From his position at the very top of the southern bluff, Sergeant Valygar “Spectre” Corthala had a clean visual line to every inch of the Briar Pass down below. Clad in a hastily-improvised Ghillie suit, and nestled between several waist-high boulders and the edge of a rocky outcropping, he was also an extremely difficult target to spot.

The veteran Army Ranger lay on his stomach, right hand folded around the trigger guard of his heavy Gauss rifle, left arm extended just slightly behind the bipod supporting the barrel to further steady his aim. He peered through the optical magnification scope mounted on a bracket atop the rifle, comparing the markings in his field of vision with landmarks on the ground below – an exercise in range estimation. He gingerly maneuvered the weapon, easily tracking various targets as they approached. At first, the images he saw were obscured by the swirling dust, but slowly they resolved themselves into silhouettes of Dominion ground troops and vehicles. His sights hovered on the prow of one of the approaching tanks, and Valygar used the movement to help calibrate his optics. A few tweaks of a knob here, a turned dial, there…

“All units: execute.”

Falynn’s voice sounded clearly through the earphones of his tactical headset; it was followed quickly by Imoen’s – the Lieutenant was calling out targets.

“Sergeant… tank commander… Bearing 291, Z minus 15… take him out.”

The Ranger’s gravelly voice promptly came back. “Confirmed. Target acquired. Firing.”

The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing. A high pitched electrical whine sounded as the magnetic firing mechanisms built up their charge, followed by the crackle of static as the metallic “bullet” was hurled from the rifle’s barrel. Down below, several hundred yards away, a Dominion tank commander had poked his head out of his vehicle’s hatch in order to get a better look at the surrounding area. Valygar’s shot, a bullet half an inch in diameter, turned the orc’s head into a split watermelon.

The rest of the Dominion armored platoon reacted immediately to the loss of one of their own; hatches were buttoned up, gun turrets began rotating in different directions in search of targets, and the escorting infantry began breaking for the sides of the dirt road, looking for cover and enemies both. The initial shot had stirred up the hornet’s nest for certain, but the Dominion troopers still retained much of their composure, still retained their disciplined ranks. They weren’t on the verge of panic… yet…

A hail of laser rounds from Confed energy weapons was aiming to change that. Delta and Epislon teams, armed with heavy repeating blasters, opened up, tearing into the enemy soldiers. Corpses burned beyond recognition began to litter the battlefield, piling up like spent firewood. The four armored vehicles mounted a desperate counterattack, spraying gunfire into the brush – but without clean visual contact with their targets, their fire was inaccurate, and ineffective, more useful as threat suppression than anything else. The drivers gunned their engines, trying to get out of the main ambush zone, where they could use their heavier weapons more effectively.

Falynn suppressed a feral smirk as the armored units stumbled blithely forward. “Wait for it…” she muttered to herself, finding it hard to stifle her impatience, now that the battle had begun in earnest. “Ok! Hit it!”

Imoen reached for the control at her belt, wrapping her small hand completely around the metal cylinder. Her thumb found the trigger button and depressed it.

Behind the advancing armored column, a few tons of suddenly displaced gravel began to rain down from the rocky bluffs flanking the pass. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the cascade were buried almost instantly. The rest were trapped between the rockslide and a hailstorm of Confed weapons fire.

The tanks in the lead of the formation ignored the plight faced by their supporting infantry, and continued to push forward, finally running into the hastily seeded minefield the Confederation had strewn in their path. The handful of Lotus anti-tank explosives detonated, shattering the metal links that formed the tank treads. The first of the vehicles came to a grinding halt, forcing the others behind it to slow and swerve.

That was the cue. “Minsc! Do it!” Falynn called to the heavy weapons specialist.

“For justice!” the tall, bald man exclaimed as he stepped out through the brush and into a perfect flanking position. He knelt down and planted the end of a sizeable metal tube against the top of his shoulder. He squinted, peering through the attached sighting mechanism, then pulled the trigger. A rocket-propelled grenade shot forth, riding a plume of actinic fire toward its target. The second tank in the formation had hauled around to the right, trying to get past its wounded comrade, and driven right into the Corporal’s sights.

Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.

Today, Corporal Minsc “Castle” Vaonnor was doing things by the book. The Demolisher-class heavy armored vehicle bucked wildly as the high explosive, armor piercing round tore through the armor belts on its right side and exploded well within the protective shell. The durable steel plating that had been designed to repel such attacks buckled inwards, then shattered, sending thousands upon thousands of jagged metal fragments ricocheting about the interior. The tank’s gunner and loader were the first to perish, torn to pieces and effectively eviscerated by the shrapnel. The hail of splintered durasteel then perforated the rest of the crew, ripping bloody holes in any and all exposed flesh. Fires sprang up in the cabin, searing whatever was left. With its crew annihilated, the armored behemoth was useless, slowly rolling to a stop, its weapons sitting impotently idle.

But that left two tanks still active… the big ones, no less – and after Minsc’s little display, the Dominion knew exactly where the Confederation troopers were holed up. The Leviathans slowly began to turn their guns in the right direction.

“Displace!” Falynn called out to her unit, and the Omegas did just that. Jaheira and Jan broke in one direction, Imoen, Falynn and Nalia in another. Minsc dropped back to avoid the counterattack aimed at him, ducking into a shallow ditch that ran parallel to the wide, dirt path the tanks were traveling along. He sat with his back braced against the lip of the ditch, fumbling in his pack for another round to jam into the launcher.

“Minsc is feeling very generous today, smelly orcs!” he called out, even as his hands busied themselves with the loading process. “Prepare for lots of presents!”

-----

Killboard:

Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0

#2 Guest_VigaHrolf_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 05:41 AM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:


I've always been more of a fan of Frosted Flakes. :D

1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


Happy Birthday?

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you. :)


Nice port of that conversation Alpha. Nice indeedy. :)

5. Two words: "Snipers - free!" :P


Mmmm.. gauss rifle. :)

“This is the part I hate most… the waiting…”


Bran: "Hells yeah."

“Mmmm…”

Imoen Llyr turned in her seat. “Mind if I ask you a question, Sarge?”


Valygar emergency sensors on full. Sheilds up, prepare for evasive manuevers. ;)

Valygar stared at her for a second or two before replying with his customary, distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I suppose.”


It's not a lack of enthusiasm so much as.. well.. yeah, it is. :D

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”


And the part of Garibaldi will be played by, Harlequin. :P

“What kind of question is that?” he asked in response.


Good question. :D

She shrugged. “Well, look… we’ve got some time to kill…”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice had more of a gruff edge to it than usual. “Forget it.”


Grumpy V.

She turned back, her expression registering confusion, as if she couldn’t comprehend why he would even need to ask such a thing. “Why do I want to know? Because I think of these things sometimes. I was getting dressed the other morning, and for a second I couldn’t remember which I did first. So, I started thinking about it. Does everybody do it the same way? Is it a left handed – right handed thing?”


You capture the essence of Garibaldi right here. :D

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”

She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.


Once again, Sinclair and Garibaldi in action, perfectly ported. :D

“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”

“No.”

“It’s just a question.”

“I’m not having this conversation.”


Yes, yes you are. :D

“How you holding up, Ensign?” Omega One asked of the naval officer crouched down next to her. To her credit, Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse was mostly composed, even though this was the first time she’d ever been quite this close to a real battlefield situation. The standard issue laser pistol she held looked oddly out of place gripped in her small hands, and her finger continued to hover nervously over the safety. She checked the ammunition magazine, ensuring it held a full charge.


Bran: "Of all the nervous habits a dirt dog can pick up, that's probably the best."

“N- not bad…” she stammered out. “Considering I haven’t fired one of these things since the Academy,” she commented sheepishly.


Note to other Confed troopers, stay out of an arc approximately 30 degrees to port and starboard of wherever Cipher is facing.

Imoen Llyr gave her sister a jaunty thumbs-up. “Charges set. Let’s drop the hammer.”


One of my FAVORITE phrases. In battle scenes and in watching baseball. Course, then the hammer is supposed to be Strike 3.

