Nameless Sci-fi Story

[blackout]

Well, the first chapter's still in the making, and it doesn't have a title yet, but I'll make an introduction and stuff first. Hope you guys enjoy the story. :)

It is the 31st century. Humanity has spread to the stars. First contact with many alien races has been made. A galaxy-spanning alliance known as the Galactic Coalition has been formed. Massive vessels cross the galaxy, carrying colonists and goods to their destinations.
But not all is well in the Milky Way.
There is as much warfare as there is peace on the frontier. Pirates and terrorists constantly threaten traders and innocent people, and the many members of the Galactic Coalition are constantly at odds, threatening eachother with armed conflict.
The citizens of the Galactic Coalition slowly continue to descend into poverty, some even becoming the criminals that are the reason for the problem, some colonies even declaring independance, or forced to pay money to the criminals responsible for 'protection'.
The galaxy is a harsh place...

Hope you liked that little introduction, more coming soon! :smallbiggrin:

[blackout]

Now, time to familiarize you guys with the universe this story is set in. It's very heavily influenced by other popular science fiction stories, like Ender's Game, and science fiction games, like Warhammer 40000, Starcraft, and Freelancer, so because of this little melting pot of influence, you may see some familiar things, and some things not so familiar. Get it, got it, good.

Now, first thing you'll want to know about is what species exist. Well, there's alot of aliens out there, so I hope you have some free time.

Zygrans are your typical warrior-lizard race. Like reptiles on Earth, they are cold-blooded, in more ways than one. Some Zygrans go so far as to kill eachother to get a promotion, even if the Zygran their killing is someone they've known all their life. All Zygrans serve for three Earth years in the military after coming of age. Alot serve for longer than that. The reason for their militaristic lifestyle is because of an asteroid striking their planet. For a long time, they thought it was an attack from another planet, and began mobilizing their military, and drafting civilians. They never actually fought the 'enemy,' but at the same time, they simply never came out of the 'ready to fight' stage.

Then there's the M'lotsa. These squid-like guys are top-notch engineers. All they do is think, build, and fix. They make everything from weapons to toys. And the things they make are simply incredible. Their tanks make human tanks(which have been substantially upgraded from the 21st century stuff we use)look like 'Winnie the Pooh Counts to Two.' Virtually all gear they make is directed towards killing nowadays, though. They don't really have a military, so they have a good contract going with a large number of independant mercenary and privateer companies. In exchange for protecting them, the mercs get a decent paycheck, and access to highly superior hardware.

Humans have gone through alot since the time we know and are currently living in. The planet's nations effectively joined together and became the UNT, or United Nations of Terra. From there, they simply furthered the cause of the human race. The result is that humans now colonize half of the galaxy and are moderately respected all over by the aliens.

The Xiati are a race of catlike traders and diplomats. Their entire society is founded around the concept of 'supply and demand' as well as 'strength through unity.' Their military is weak compared to that of other galactic nations, but they don't care, due to the fact that they are needed in galactic society, because if a Xiati can't get his hands on something, no one can.

Amon'Krie are insectoid monsters that have a hive mind. They are capable of regenerating wounds(even mortal wounds that would normally kill them) when they eat organic matter, and are seemingly bent on galactic conquest. The Galactic Coalition have declared war, but the Amon'Krie don't seem to care. Their bio-technology is constantly being studied by the M'lotsa.

The Abbidon are a species of avian people that have only recently discovered FTL travel. As a result, they are still adjusting to the wonders of the universe. Their technology has it's uses, but it is easy to contend with.

Welp, there's the aliens, I'll be back later with more stuff for ya.

[StereotypicalWizard]

This sounds awesome! I love the alien species - they are really creative. Now I just can't wit for more setting, or characters, or technology, or anything realy! I just want to know more!

[blackout]

Well, you wanted more, you got it. Here come the types of weapons, which will be featured very prominently. :)

Energy Weapons come in five types: Heat/Fire, Pulse, Plasma, Laser, and Particle.