The veteran Army Ranger lay on his stomach, right hand folded around the trigger guard of his heavy Gauss rifle, left arm extended just slightly behind the bipod supporting the barrel to further steady his aim. He peered through the optical magnification scope mounted on a bracket atop the rifle, comparing the markings in his field of vision with landmarks on the ground below – an exercise in range estimation. He gingerly maneuvered the weapon, easily tracking various targets as they approached. At first, the images he saw were obscured by the swirling dust, but slowly they resolved themselves into silhouettes of Dominion ground troops and vehicles. His sights hovered on the prow of one of the approaching tanks, and Valygar used the movement to help calibrate his optics. A few tweaks of a knob here, a turned dial, there…


Typical sniper behavior there. :)

And man, the gauss rifle.. ROCKS. It makes messes out of baddies. :D

Falynn’s voice sounded clearly through the earphones of his tactical headset; it was followed quickly by Imoen’s – the Lieutenant was calling out targets.


Im's being the spotter, huh?

“Sergeant… tank commander… Bearing 291, Z minus 15… take him out.”

The Ranger’s gravelly voice promptly came back. “Confirmed. Target acquired. Firing.”


Scratch one Tank CO.

The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing. A high pitched electrical whine sounded as the magnetic firing mechanisms built up their charge, followed by the crackle of static as the metallic “bullet” was hurled from the rifle’s barrel. Down below, several hundred yards away, a Dominion tank commander had poked his head out of his vehicle’s hatch in order to get a better look at the surrounding area. Valygar’s shot, a bullet half an inch in diameter, turned the orc’s head into a split watermelon.


See, what'd I tell ya. :D

Valygar: "When you're good, you're good."

Bran: "Valygar: Marksman, philosopher, Ladies Man"

Valygar: *considers mutiny*

The rest of the Dominion armored platoon reacted immediately to the loss of one of their own; hatches were buttoned up, gun turrets began rotating in different directions in search of targets, and the escorting infantry began breaking for the sides of the dirt road, looking for cover and enemies both. The initial shot had stirred up the hornet’s nest for certain, but the Dominion troopers still retained much of their composure, still retained their disciplined ranks. They weren’t on the verge of panic… yet…


Is there a better way of ending such a sentence than yet? Well, yes there is. But yet has such.. potence. :D

Falynn suppressed a feral smirk as the armored units stumbled blithely forward. “Wait for it…” she muttered to herself, finding it hard to stifle her impatience, now that the battle had begun in earnest. “Ok! Hit it!”


*imagines a feral smirk* *nods appreciatively*

Imoen reached for the control at her belt, wrapping her small hand completely around the metal cylinder. Her thumb found the trigger button and depressed it.


Things about to go BOOM

Behind the advancing armored column, a few tons of suddenly displaced gravel began to rain down from the rocky bluffs flanking the pass. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the cascade were buried almost instantly. The rest were trapped between the rockslide and a hailstorm of Confed weapons fire.


The infantry is now cut off from armor support. Course, it's still a lot of infantry. V is going to be VERY busy.

The tanks in the lead of the formation ignored the plight faced by their supporting infantry, and continued to push forward, finally running into the hastily seeded minefield the Confederation had strewn in their path. The handful of Lotus anti-tank explosives detonated, shattering the metal links that formed the tank treads. The first of the vehicles came to a grinding halt, forcing the others behind it to slow and swerve.


Tanks go BOOM!

That was the cue. “Minsc! Do it!” Falynn called to the heavy weapons specialist.


This would be the part where Larry would be going full power to Ginsu some tank armor.

“For justice!” the tall, bald man exclaimed as he stepped out through the brush and into a perfect flanking position. He knelt down and planted the end of a sizeable metal tube against the top of his shoulder. He squinted, peering through the attached sighting mechanism, then pulled the trigger. A rocket-propelled grenade shot forth, riding a plume of actinic fire toward its target. The second tank in the formation had hauled around to the right, trying to get past its wounded comrade, and driven right into the Corporal’s sights.


In this case, Minsc was more correct than usual. He was firing the Mk 26 'Justice' Rocket Propelled Grenade, designed especially for AP duty.

Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.


I suppose that is a theory. I'd rather have nice thick armor on those sides too, as they are the most exposed and widest part of the tank.

Today, Corporal Minsc “Castle” Vaonnor was doing things by the book. The Demolisher-class heavy armored vehicle bucked wildly as the high explosive, armor piercing round tore through the armor belts on its right side and exploded well within the protective shell. The durable steel plating that had been designed to repel such attacks buckled inwards, then shattered, sending thousands upon thousands of jagged metal fragments ricocheting about the interior. The tank’s gunner and loader were the first to perish, torn to pieces and effectively eviscerated by the shrapnel. The hail of splintered durasteel then perforated the rest of the crew, ripping bloody holes in any and all exposed flesh. Fires sprang up in the cabin, searing whatever was left. With its crew annihilated, the armored behemoth was useless, slowly rolling to a stop, its weapons sitting impotently idle.


Let me just say this.. I do not want that cleaning bill. You just can't ever get orc out of the electronics.

But that left two tanks still active… the big ones, no less – and after Minsc’s little display, the Dominion knew exactly where the Confederation troopers were holed up. The Leviathans slowly began to turn their guns in the right direction.


Uh oh.

I am suddenly reminded of the scene in Last Crusade.

Henry Sr: "Are you sure they can't see us up here?"

Indy: "Of course dad. And even if they did, we're well out of range of their gun."

Tank: *fires*

Car: *blows up*

Indy: *looks a little embarrassed*

“Displace!” Falynn called out to her unit, and the Omegas did just that. Jaheira and Jan broke in one direction, Imoen, Falynn and Nalia in another. Minsc dropped back to avoid the counterattack aimed at him, ducking into a shallow ditch that ran parallel to the wide, dirt path the tanks were traveling along. He sat with his back braced against the lip of the ditch, fumbling in his pack for another round to jam into the launcher.


Translation: RUN FOR IT!

“Minsc is feeling very generous today, smelly orcs!” he called out, even as his hands busied themselves with the loading process. “Prepare for lots of presents!”


Now that is a new classic Minsc line. :D :D :D



Killboard:

Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0


So, the question is, who gets the credit for the orcies smooshed by the booby trap?

Good chapter Alpha. More Omega fun!

VH

#3 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 06:07 AM

I've always been more of a fan of Frosted Flakes.


Captain Crunch for me. :)

-----

From Family Guy:

Tony the Tiger: "Oh, it was a banner year at the Tiger household... my Dad came in with a whole bunch of cigars and said, 'Smoke up, Tony! They're... grrrrrreat!' Bastard."

Happy Birthday?


:D

Yeah, I don't know... I've just never really been much for celebrating my birthday. Everyone tells me "It's your birthday! Why aren't you happy?" And they never understand when I say "It's my birthday, so what? I don't really care!" ;) :)

I appreciate the sentiment, though. :)

Mmmm.. gauss rifle.


Exactly. That's a MAN'S gun.

Valygar emergency sensors on full. Sheilds up, prepare for evasive manuevers.


It's no good! She's coming in too fast! Quick! Get the crew to the escape pods!

And the part of Garibaldi will be played by, Harlequin.


Yeah, I think Imoen makes an excellent Ivanova, but Garibaldi also has a similarly pointed sense of humor.

Once again, Sinclair and Garibaldi in action, perfectly ported.


Valygar really does make a good Sinclair. He's just a very... serious kind of character. He has a sense of humor, too, but it's a bit less silly, and a bit more biting. Like that deal when Sinclair gets Susan to fall asleep during breakfast, then he and Garibaldi act as if she slept through the entire meal.

"Garibaldi! You're a dead man!"

That scene cracked me up.

Note to other Confed troopers, stay out of an arc approximately 30 degrees to port and starboard of wherever Cipher is facing.


Yeah, Nalia barely received "competency" classification on her sidearm... hence why Valygar needs to give her shooting lessons.

One of my FAVORITE phrases. In battle scenes and in watching baseball.


Yeah, it really is one of those "I'm so damned cool, aren't I?" phrases. :D

Typical sniper behavior there.


Not that I would know from personal experience... though a few years ago, some of my friends bought an actual U.S. Army Sniper Training "manual" from an Army Surplus store and gave it to me for my birthday. They also gave me a set of dog tags that had "Sniper Spice" inscribed on them. It was pretty damned funny. :P

Im's being the spotter, huh?


Yeah, she's not quite happy about that... she's having to help Valygar rack up the bodies while not scoring any kills herself. Too bad. So sad.

See, what'd I tell ya.