Heat/Fire weapons are essentially very simple: Flamethrowers are still in use in the 31st century, but their far less volatile, and more efficient in 'ammo' usage. Napalm Grenades are essentially grenades that, upon exploding, spray napalm everywhere within a five foot radius. Heat Cannons are very unique among the heat-based weaponry. They fire a burst of super-heated air and oxygen that incinerates anything in it's path. The air cools quickly, but is powerful enough to scorch metal.

Plasma weapons fire plasma(as the name assumes.): Plasma Pistols are the sidearm-form of this type of weapon, while the Plasma Rifle is the quicker-firing, spray-and-pray type of gun. Plasma Mortars are essentially the same as regular mortars, except instead of sending shrapnel everywhere, plasma mortars vaporize/incinerate everything in the blast radius. Plasma Grenades are like regular grenades, except they stick to anything they touch and instead of shredding a body upon exploding, it vaporizes it. The 'stick' feature is delayed for five seconds after activation, so if your using plasma grenades, be quick.

Pulse weapons fire massive 'pulses' of energy that, while incapable of external damage, can liquify the insides of a living organism's body. Pulse pistols, pulse rifles, and pulse grenades all fall into this category. Pulse pistols are essentially pulse-based sidearms. Pulse rifles are like plasma rifles, only pulse-based. Pulse grenades essentially liquify the insides of anyone in the blast radius. Pulse grenades have a five foot range, and have a four-second delay.

Laser weapons fire short, controlled bursts of super-hot light that can incinerate a living organism with just a few shots. Laser rifles are essentially the rifle for lasers(duh), and laser pistols are laser-based sidearms. Unlike pulse and plasma weapons, laser weapons do not need to be reloaded with new ammo packs, they simply have to recharge.

While energy-based weapons do, indeed, have an advantage in the market due to their power, projectile weapons still dominate the market due to their availability, cheapness(compared to energy weapons) and reliability.

The standard pistol is effectively the tried-and-true sidearm, capable of loading slug, armor-piercing and explosive rounds. There are usually 16 shots per clip, but the occasional 'non regulation' model-pistols typically carry 24 rounds.

The assault rifle has long been a primary firearm for the militaries of the galaxy for the better part of their existance. Capable of sustained firepower over medium-to-short ranges, and with 60 shots per clip, the assault rifle is often a desired weapon in most combat scenarioes. Constant stream of fire from an assault rifle, while deadly, slowly grows less accurate while fired. It is best fired in short, controlled burst.

Sub-machine guns are rapidly-firing, inaccurate firearms that, while powerful, are nearly impossible to aim. These are more along the lines of 'spray and pray' rather than 'ready-aim-fire.'

Chainguns are often man's(and alien's) best friend when it comes to close-quarters combat that involves firearms. With it's armor-piercing bullets, the Chaingun can quite literally tear an enemy soldier in two.

Miniguns are the larger, more deadly cousins of the Chainguns. Firing faster, with explosive, rather than armor-piercing, rounds, and capable of causing dents and blast marks in a mek's armor, the Minigun is often sought after amongst soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Galactic Coalition, as well as mercenaries and pirates alike.

The shotgun is a close-combat must-have that can effectively kill anything living if fired at point-blank range.

Sniper rifles are the shotguns of long-distance combat: The farther away you are, the better you are off when you find your target and fire.

Fragmentation grenades are classics: Pull the pin and throw. Bam.

Railguns use a series of magnets to propel a large projectile through the barrel of a gun at hypersonic speeds. The result is that anything that gets hit is promptly splattered everywhere. The firearm version has a maddeningly slow firing rate, and the recoil is insane, but it's worth it. Ship, tank, and mek versions are simply referred as MAGs or MACs.

Well, there's the firearms and grenades and stuff, more tech comin' at ya later.

[blackout]

Ships are critically important, being the reason that most of the other sentient races met humanity in the first place. The exact specific tech readouts on each ship class varies, due to the fact that there are five sub-types of each class of ship, one being designed by each race.

Shuttlecraft are small, unarmed ships that are, basically, the 31st century's automobiles. Capable of interplanetary travel, hyperspace engines on shuttles cost extra, so unless you've got some cash to spare, you'll be stuck in the same star system for awhile.