I say again: "Snipers - free!" :P

The infantry is now cut off from armor support. Course, it's still a lot of infantry. V is going to be VERY busy.


He's got Delta and Epsilon to help out, so Valygar himself can concentrate on the "important" targets. Officers, comm-techs, that sort of thing.

This would be the part where Larry would be going full power to Ginsu some tank armor.


Well, unfortunately, we'll have to settle for a more conventional high-explosive, armor-piercing rocket. But hey, whatever works, right?

Let me just say this.. I do not want that cleaning bill. You just can't ever get orc out of the electronics.


Martha Stewart: "A little club soda gets even orcish brain out of most fabrics. It's a good thing."

Henry Sr: "Are you sure they can't see us up here?"

Indy: "Of course dad. And even if they did, we're well out of range of their gun."

Tank: *fires*

Car: *blows up*

Indy: *looks a little embarrassed*


I love that movie so much. It's just... it's just great. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery... what a match-up. :)

So, the question is, who gets the credit for the orcies smooshed by the booby trap?


That's a good question. I forgot about that, actually... and I certainly didn't bother to come up with an exact body count for the orcs trapped under the rock slide. If I had to guess, I'd say if anyone gets credit for the kills, it's Imoen since she set the charges and detonated them. But I'm not sure we should count explosives use as "kills" since the term usually refers to people you've directly engaged with a rifle or a ship's guns or whatever.

Looks like it's time to start up another debate... :D

#4 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 11:42 AM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:


This is starting to get a bit out of hand, isn’t it? ;)

1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


Yeah, I agree, birthdays suck. Still, it’s like a tradition to say some sort of greetings, so… well, Happy Birthday, then. :D

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you. :P


Well, I know it’s good already, you don’t need to convince me. You need to *make* me watch it.

4. Killboard's gonna start seeing a lot of action starting this chapter. :)


Go, Vixen!!! Get ‘em, foxy! :D

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”


It’s a spin-off on the famous chicken and egg question, isn’t it?

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”


She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.


That’s the way of all normal people, isn’t it? :)

“How much longer?”


“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”


:P There’s a good reason why I consider this to be a particularly hilarious suggestion… don’t ask! :D

Imoen Llyr gave her sister a jaunty thumbs-up. “Charges set. Let’s drop the hammer.”


Falynn nodded gravely and toggled her communications rig on. “All units: execute.”


YAY? :)

“All units: execute.”


The sweetest word ever known to a sniper, isn’t it? :D

The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing. A high pitched electrical whine sounded as the magnetic firing mechanisms built up their charge, followed by the crackle of static as the metallic “bullet” was hurled from the rifle’s barrel. Down below, several hundred yards away, a Dominion tank commander had poked his head out of his vehicle’s hatch in order to get a better look at the surrounding area. Valygar’s shot, a bullet half an inch in diameter, turned the orc’s head into a split watermelon.


Very nice shot! I could practically hear that sloshing noise you get when splitting a watermelon! :D

Falynn suppressed a feral smirk as the armored units stumbled blithely forward. “Wait for it…” she muttered to herself, finding it hard to stifle her impatience, now that the battle had begun in earnest. “Ok! Hit it!”


Time for Omegas to join in on the fun, I believe! :D

Today, Corporal Minsc “Castle” Vaonnor was doing things by the book. The Demolisher-class heavy armored vehicle bucked wildly as the high explosive, armor piercing round tore through the armor belts on its right side and exploded well within the protective shell. The durable steel plating that had been designed to repel such attacks buckled inwards, then shattered, sending thousands upon thousands of jagged metal fragments ricocheting about the interior. The tank’s gunner and loader were the first to perish, torn to pieces and effectively eviscerated by the shrapnel. The hail of splintered durasteel then perforated the rest of the crew, ripping bloody holes in any and all exposed flesh. Fires sprang up in the cabin, searing whatever was left. With its crew annihilated, the armored behemoth was useless, slowly rolling to a stop, its weapons sitting impotently idle.


*sniffle* Beautiful. Just beautiful.

“Minsc is feeling very generous today, smelly orcs!” he called out, even as his hands busied themselves with the loading process. “Prepare for lots of presents!”


Yo-ho-ho! Presents for everyone! :)

Killboard:


Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0


Hurray for Vixen! You’re still in the honorable… 5th place, but I believe in you! :D

Hey, I’ve got a suggestion. How about those Jaheira’s patients that don’t quite, errr… make it? Could we add those to her, umm… killboard, as well?

Uh, now I’ve really done it, haven’t I? :D

#5 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 11:52 AM

That's a good question. I forgot about that, actually... and I certainly didn't bother to come up with an exact body count for the orcs trapped under the rock slide. If I had to guess, I'd say if anyone gets credit for the kills, it's Imoen since she set the charges and detonated them. But I'm not sure we should count explosives use as "kills" since the term usually refers to people you've directly engaged with a rifle or a ship's guns or whatever.


Looks like it's time to start up another debate... ;)


:)

Though only a short comment from me this time. I would agree that the explosives wouldn't count as kills in the 'spirit of the competition'. So, I think nobody should get credit for those. :P

#6 Guest_bobby23_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 12:22 PM

1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


know th3e feeling but cheerup at least your one year older. oops is that a good thing?

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you.


like that show a lot just wasn`t into it as alot of you ppl seem too be!


This is the part I hate most… the waiting…”


stander problem, waiting is allways hard


Imoen Llyr turned in her seat. “Mind if I ask you a question, Sarge?”


too late you doomed V

Valygar stared at her for a second or two before replying with his customary, distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I suppose.”


DOOMED

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”

“What kind of question is that?” he asked in response.

She shrugged. “Well, look… we’ve got some time to kill…”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice had more of a gruff edge to it than usual. “Forget it.”

Imoen looked apologetic as she turned away. “It’s just a question.”

“Why do you want to know?”

She turned back, her expression registering confusion, as if she couldn’t comprehend why he would even need to ask such a thing. “Why do I want to know? Because I think of these things sometimes. I was getting dressed the other morning, and for a second I couldn’t remember which I did first. So, I started thinking about it. Does everybody do it the same way? Is it a left handed – right handed thing?”

“Do you think about this stuff a lot?”

“Yeah!” She held her hands out contritely. “Look, okay, I’m sorry I asked. It’s just… you’re always so serious all the time. Not every conversation has to be the end of the world as we know it.”

He nodded his head, catching the hint. He tried not to smirk. “I didn’t mean to…”

She shook her head. “No, never mind, it’s okay. I’ll just… check my equipment. Don’t worry about it.”

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”

She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.


i allmost see them having something like this in the game it sound so right like imoen and valygar

“How you holding up, Ensign?” Omega One asked of the naval officer crouched down next to her. To her credit, Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse was mostly composed, even though this was the first time she’d ever been quite this close to a real battlefield situation. The standard issue laser pistol she held looked oddly out of place gripped in her small hands, and her finger continued to hover nervously over the safety. She checked the ammunition magazine, ensuring it held a full charge.

“N- not bad…” she stammered out. “Considering I haven’t fired one of these things since the Academy,” she commented sheepishly.

“You’ll get the hang of it.” Despite the storm-clouds that had been dominating Falynn’s mood of late, she managed to scrape together a small smile to reassure the young Ensign. “But until you do, stick close to the rest of us, ok?”


you notice that when in movies when ppl say things like this it the vet that gets hit and the rookie that kill everything or the rookie gets hilled and the vet goes and kills everybody?

Imoen Llyr gave her sister a jaunty thumbs-up. “Charges set. Let’s drop the hammer.”


as a part time warhammer 40k player dropping the hammer has a intresting link too one of the hardest hitting groep of warriors in the game now if they drops in this dout they`ll leave much behind

From his position at the very top of the southern bluff, Sergeant Valygar “Spectre” Corthala had a clean visual line to every inch of the Briar Pass down below. Clad in a hastily-improvised Ghillie suit, and nestled between several waist-high boulders and the edge of a rocky outcropping, he was also an extremely difficult target to spot.