Aerospace-fighters are fighters that can fight in both atmospheres of planets and space. Fighters are typically well-armed, and fast. Unlike shuttlecraft, they are capable of jumping through hyperspace. Fighters have energy shielding.

Gunships are larger than fighters, and often require small crews rather than just a pilot. These things are particularly well-armed. Like fighters, they can jump through hyperspace. Gunships have energy shielding.

Frigates are considerably larger than gunships, but are smaller than capital ships. Being armed well enough to destroy most targets(that aren't better equipped), these vessels are found all over, and in the hands of multiple factions. Pirates often make use of this type of ship. Frigates have energy shielding.

Cruisers are the smallest class of capital ship, but that doesn't mean that their weak. A cruiser is typically armed well enough to pose a threat to most opponents, including battleships. Like all other non-shuttle ships, Cruisers can jump through hyperspace. Cruisers have energy shielding.

Carriers are neccessary to carry fighters, dropships, and troop transports across the galaxy. While heavily shielded, carriers are not heavily armed and often require escorts of some form.

Dropships are large ships capable of delivering artillery, meks, tanks, and other vehicular support to combat zones. These vessels are not capable of hyperspace travel, and do not have energy shielding. To offset this, dropships are heavily armored, so as to survive heavy attack, and are armed, so that they may clear their landing zones with minimal problems.

Troop Transports are similar to dropships, except they deliver infantry rather than vehicles, and they are much smaller, have energy shielding, and are unarmed. They are not capable of jumping through hyperspace.

Fabbers are onboard factories that can effectively make anything in terms of weaponry or armor. All a fabber needs is enough raw materials and a description of the weapon you need. These Fabber-Ships are nothing but giant, mobile fabbers that are used to build more and more spare parts for a moving army when the need arises. While most capital ships have onboard fabbers, they are all considerably smaller than those of the Fabber-Ships. Freighters are neccessary to carry the armaments over to nearby ships or space stations. No shielding, capable of jumping through hyperspace.

Supply ships have special greenhouses onboard to grow food for soldiers during long journeys where lack of food might become a problem. Freighters are used to carry these supplies to other vessels. These ships have no energy shielding, and are capable of jumping through hyperspace.

Dreadnaughts are essentially ships that are meant to conduct long sieges. While more heavily armed and armored than a battleship, Dreadnaughts are hilariously slow, and cannot keep up in a typical space fight. As a result, these ships are strictly meant for dealing with orbital defenses. Dreadnaughts can jump through hyperspace, and have energy shielding.

Battleships are essentially the kings of space combat. Armed, armored, shielded, fast, these things are simply not messed with. Period. Capable of jumping through hyperspace.

Mining ships can mine asteroids for materials that can be used to stock fabbers on the Fabber-ships. No shielding, capable of jumping through hyperspace. These ships require freighters to take the material to fabber-ships.

Freighters are unarmed, un-shielded, slow cargo vessels. They can carry approximately 60,000 tons in cargo, and are used among civilian traders and smugglers as well as the military. They are capable of jumping through hyperspace. Due to their weak armor, slow movement speed, lack of weapons or shields, and valuable cargo, freighters are often a prime target for privateers. Civilian merchants and smugglers typically hire freelance escorts for defense, while the military can simply pull a fighter wing, or a couple of gunships, to do the job.

And finally, there's Warships. These ships are essentially the kings of space combat, and are the only ships capable of planetary bombardment in any form. Heavily armed, armored, shielded, with fast engines, excellent manuevering thrusters, fighter, dropship, and troop transport launch bays to match those of a carrier, and with weapons larger than a Battleship, the Warship is devestation incarnate.

:) Next, tanks and meks!