The veteran Army Ranger lay on his stomach, right hand folded around the trigger guard of his heavy Gauss rifle, left arm extended just slightly behind the bipod supporting the barrel to further steady his aim. He peered through the optical magnification scope mounted on a bracket atop the rifle, comparing the markings in his field of vision with landmarks on the ground below – an exercise in range estimation. He gingerly maneuvered the weapon, easily tracking various targets as they approached. At first, the images he saw were obscured by the swirling dust, but slowly they resolved themselves into silhouettes of Dominion ground troops and vehicles. His sights hovered on the prow of one of the approaching tanks, and Valygar used the movement to help calibrate his optics. A few tweaks of a knob here, a turned dial, there…


did this befor have we? gause and sniper in one? is this still fare?


The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing.



something most sniper rifal have easy pull hard backlash


Wait for it…”


a much used but not allways kept too army line


Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.


didn`t hitler do somethinglike that too wonder where he is?

Killboard:

Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0


looks a bit thin too me but who am i?

#7 Guest_BlueNose_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 02:54 PM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:

1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


Well, I’m still going to say it. Happy Birthday, fellow Libran

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you. :)


A great programme, but I don’t think dialogue was always it’s strong point.

3. I'm listening to the Grim Fandango soundtrack... it's all... jazzy... I like it.

4. Killboard's gonna start seeing a lot of action starting this chapter. ;)

5. Two words: "Snipers - free!" :P

XXIV: Fasten / Zip?

Alternate Title: Boom II

Confed APC 1-001
Morellian Plateau
0.94 miles northwest of Primary Landing Zone
0912 Hours, Local Standard

“This is the part I hate most… the waiting…”


Saalikaa Gavilas “It’s the bit when the other side start shooting that I don’t like. Each to their own I guess.”

“Mmmm…”

Imoen Llyr turned in her seat. “Mind if I ask you a question, Sarge?”


Turn around, walk away, and don’t look back.

Valygar stared at her for a second or two before replying with his customary, distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I suppose.”


You’re just encouraging her.

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”

“What kind of question is that?” he asked in response.


A pointless one.

She shrugged. “Well, look… we’ve got some time to kill…”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice had more of a gruff edge to it than usual. “Forget it.”

Imoen looked apologetic as she turned away. “It’s just a question.”

“Why do you want to know?”

She turned back, her expression registering confusion, as if she couldn’t comprehend why he would even need to ask such a thing. “Why do I want to know? Because I think of these things sometimes. I was getting dressed the other morning, and for a second I couldn’t remember which I did first. So, I started thinking about it. Does everybody do it the same way? Is it a left handed – right handed thing?”

“Do you think about this stuff a lot?”

“Yeah!” She held her hands out contritely. “Look, okay, I’m sorry I asked. It’s just… you’re always so serious all the time. Not every conversation has to be the end of the world as we know it.”

He nodded his head, catching the hint. He tried not to smirk. “I didn’t mean to…”

She shook her head. “No, never mind, it’s okay. I’ll just… check my equipment. Don’t worry about it.”

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”

She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.

“How much longer?”

“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”

“No.”

“It’s just a question.”

“I’m not having this conversation.”

-----

1002 Hours, Local Standard

“Alpha Red… standing by…”

“Delta Green… in position…”

“Epsilon Blue… reporting weapons hot…”



“How you holding up, Ensign?” Omega One asked of the naval officer crouched down next to her. To her credit, Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse was mostly composed, even though this was the first time she’d ever been quite this close to a real battlefield situation. The standard issue laser pistol she held looked oddly out of place gripped in her small hands, and her finger continued to hover nervously over the safety. She checked the ammunition magazine, ensuring it held a full charge.

“N- not bad…” she stammered out. “Considering I haven’t fired one of these things since the Academy,” she commented sheepishly.

“You’ll get the hang of it.” Despite the storm-clouds that had been dominating Falynn’s mood of late, she managed to scrape together a small smile to reassure the young Ensign. “But until you do, stick close to the rest of us, ok?”

Nalia nodded solemnly and checked her weapon’s ammunition counter… again – she was already developing the “proper” habits, it seemed. “Yes, ma’am.”


She’ll do fine. It’s the overconfident ones you should worry about

Falynn peered out from behind the small collection of shrubs she was using for concealment. Some distance away, to her left, she could see faint clouds of dust being kicked up into the air – a clear sign of the approaching enemy. The sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears as Imoen dashed in from the right and dropped into a crouch next to her and Nalia. “Status?” she asked her younger sibling.

Imoen Llyr gave her sister a jaunty thumbs-up. “Charges set. Let’s drop the hammer.”

Falynn nodded gravely and toggled her communications rig on. “All units: execute.”



From his position at the very top of the southern bluff, Sergeant Valygar “Spectre” Corthala had a clean visual line to every inch of the Briar Pass down below. Clad in a hastily-improvised Ghillie suit, and nestled between several waist-high boulders and the edge of a rocky outcropping, he was also an extremely difficult target to spot.

The veteran Army Ranger lay on his stomach, right hand folded around the trigger guard of his heavy Gauss rifle, left arm extended just slightly behind the bipod supporting the barrel to further steady his aim. He peered through the optical magnification scope mounted on a bracket atop the rifle, comparing the markings in his field of vision with landmarks on the ground below – an exercise in range estimation. He gingerly maneuvered the weapon, easily tracking various targets as they approached. At first, the images he saw were obscured by the swirling dust, but slowly they resolved themselves into silhouettes of Dominion ground troops and vehicles. His sights hovered on the prow of one of the approaching tanks, and Valygar used the movement to help calibrate his optics. A few tweaks of a knob here, a turned dial, there…

“All units: execute.”

Falynn’s voice sounded clearly through the earphones of his tactical headset; it was followed quickly by Imoen’s – the Lieutenant was calling out targets.

“Sergeant… tank commander… Bearing 291, Z minus 15… take him out.”

The Ranger’s gravelly voice promptly came back. “Confirmed. Target acquired. Firing.”

The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing. A high pitched electrical whine sounded as the magnetic firing mechanisms built up their charge, followed by the crackle of static as the metallic “bullet” was hurled from the rifle’s barrel. Down below, several hundred yards away, a Dominion tank commander had poked his head out of his vehicle’s hatch in order to get a better look at the surrounding area. Valygar’s shot, a bullet half an inch in diameter, turned the orc’s head into a split watermelon.


SG “You might want to do something to make that quieter. Okay, this time you’re shooting at tank crew from distance, but sometimes you’ll want to shoot people from close range without giving them more clues than you have to about your position. Though I do like what the static does to your hair.”

The rest of the Dominion armored platoon reacted immediately to the loss of one of their own; hatches were buttoned up, gun turrets began rotating in different directions in search of targets, and the escorting infantry began breaking for the sides of the dirt road, looking for cover and enemies both. The initial shot had stirred up the hornet’s nest for certain, but the Dominion troopers still retained much of their composure, still retained their disciplined ranks. They weren’t on the verge of panic… yet…

A hail of laser rounds from Confed energy weapons was aiming to change that. Delta and Epislon teams, armed with heavy repeating blasters, opened up, tearing into the enemy soldiers. Corpses burned beyond recognition began to litter the battlefield, piling up like spent firewood. The four armored vehicles mounted a desperate counterattack, spraying gunfire into the brush – but without clean visual contact with their targets, their fire was inaccurate, and ineffective, more useful as threat suppression than anything else. The drivers gunned their engines, trying to get out of the main ambush zone, where they could use their heavier weapons more effectively.


One thing I’d suggest is that the heavy weapons shouldn’t be lasers. The basic problem is the physics. Lasers are effective against unarmoured targets and at certain wavelengths have a long effective range. Depending on the technology you use you may also be able to get a high rate of fire. They aren’t any more effective than a slug thrower. I’d suggest some sort of plasma weapon for a SF feel, or automatic grenade launchers or mini rocket launchers if you aren’t happy with the technology of plasma weapons.

Falynn suppressed a feral smirk as the armored units stumbled blithely forward. “Wait for it…” she muttered to herself, finding it hard to stifle her impatience, now that the battle had begun in earnest. “Ok! Hit it!”

Imoen reached for the control at her belt, wrapping her small hand completely around the metal cylinder. Her thumb found the trigger button and depressed it.

Behind the advancing armored column, a few tons of suddenly displaced gravel began to rain down from the rocky bluffs flanking the pass. Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the cascade were buried almost instantly. The rest were trapped between the rockslide and a hailstorm of Confed weapons fire.

The tanks in the lead of the formation ignored the plight faced by their supporting infantry, and continued to push forward, finally running into the hastily seeded minefield the Confederation had strewn in their path. The handful of Lotus anti-tank explosives detonated, shattering the metal links that formed the tank treads. The first of the vehicles came to a grinding halt, forcing the others behind it to slow and swerve.

That was the cue. “Minsc! Do it!” Falynn called to the heavy weapons specialist.

“For justice!” the tall, bald man exclaimed as he stepped out through the brush and into a perfect flanking position. He knelt down and planted the end of a sizeable metal tube against the top of his shoulder. He squinted, peering through the attached sighting mechanism, then pulled the trigger. A rocket-propelled grenade shot forth, riding a plume of actinic fire toward its target. The second tank in the formation had hauled around to the right, trying to get past its wounded comrade, and driven right into the Corporal’s sights.

Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.

Today, Corporal Minsc “Castle” Vaonnor was doing things by the book. The Demolisher-class heavy armored vehicle bucked wildly as the high explosive, armor piercing round tore through the armor belts on its right side and exploded well within the protective shell. The durable steel plating that had been designed to repel such attacks buckled inwards, then shattered, sending thousands upon thousands of jagged metal fragments ricocheting about the interior. The tank’s gunner and loader were the first to perish, torn to pieces and effectively eviscerated by the shrapnel. The hail of splintered durasteel then perforated the rest of the crew, ripping bloody holes in any and all exposed flesh. Fires sprang up in the cabin, searing whatever was left. With its crew annihilated, the armored behemoth was useless, slowly rolling to a stop, its weapons sitting impotently idle.

But that left two tanks still active… the big ones, no less – and after Minsc’s little display, the Dominion knew exactly where the Confederation troopers were holed up. The Leviathans slowly began to turn their guns in the right direction.

“Displace!” Falynn called out to her unit, and the Omegas did just that. Jaheira and Jan broke in one direction, Imoen, Falynn and Nalia in another. Minsc dropped back to avoid the counterattack aimed at him, ducking into a shallow ditch that ran parallel to the wide, dirt path the tanks were traveling along. He sat with his back braced against the lip of the ditch, fumbling in his pack for another round to jam into the launcher.

“Minsc is feeling very generous today, smelly orcs!” he called out, even as his hands busied themselves with the loading process. “Prepare for lots of presents!”


And the engagement starts to hot up. Nice battle scenes, and sorry about the nit-picking on technology. Blame it on my background as a Traveller GM and weapon/vehicle designer.

-----

Killboard:

Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0



#8 Guest_The Blue Sorceress_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 04:16 PM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:


1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


And turn you this year, sirrah?

4. Killboard's gonna start seeing a lot of action starting this chapter. :P


D'oh! Time to get to work I guess.

“Ok. It’s morning. You’re getting ready to go to work. You pull on your pants. Do you fasten and then zip, or zip and then fasten?”


I thought it had something to do with pants.

There was a long pause, and finally Valygar sighed. “Fasten, then zip. You?”

She perked up immediately; her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head in agreement. “Fasten, zip!” She chuckled.
“How much longer?”

“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”

“No.”

“It’s just a question.”

“I’m not having this conversation.”


A perfect exchange to borrow for these two. ;)

Nalia nodded solemnly and checked her weapon’s ammunition counter… again – she was already developing the “proper” habits, it seemed. “Yes, ma’am.”


It's always a good idea to be *exactly* sure how much ammo you have. Unlike in James Bond movies, in real life, you're going to run out and it's handy to know when so you can reload.

Imoen reached for the control at her belt, wrapping her small hand completely around the metal cylinder. Her thumb found the trigger button and depressed it.


I still can't quite get my head around the concept that even the army was stupid enough to give Imoen high explosives and then teach her how to use them most effectively. I mean, I'm glad they -did- teach her, because if she had to learn through trial and error it would be -bad- but now not only does she know how to use them, but she knows how to use them to keep from blowing herself and her friends up but she know how to use them -well- and with Imoen's sense of humor I can picture explosing latrines and such like. *shudders*

Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.


*nods* very much like samurai armor back in "the day." Most was made without a back plate to remind the warriors that they weren't supposed to retreat. Still, some individuals chose to have one installed anyway. A good idea if you ask me.

With its crew annihilated, the armored behemoth was useless, slowly rolling to a stop, its weapons sitting impotently idle.


This is really a great visual, Alpha. The language is loverly.

Great chapter, Alpha :)
-Blue

#9 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 07:58 PM

This is starting to get a bit out of hand, isn’t it?


Not my fault several people picked it up and ran with it. :)

Yeah, I agree, birthdays suck. Still, it’s like a tradition to say some sort of greetings, so… well, Happy Birthday, then.


Yeah, I know... tradition... I've never been a big fan of tradition. :D But thanks, anyway.

Well, I know it’s good already, you don’t need to convince me. You need to *make* me watch it.


I could hire your gangster pals to threaten to break your kneecaps if you don't watch the show. :twisted:

That’s the way of all normal people, isn’t it?


I don't think I know anyone who zips first then fastens, but I'm sure someone out there does it that way.

There’s a good reason why I consider this to be a particularly hilarious suggestion… don’t ask!


Well, now I'm morbidly curious. What's this good reason?

Very nice shot! I could practically hear that sloshing noise you get when splitting a watermelon!


I could go for some watermelon, but summer's over. It's out of season, now. D'oh!

*sniffle* Beautiful. Just beautiful.


Thing of beauty, joy forever. :)

Hey, I’ve got a suggestion. How about those Jaheira’s patients that don’t quite, errr… make it? Could we add those to her, umm… killboard, as well?

Uh, now I’ve really done it, haven’t I?


Vixen: "I don't lose patients."

Harlequin: "Just like I don't miss shots."

Raven: "Just like I never lose at chess."

Etc. :)

Though only a short comment from me this time. I would agree that the explosives wouldn't count as kills in the 'spirit of the competition'. So, I think nobody should get credit for those.


I'm tempted to agree with you. :)

#10 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 08:05 PM

know th3e feeling but cheerup at least your one year older. oops is that a good thing?


Not really, no... I mean, when you're going from 15 to 16, it's like "Oh, boy, I'm old enough to drive a car now!" So you have that to look forward to. Going from 17 to 18, it's like "Oh, boy, I'm old enough to vote now!" So you've got -that- to look forward to. From 20 to 21, it's "I'm old enough to get drunk! Legally!"

But once you're past 21, you don't get any benefits from being older. You just... get older... (grumble)

like that show a lot just wasn`t into it as alot of you ppl seem too be!


Friend of mine introduced me to them a few years ago. I ended up devouring every episode I could get my hands on. That was some good television.

DOOMED


At least he's just "doomed" and not, say, "pwned"... :)

you notice that when in movies when ppl say things like this it the vet that gets hit and the rookie that kill everything or the rookie gets hilled and the vet goes and kills everybody?


True, but this isn't a movie. We need 'em all alive for now. :twisted:

as a part time warhammer 40k player dropping the hammer has a intresting link too one of the hardest hitting groep of warriors in the game


I never got into Warhammer 40K... for one thing, it's an expensive hobby. :)

something most sniper rifal have easy pull hard backlash


Certainly. Powerful round means a lot of gunpowder, a big bang, and plenty of recoil. No gunpowder in Valygar's weapon, but it's still a big round, and it'd leaving at a really high speed, so there's gonna be quite a lot of recoil.

didn`t hitler do somethinglike that too


What, you mean put weaker armor on the rear? Don't really know too much about Panzer design. I'm fairly sure, though, that the only chance a Sherman tank had of taking out a Tiger tank was to attack from the rear. A Sherman firing a shell head on into a Tiger's forward armor wouldn't do jack.

#11 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 08:14 PM

Well, I’m still going to say it. Happy Birthday, fellow Libran


Thanks. :twisted:

But that's one reason why I've never been big on astrology. I don't really associate myself with scales. I happen to think I'm not terribly balanced. :)

A great programme, but I don’t think dialogue was always it’s strong point.


How so? I was very fond of the character interactions in that show.

Saalikaa Gavilas “It’s the bit when the other side start shooting that I don’t like. Each to their own I guess.”


Harlequin: "It's not that I enjoy being shot at, but it's, at least, a familiar situation; I know what's going on, I know how to deal with it. The waiting gives you time to come up with all kinds of nasty images of what could happen, and that's never fun."