[blackout]

There are 20 types of meks in existance, 4 for each species. These meks fall into four categories: Scout, fire-support, assault, and heavy assault.
Scout meks are typically lightly armed and armored, but have advanced electronics meant for recon and stealth-based operations. Fire-support meks are typically mek-style artillery/anti-vehicular support. These meks are meant to fire from a distance and eliminate targets as the situation requires. Assault meks are meant for full blown engagements, and are the most popular of meks. Heavy assault meks are meant for long, drawn-out, slug matches. These meks often work in unison to handle different operations accordingly. Each class of mek also has three sub-classes. Different sub-classes are meant for different situations, without straying too far from the main class's original purpose. The exact specs on each class and sub-class vary between races. As always, the M'lotsa have the domination in the weapons market, so M'lotsa-designed meks are usually better than their counterparts.
Meks are the most deadly ground-based war machines in existance other than tanks and artillery, and as a result are not cheap to make. Because of this, most military units are restricted to a total of a dozen meks, possibly less, possibly more. It depends on the budget for that unit.
Tanks are cheaper than meks, but are not as powerful. There are five tanks in existance, one for each race. The exact specs vary between tanks, but they all have the same general purpose: Heavy support for the infantry.

[Timberwolf]

Well, I like what you're doing so far. I'm assuming you're using this for a book you're writing. I especially like the mechs (*grins*). Maybe you could post a few things on what the technology for faster than light travel is, a litle bit on how it works (in your universe) and generally fill in the gaps. By the way, I'd watch out a bit with the Lekgolo aliens, Paramount Studios and whoever created the Borg might well be on your case with a copyright lawsuit if you're going to try and publish. The mechs, on the same note, maybe alter the Assault class name a bit otherwise Wizkids (who own the Mechwarrior franchise :smallannoyed: :smallfrown: ) may decide it needs changing and send their suited minions round. They also may not, who knows, but anyway, just thought I'd mention it.

Have you got a story organised for this universe ? The place looks good, now what's going to happen.

*sits back with anticipation*

*edit* also, the particle cannon - Wizkids may also object to that, particularly if you're going to have them mounted on the mechs. The PPC (particle projection cannon) is one of their oldest weapons (it was a weapon in Mechwarrior when it first came out). Why not change it to a Gauss Rifle / Railgun (another fine MW weapon btw) which has been used by others in fiction and no one's complained about yet and is suitably ahead of now in technology for your universe.

[blackout]

Hmm. Guess your right about the Lekgolo. Better change em a bit.

[blackout]

Alright, changed the Lekgolo and as for the meks, I really didn't know what else to call them.

[Timberwolf]

I was going to suggest having them as vicious slavers but I like yours better !

Just a thought on the mechs, showing my inner MW geek. Anyway, Microsoft currently have the Mechwarrior franchise for games and you know what they can be like, any excuse.

[blackout]

Still, I need to call them something. Any possible ideas?

[Timberwolf]

Any names I think of are automatically lame but how about "Blitz" class ? It has connotations of something relatively fast moving (which your heavy assault walkers probably won't be) and hard hitting and I don't think Heinz Guderian filed a copyright. :smallsmile: However, it's prosaic and has been used before. Errrrrrm.......

Why not give them unique names instead of having all 5 races use the same weight classes, have, using the Mechwarrior weights, the humans using light, medium, heavy and assault but call them by their model name (eg, using MW as my example again, "Kit Fox, Stormcrow, Timberwolf (see sig for what one of these looks like), Executioner") and a brief description of them when they are first mentioned. Something like "the colonel drove his Kit Fox light scout mech into the very centre of the Lekgolo convoy and bravely pulse lasered every alien he saw." Wheras, say, the Lekgolo use different groupings entirely, maybe only 3 different weight types and call their models something else entirely, maybe use the human names for them for easy writing but mention the real names somewhere, maybe during some Lekgolo dialogue if they get any.

[blackout]

Well, the Lekgolo have their own models of just about everything, including tanks, meks and ships, so that shouldn't be too hard. As for the weight classes, there are no real weight classes. Just different types of meks that happen to be heavier or lighter depending on what their supposed to do. As for a rename of the Assault class, I'm all for Blitzer. The assault-meks were supposed to be a blend of heavy firepower, speed and maneuverability. So, that works. And as for the unique names, you forgot sub-types of meks. Each sub-type has it's own name.

[Timberwolf]

Gotcha, sounds cool anyway :smallcool: . Bring on the mechs !!!