Turn around, walk away, and don’t look back.


It's like driving past a car crash on the highway... can't look away...

A pointless one.


Harlequin: "I resent that remark. Every question I ask, I ask out of a genuine desire for knowledge... and that's never pointless."

“You might want to do something to make that quieter. Okay, this time you’re shooting at tank crew from distance, but sometimes you’ll want to shoot people from close range without giving them more clues than you have to about your position. Though I do like what the static does to your hair.”


Well, there's not much Valygar can do to make that Gauss rifle quieter. Even if they could somehow dampen the noise of the energy discharge, the round itself still breaks supersonic, and you can't do anything about -that- without severely reducing the gun's range and accuracy. V's rifle is more of an anti-materiel weapon than an infantry killer, so it's supposed to be big and loud, and have long range.

I definitely acknowledge your point about quieter weapons in general, but I'm not sure how you'd sound suppress an energy weapon, and with the exception of Minsc and Valygar, everyone else on the team uses energy weapons.

I’d suggest some sort of plasma weapon for a SF feel, or automatic grenade launchers or mini rocket launchers if you aren’t happy with the technology of plasma weapons.


The Dominion doesn't much favor energy weapons. That's more of a Confed deal. So a Confed APC might carry laser cannons for anti-infantry work, but a Dominion tank would likely carry rapid-fire machine guns. Old technology, less sophisticated, but still effective. As for the "heavy" weaponry, I was thinking basic HEAP cannon shells for the most part, and maybe some nasty stuff like white phosphorous grenades for both distraction and... well... roasting people.

And the engagement starts to hot up. Nice battle scenes, and sorry about the nit-picking on technology. Blame it on my background as a Traveller GM and weapon/vehicle designer.


:) Not a problem. You should UU tear into this stuff... he's a madman. :)

#12 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 September 2004 - 08:23 PM

And turn you this year, sirrah?


Old.

:twisted:

Well, ok, not -that- old, but... well... older than you, at least. :)

D'oh! Time to get to work I guess.


On what? An updated killboard graphic... no, no, that's ok... don't feel compelled to do anything of the sort. :) Go back to... reading Tom Jones or something. (Shudder)

I thought it had something to do with pants.


With this bunch, that's a pretty safe bet.

It's always a good idea to be *exactly* sure how much ammo you have. Unlike in James Bond movies, in real life, you're going to run out and it's handy to know when so you can reload.


Pretty much. I'm constantly reloading in video games. I'll fire five rounds out of a 30-round magazine, take down a couple of bad guys and reload, even though I've still got 25 rounds left. I'm real obsessive about that. That's one thing that's nice about the clear magazines they're using these days. You can actually see how many are left inside the clip.

I still can't quite get my head around the concept that even the army was stupid enough to give Imoen high explosives and then teach her how to use them most effectively.


Well, to be fair, her academic background lends itself quite well to ordnance placement and disposal. Nobody really knew that she was insane until after she'd already been placed in the program. And then she was too good at it for them to really want to pull the plug.

and with Imoen's sense of humor I can picture explosing latrines and such like. *shudders*


Raven: "What was that?"

Cipher: "Earthquake. We got those around here from time to time..."

Raven: "Sure it was an earthquake? Sure it wasn't my sister detonating vending machines for fun?"

Cipher: "Well... I guess it -could- be..."

:)

*nods* very much like samurai armor back in "the day." Most was made without a back plate to remind the warriors that they weren't supposed to retreat. Still, some individuals chose to have one installed anyway. A good idea if you ask me.


Definitely a good idea... as a more modern example of this, most ballistic vests in military and police use these days have pockets in the front and back where you can put in ceramic "trauma plates." Some people don't use them, though, because they think the extra 10 pounds of weight or so isn't worth it, what with all the gear they have to carry already. "I don't plan on getting shot in the back," they say... and then they do. :)

#13 Guest_BlueNose_*

Posted 29 September 2004 - 09:50 AM

[quote][quote name="AlphaMonkey"][quote]Well, I’m still going to say it. Happy Birthday, fellow Libran[/quote]

Thanks. :)

But that's one reason why I've never been big on astrology. I don't really associate myself with scales. I happen to think I'm not terribly balanced. :D[/quote]

I think astrology is pretty funny myself, but some people take it very seriously. A girl I was going out with once dumped me because Librans aren't compatible with whatever it was she was. ;)

[quote][quote]A great programme, but I don’t think dialogue was always it’s strong point.[/quote]

How so? I was very fond of the character interactions in that show.[/quote]

Some of the characters were wonderfully written and consistently entertaining - I'm thinking especially of G'Kar, Londo, Garibaldi, Ivanova. Some of the others, and I'd include important characters like Sheridan and Delenn, didn't seem to have the same consistent quality. But that's only my opinion.

[quote][quote]A pointless one.[/quote]

Harlequin: "I resent that remark. Every question I ask, I ask out of a genuine desire for knowledge... and that's never pointless."[/quote]

Saalikaa: "So what are you going to use this bit of knowledge for? And since that reflects my desire for knowledge, are you going to satisfy me? Now that came out a bit dirtier than it was meant to. Everyone knows that the real reason you're talking is that you're nervous. Not that I'd be any less nervous."

[quote][quote]“You might want to do something to make that quieter. Okay, this time you’re shooting at tank crew from distance, but sometimes you’ll want to shoot people from close range without giving them more clues than you have to about your position. Though I do like what the static does to your hair.”[/quote]

Well, there's not much Valygar can do to make that Gauss rifle quieter. Even if they could somehow dampen the noise of the energy discharge, the round itself still breaks supersonic, and you can't do anything about -that- without severely reducing the gun's range and accuracy. V's rifle is more of an anti-materiel weapon than an infantry killer, so it's supposed to be big and loud, and have long range.[/quote]

Actually a supersonic round can be made silent. It's displacement of air that causes the shock wave, and there are airfoil forms that minimise this. Something as simple as a flow-through cylinder will produce a minimal shock wave, and since this is a gauss gun you don't have to worry about propellant leak. As for the energy discharge, a longer barrel will help by reducing the rate of energy input, and since Valygar is firing from a bipod it should still be usable.

[quote]I definitely acknowledge your point about quieter weapons in general, but I'm not sure how you'd sound suppress an energy weapon, and with the exception of Minsc and Valygar, everyone else on the team uses energy weapons.[/quote]

I'm not sure about the practicality of reducing noise on energy weapons myself. Lasers should be nearly silent but a weapon like the B5 PPG will make a noise, if I understand the technology correctly. I'm not sure they'd be as important in a normal combat situation, but for snipers and covert actions you'd do everything you could to stay as stealthy as possible.

[quote][quote]I’d suggest some sort of plasma weapon for a SF feel, or automatic grenade launchers or mini rocket launchers if you aren’t happy with the technology of plasma weapons.[/quote]

The Dominion doesn't much favor energy weapons. That's more of a Confed deal. So a Confed APC might carry laser cannons for anti-infantry work, but a Dominion tank would likely carry rapid-fire machine guns. Old technology, less sophisticated, but still effective. As for the "heavy" weaponry, I was thinking basic HEAP cannon shells for the most part, and maybe some nasty stuff like white phosphorous grenades for both distraction and... well... roasting people.[/quote]

I should have made it clear I was thinking of the support weapons being used by the other Confed teams against the infantry. Since the Dominion seem to like kinetic weapons, perhaps railguns for the tanks? With flamethrowers for close range anti-personnel work? :)

[quote] :) Not a problem. You should UU tear into this stuff... he's a madman. :D[/quote]

Now now. He's not mad, just eccentric in the English sense. :D

#14 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 29 September 2004 - 07:00 PM

Some of the others, and I'd include important characters like Sheridan and Delenn, didn't seem to have the same consistent quality. But that's only my opinion.


The first four you named, Londo, G'kar, Ivanova, and Garibaldi are actually my top four favorites. Ivanova and Garibaldi fight for the top two spots, while Londo and G'kar shift around in the next two. The rest, are, maybe not as good, but I can't say I actually dislike any of them. Do I think Sheridan and Delenn are flat sometimes, sure... just like I think Franklin is a little flat sometimes, and Lyta actually gets on my nerves on occasion. Stuff like that. But I don't think that so much has anything to do with their dialogue. (Shrug)

Everyone knows that the real reason you're talking is that you're nervous. Not that I'd be any less nervous.


Harlequin: "I don't really get chatty when I'm nervous. Not anymore, anyway. Don't get me wrong, I still get nervous, I just don't talk up a storm to hide it."

Actually a supersonic round can be made silent. It's displacement of air that causes the shock wave, and there are airfoil forms that minimise this.


I -am- aware of what causes sonic booms. :) But I don't see how you can do anything about that. This "flow-through cylinder" idea you mentioned. I'm not sure how you can include something like that without essentially destabilizing the aerodynamic characteristics of the projectile. I mean, your basic bullet is a pointed object that slowly widens the farther back you go. Air hits the point, and then flows over the sides. Fairly smooth unless the projectile is going so fast that all the air can't sweep past and gets compressed up front.

In theory, putting a "hole" or something to prevent air build-up seems like it'd work, but I don't see how you could put something like that on a bullet without somehow reducing range and accuracy. Plus, the idea of a rifle bullet in a tight spiral probably calls into play even more physics that I'm only vaguely aware of.

I'm not sure about the practicality of reducing noise on energy weapons myself. Lasers should be nearly silent but a weapon like the B5 PPG will make a noise, if I understand the technology correctly.


Given that lasers are just radiation, it'd be akin to like the hum of an X-ray machine, I'm guessing... not terribly loud. But plasma weapons would sizzle, wouldn't they? I mean, you've got this... lump of superheated matter giving off energy as it travels. It'd probably be cooking off water vaper as it flew through the air or something. (Shrug)

Since the Dominion seem to like kinetic weapons, perhaps railguns for the tanks? With flamethrowers for close range anti-personnel work?


Not exactly, but yeah, close enough. Like I said, I figured the main guns would be plain ol' 110 mm cannons with HEAP shells. Nothing fancy, "old" technology, but still effective. Minsc uses a modern SAW, for example, and he's quite happy with it. :)

#15 Guest_Userunfriendly_*

Posted 30 September 2004 - 07:02 PM

Some Count-Noteula cereal:


1. Birthdays suck. Yeah. Today, September 28, is mine. Woo. I really have no reason to be bummed about it, but I am. It's like... tradition. (Shrug)


mine's worse...sept 11... :cry: :cry: :cry:

2. On a much lighter note, the opening scene of this chapter is pretty much a straight rip from a classic sequence from Babylon 5... never watched the show? Don't know if it's good? This first conversation should convince you. :D


did for me...

imoen: but what if you have a button fly...cosmic question... :roll:

XXIV: Fasten / Zip?


Alternate Title: Boom II


sorry it took so long to answer...playing non stop kotor...xbox, but i can't wait until i get my new pc in november...don't worry, the pc gods already punished me...turns out my brother had a copy of kotor, so i shelled out 20 bucks.. :cry:

“This is the part I hate most… the waiting…”


faylnn: and the chiggers, mosquitoes, fireants, troll fleas.. :lol:

She turned back, her expression registering confusion, as if she couldn’t comprehend why he would even need to ask such a thing. “Why do I want to know? Because I think of these things sometimes. I was getting dressed the other morning, and for a second I couldn’t remember which I did first. So, I started thinking about it. Does everybody do it the same way? Is it a left handed – right handed thing?”


hmmm...do you realize that the art of trouser fastening is one of the most profound of metaphysical problems??? :roll:

“Do you think about this stuff a lot?”


:roll:

“Fourteen minutes…” A pause. “Wanna talk socks?”


at least they avoided leaderhosen.... :roll: :roll: :roll:

“How you holding up, Ensign?” Omega One asked of the naval officer crouched down next to her. To her credit, Ensign Nalia de’Arnisse was mostly composed, even though this was the first time she’d ever been quite this close to a real battlefield situation. The standard issue laser pistol she held looked oddly out of place gripped in her small hands, and her finger continued to hover nervously over the safety. She checked the ammunition magazine, ensuring it held a full charge.


oh no, she's going to be prone to gunfighter's syndrome...firing until your weapons almost empty, or empty, without realizing it.. :(

Nalia nodded solemnly and checked her weapon’s ammunition counter… again – she was already developing the “proper” habits, it seemed. “Yes, ma’am.”


some people chew gum, smoke, fiddle with personal equipment...

The veteran Army Ranger lay on his stomach, right hand folded around the trigger guard of his heavy Gauss rifle, left arm extended just slightly behind the bipod supporting the barrel to further steady his aim. He peered through the optical magnification scope mounted on a bracket atop the rifle, comparing the markings in his field of vision with landmarks on the ground below – an exercise in range estimation. He gingerly maneuvered the weapon, easily tracking various targets as they approached. At first, the images he saw were obscured by the swirling dust, but slowly they resolved themselves into silhouettes of Dominion ground troops and vehicles. His sights hovered on the prow of one of the approaching tanks, and Valygar used the movement to help calibrate his optics. A few tweaks of a knob here, a turned dial, there…


in "ghost in the shell" snipers actually had biofeedback training and special implants to control their heartrate and respiration..

The smooth, gentle pull of the trigger belied the sheer violence inherent in the weapon’s firing. A high pitched electrical whine sounded as the magnetic firing mechanisms built up their charge, followed by the crackle of static as the metallic “bullet” was hurled from the rifle’s barrel. Down below, several hundred yards away, a Dominion tank commander had poked his head out of his vehicle’s hatch in order to get a better look at the surrounding area. Valygar’s shot, a bullet half an inch in diameter, turned the orc’s head into a split watermelon.


jan: and now jansen industries is proud to present the newest in guass technology, the suborbital mass driver rifle!!!

valygar: hey, wait!!! damn it, that's the rifle that almost killed me!!! i shot it at the horizon, and 2 minutes later, the bullet comes screaming back, almost hit me!!!

jan: oopse...

(the npc flirt pack has a crossbow which jan makes for val which hits him half the time it fires...funnier than heck...)

Dominion tank design favored heavy frontal armor, with lesser protection about the rear and sides – to “encourage” orcish commanders to keep their noses towards the enemy, or so the old joke went. Attacking a Demolisher-class tank, or worse, a Leviathan, head-on was tantamount to suicide. Confederation doctrine called for assaults to be made from the sides or rear whenever possible.


just like the jager panzers concept from ww2...heavy front armor, no turret...

But that left two tanks still active… the big ones, no less – and after Minsc’s little display, the Dominion knew exactly where the Confederation troopers were holed up. The Leviathans slowly began to turn their guns in the right direction.


oh oh...

“Displace!” Falynn called out to her unit, and the Omegas did just that. Jaheira and Jan broke in one direction, Imoen, Falynn and Nalia in another. Minsc dropped back to avoid the counterattack aimed at him, ducking into a shallow ditch that ran parallel to the wide, dirt path the tanks were traveling along. He sat with his back braced against the lip of the ditch, fumbling in his pack for another round to jam into the launcher.


"advance tword the rear!!!"

“Minsc is feeling very generous today, smelly orcs!” he called out, even as his hands busied themselves with the loading process. “Prepare for lots of presents!”


-----


Killboard:


Llyr, F.: 3
Llyr, I.: 5
Marael, J.: 1
Vaonnor, M.: 3 (Infantry: 2, Vehicles: 1)
Jansen, J.: 0
Corthala, V.: 6 (Infantry: 5, Vehicles: 1)
De’Arnisse, N.: 0


yay!!! sorry about the delay, but you know what kotor can do to you... :D :D :wink: :wink:

5th new restart, 8/12 soldier counselor...major cheating, got force storm at level 9...lightside, but with the fun dark side powers... :) :) :D

#16 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 30 September 2004 - 07:56 PM

mine's worse...sept 11...


Awww... I think you're being unfair to yourself. Yes, something really awful happened on that day, but I honestly don't think that even the families of people who were killed then would want people to stop celebrating their own birthdays. That's hardly a fair thing to ask of anyone. I don't think you should look at it that way.

sorry it took so long to answer...playing non stop kotor...


Heh heh... know what you mean... when you're logging like 20+ hours on that game in a week, it's like a part-time job in and of itself. It's madness. I went through it again recently, myself. Somehow managed to blaze through in about a week and a half of play. Guh. Anyway, I still say the PC version is better... prettier and stuff, but whatever. It -is- KOTOR, so I guess I can forgive that whole X-Box nonsense.

faylnn: and the chiggers, mosquitoes, fireants, troll fleas..