[blackout]

Well, there's just one thing left to do: Introduce the many factions that are involved in the upcoming interstellar war, that AREN'T galactic nations. :)

Outlaws
Outlaws are the criminals of the galaxy: Smugglers, pirates, bandits, terrorists and raiders. Depending on their assets, their divided into several different groups. Smugglers typically just have a freighter or two, and onboard security for the freighters they have. Pirates typically only have space-combat assets, like fighters and the occasional gunship, but some pirate groups are known to have access to cruisers, carriers, and even dreadnaughts. Bandits typically have only ground-combat assets, like meks and tanks, along with dropships to transport them. They usually have to pay mercenaries or pirates to take their dropships and troop transports to other star systems via carrier. Terrorists can have any kind of asset, and usually have people on the inside in certain governments to help them in their operations. Finally, raiders are a mix between pirates and bandits, having mixed assets, and plenty of funding, making them one of the largest threats in the galaxy.

The Bounty Hunters Guild
One of two guilds. Bounty hunters have changed since the days of the 21st century: Now, they recieve money by bringing criminals in, dead or alive. Depending on the status of the criminal they bring in, and the crimes that criminal committed, they are paid. This effectively permits them to kill anyone and anything that they see breaking the law, and get paid for it without fear of being arrested themselves. They have access to the BHGD, or Bounty Hunters Guild Database, permitting them to recieve up-to-the-second information on any criminals in the galaxy. Bounty hunters are permitted the use of military hardware, to make hunting their prey that much easier.

Traders Guild
Traders and merchants that don't belong to a government or corporation are usually members of the Traders Guild. These people are permitted to hire mercenaries(to defend them from pirates), and carry cargo(legal cargo USUALLY) across the galaxy to earn their paychecks. By keeping an eye on trade routes, traders can usually earn a quick paycheck. Any merchants not part of the traders guild or a government or corporation are deemed smugglers.

Mercenaries
Mercenaries are freelance soldiers not unlike bounty hunters. Only, they kill people without the people involved having to break the law. Mercenaries can work independantly or in companies. A mercenary must first be registered by the Independant Military Company Review Board before being officially confirmed as a mercenary.

Assassins Guild
Members of the Assassins Guild are often hired for the covert elimination of solo targets. By presenting the contract to local law enforcement, or bounty hunters, an assassin can effectively get off scot-free. They MUST be a member of the Assassins Guild to get a registered contract.

:) Ok, later I'll post the explanation of FTL travel.

[Saithis Bladewing]

As a quick note to a previous comment, gauss and railgun weaponry wouldn't be subject to copyright methinks. Railgun technology exists in real life (though it has yet to be practically applied by the military without significant issues in terms of damage caused to the weapon itself when firing. At least as far as we know... *Conspiracies abound!*)

Gauss weapons also exist in experimentation with similar problems to before. Both are variations of the magnetic accelerator gun and are referred to as 'railguns' and 'coilguns' respectively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_accelerator_gun

Wikipedia is your friend. :D

[blackout]

Well, I'd like to use that...Ok, Particle weapons are gone. Here come MAGs, Gauss Rifles, and whatnot.

[blackout]

OK, explanation for FTL travel.
Hyperspace is the means of travel between different star systems. The way this works is that each ship has a highly powerful engine that charges up when the ship is about to go to hyperspace. The engine charges up, and when fully charged, the navigator/pilot of the ship selects a destination. The engine then goes to maximum speed, and the ship commences what is commonly called a Hyperspace jump, or simply a jump. 'Jumping in' and 'jumping out' refer to the action of jumping into a star system or jumping out of a star system. The way this works is that it doesn't just go directly to the next star system: What it does is go so fast that it tears a hole in reality, which is closed immediately afterwards. Another hole is made in front of the ship. The ship goes through that hole, the hole closes, and the ship is at it's destination. Get it, got it, good.

[Saithis Bladewing]

How long does this hyperspace journey take?

[blackout]

Depends on the distance. One minute per light year. So, something that's about 180 light years away would take three hours to get to.

[blackout]

Ok, yet another edit to a previous post. The Sangheili are now the Xiati, the Lekgolo are now the Amon'Krie

[The Orange Zergling]

Alright. I havent read the Non-Nation factions yet, but the rest of it looks good.