Pest Exterminator 1: "C'mon, Logan, let's go! Logan? What's the matter? You look like hell..."

Pest Exterminator 2: "Hey! He just watched his wife and children get carried off by seven million fireants! I don't want to meet the man who looks good after that..."

:D

at least they avoided leaderhosen....


Nothing wrong with lederhosen... I'd never wear such things, but there's nothing wrong with them. :)

oh no, she's going to be prone to gunfighter's syndrome...firing until your weapons almost empty, or empty, without realizing it..


The nice thing is that, unlike modern-day pistols, something like Nalia's las-pistol probably has like 100 rounds per power pack instead of, say, 15. :)

in "ghost in the shell" snipers actually had biofeedback training and special implants to control their heartrate and respiration..


Valygar's got that, to a lesser extent. It's all training and discipline for him, though. No special implants, just plenty of practice - knowing how to temper your breathing, stay relaxed even in dicey situations, fire only at the end of a breathing cycle, stuff like that.

just like the jager panzers concept from ww2...heavy front armor, no turret...


Jaeger-panzers? Never heard of that. Appropriate name, though. (Jaeger means "hunter" in German.)

5th new restart, 8/12 soldier counselor...


That's kind of an odd combination... usually, people go with scout/sentinels, soldier/guardians and scoundrel/consulars... only because the progression seems to make more sense. I suppose doing the soldier/consular thing gives you hit points and combat feats early on and then you get loaded up with Force powers in the end. Personally, I made my first character a total combat machine. Very rarely used Force Powers, either. Had my character set up with Bandon's armor, and liked the look of it so much I couldn't bear to swap it out for Jedi robes. :lol:

My latest character was a scout/sentinel combo... I maxed him out on Dueling and kept him with a single weapon. Obviously, not as beastly as my guardian character in a fight, but not too bad. I wanted the repair skills early on so I could tweak HK, though. I love that droid. :D

got force storm at level 9...lightside, but with the fun dark side powers...


Meh. I'm sure you also worked around the fact that Dark Side powers cost more to use if you're Light Side... eh... because of that, all my Jedi characters stick with Light Side stuff like Heal (Everyone gets Heal.) Jolee is the only exception. He gets tricked out with all the Force Lightning and Death Field stuff... mmmm... Death Field... :D

#17 Guest_Userunfriendly_*

Posted 30 September 2004 - 11:02 PM

Heh heh... know what you mean... when you're logging like 20+ hours on that game in a week, it's like a part-time job in and of itself. It's madness. I went through it again recently, myself. Somehow managed to blaze through in about a week and a half of play. Guh. Anyway, I still say the PC version is better... prettier and stuff, but whatever. It -is- KOTOR, so I guess I can forgive that whole X-Box nonsense.


like i said, i will get it for pc, but i couldn't wait til november... :)

Nothing wrong with lederhosen... I'd never wear such things, but there's nothing wrong with them. :twisted:


i know, but can't you imagine immy talking about lederhosen???

im: you know the whole belt and suspenders thing, sure its secure, but for shorts??? i mean redundancy is one thing, but on shorts? i can kinda see that in pants, maybe but on shorts???

jan: well, like you said, on pants its ok...see, i'm wearing them right now...

imoen: jan, you're wearing regular pants...

jan pulls up tunic to show suspenders: you forget, oh pink one, that gnomes are so short we wear human shorts as pants...

:) :D :twisted:

just like the jager panzers concept from ww2...heavy front armor, no turret...


Jaeger-panzers? Never heard of that. Appropriate name, though. (Jaeger means "hunter" in German.)


http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz15.htm

precisely...since they mounted the 88mm gun, which could smash any tank used by allies and axis, they were meant to hunt other tanks...as well as being cheap to produce, and they discouraged "strategic withdraw"...

5th new restart, 8/12 soldier counselor...


That's kind of an odd combination... usually, people go with scout/sentinels, soldier/guardians and scoundrel/consulars... only because the progression seems to make more sense. I suppose doing the soldier/consular thing gives you hit points and combat feats early on and then you get loaded up with Force powers in the end. Personally, I made my first character a total combat machine. Very rarely used Force Powers, either. Had my character set up with Bandon's armor, and liked the look of it so much I couldn't bear to swap it out for Jedi robes. :twisted:


why do the jedi robes all look like you're wearing a dress??? :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

this guy is a total combat machine...best of all classes for attack and vitality except soldier guardian... :D

My latest character was a scout/sentinel combo... I maxed him out on Dueling and kept him with a single weapon. Obviously, not as beastly as my guardian character in a fight, but not too bad. I wanted the repair skills early on so I could tweak HK, though. I love that droid. :twisted:


i am thinking of putting minimum points on persuade, and save up for a full 17 point repair skill for his upgrade... :D

got force storm at level 9...lightside, but with the fun dark side powers...


Meh. I'm sure you also worked around the fact that Dark Side powers cost more to use if you're Light Side... eh... because of that, all my Jedi characters stick with Light Side stuff like Heal (Everyone gets Heal.) Jolee is the only exception. He gets tricked out with all the Force Lightning and Death Field stuff... mmmm... Death Field... :twisted:


FORCE VALOR!!!

fear my master force valor, since it raises my wisdom and charisma from 14 to 19!!! and if i read things correctly, it should raise the amount of force points, intelligence, for repair, and make enemies less able to save from my offensive force points...plus the master level force focus gives the opponent horrible chances of making a save...master valor, force breach and death fields until they die...Muwahahahahhaha!!!

then if they don't die...my master speed, and master flurry attacks give me 5 attacks per round, with my double bladed light sabre... :D :D :D

#18 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 01 October 2004 - 04:39 AM

why do the jedi robes all look like you're wearing a dress??? :D :D :D


Umm, why do all robes in BG2 all look like you're wearing a dress? :D

Or maybe it's just something really wrong with the XBox version. :D


My latest character was a scout/sentinel combo... I maxed him out on Dueling and kept him with a single weapon. Obviously, not as beastly as my guardian character in a fight, but not too bad. I wanted the repair skills early on so I could tweak HK, though. I love that droid. :)


i am thinking of putting minimum points on persuade, and save up for a full 17 point repair skill for his upgrade... :)


Uh-uh... I would get repair as high as I can, but not on the expense of Persuade. Persuade *is* your friend on many, many occassions - I imagine that playing the game with low score there would be extremely annoying. I always max Persuade when I can. :D

#19 Guest_Userunfriendly_*

Posted 01 October 2004 - 05:16 PM

Uh-uh... I would get repair as high as I can, but not on the expense of Persuade. Persuade *is* your friend on many, many occassions - I imagine that playing the game with low score there would be extremely annoying. I always max Persuade when I can. :D


just tested this out...

master force valor will not only make your magic stronger, cause it raises wisdom and charisma, but will increase intelligence...

got master gear head...and empathy...

just cast force valor before entering conversations or repairning hk 47...

bonus two points...i currently have 8 points invested...actually have 12...after force valor... :) :D :D

#20 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 01 October 2004 - 07:22 PM

why do the jedi robes all look like you're wearing a dress???


I don't think they're too bad, I just really don't like the look of the ones you have custom-made in the Star Forge. Those really look like a dress. The others are ok, but I just really liked the black armor look for my Guardian character. My Sentinel character stuck with Echani Fiber Armor for a while then swapped for the Qel-Droma robes. He kept those for the rest of the game.

i am thinking of putting minimum points on persuade, and save up for a full 17 point repair skill for his upgrade...


Don't think you'll need quite so much. I managed to upgrade HK fully before I had that much. And it's probably not a good idea to dump your Persuade skill... I hated not having a good one for my Guardian character, so my Scout/Sentinel maxed out on his and that was pretty damned nice. :)

fear my master force valor, since it raises my wisdom and charisma from 14 to 19!!!


Force Valor does rock. It just doesn't rock for very long, which is the bad news.

then if they don't die...my master speed, and master flurry attacks give me 5 attacks per round, with my double bladed light sabre...


Yes, yes, yes, I've done the same. :D Only I use twin blades. Two blades means you can use up to six different lightsaber crystals instead of just three... which I like, especially once you get the really swanky "Heart of the Force" and "Mantle of the Guardian" crystals from Suvam on Yavin Station. Those are awesome. :D




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