One thing that bugs me, though, is that its so evenly distributed. One tank per race, 4 (its four, right?) mech's per race, etc. Why would they all be building the same amount of stuff as eachother?

Aside from that, it really does look good.

[blackout]

They do it that way because, when it comes to military hardware such as meks and tanks, they only need a certain model for a certain job. Their all researching ways to possibly upgrade the models they already have, but until then, each race only requires a certain model for a certain job. And it's four mek types per race, with each type having several sub-types for different jobs.

[Timberwolf]

How about some more fleshed out organisations ?

I had a play around and created a pirate organisation for you.

Pirates "Scorpion Confederation" (Or some suitably piratical name, arrrrrr, pass the grog....)

Based in an out of the way system that they have made their own, the Scorpion confederation is a very loose organisation of captains that prey on the space lanes of human held space. Their world is a barren airless rock, a former penal colony long forgotten and removed from any chart. It was taken over by the inmates who were abandoned when the colony failed to report back after a prisoner uprising (that also secured a number of small warships then orbiting the planet). The prisoners nursed their hatred ever since and vowed to make the UNT suffer. 400 years later, their descendents and others who have joined them either willingly or through slavery continue to eke out a living raiding any ships that they can, trying to raise the military hardware to take on the UNT Navy and live like kings on the tribute of planets, their original dream of vengeace having been long forgotten in a rush of greed.

The confederation is an extremely loose group that bands together only in the name of mutual defense. Vendettas and feuds are common between rival crews and the pirates frequently ambush each other. However, although the varying groups that make up the confederation share only their home port normally, they have been known to band together to crush anyone who poses a threat to them that they feel that they can beat easily. Even fights are not something they normally encourage. The acknowledged commander of the unified pirate fleet when it is joined together is Captain Josiah Starling, an urbane, educated man (he once captured a ship carrying a university professor and all his books who was coerced into educating the captain) who can somehow trace his roots back to the original prisoners of the colony. He is an unorthodox but successful tactician whom the other pirates will follow simply because he wins battles. Having the biggest fleet also helps. His second in command is Snowraven Jameson, a short but attractive lady who has secret ambitions to replace her captain but knows she could never command the loyalty of the combined fleet. Therefore, she is content to watch Starlings back for now and reap the benefits of being his favoured minion. The pirates favour frigate sized vessels for their raiding but possess several ex UNT vessels of capital class. Each individual group has at least 1 cruiser, possession of one of these is proof of worthiness to join the confederation and several own battleships and dreadnoughts. Captain Starling has, in addition to a sizable force of lighter ships, 7 cruisers, 3 battleships and a pair of dreadnoughts. The pirates also possess sizable ground combat strengths since they have captured significant UNT marine equipment onboard their ships. Maintaining it is a problem though.

Worlds - 1 - "Sorpion's Hole" (bit rubbish I know)
Political Leader - None
Military Leader - Unofficial - Captain J Starling
Military Strength - Unknown but strong

Anyway, I had fun making them up, There's a bit of potential for some trouble one way or another between Captain Starling and Snowraven Jameson if you need some piratical characters and want to use them. Also, because it's such a loose band, theres no limit to the sheer number of individual captains and groups you could have. You'd just have to remember that the UNT Navy needs to be vastly bigger than them.

[blackout]

Thanks! :) You saved me alot of work thinking up some kind of 'main pirate' group. I'll use em if I can.

[Timberwolf]

Glad you liked them, I've forgotten how much I enjoy coming up with this kind of stuff.

[blackout]

>> Also, to anyone who may be interested, I'm going to make an RPG, right here, on the Giant in the Playground forums, based on the universe this story will take place in...But, I'm gonna need help making it.

[The Orange Zergling]

>> Also, to anyone who may be interested, I'm going to make an RPG, right here, on the Giant in the Playground forums, based on the universe this story will take place in...But, I'm gonna need help making it.


I might be able to help with the mechanics, but be warned that I get bored with making sci-fi RPG's very quickly.

[blackout]

Well, it ain't gonna involve DnD rules, so it shouldn't be too difficult at least.

[The Orange Zergling]

Right, making mechanics from scratch is fun for a while, but then I get sidetracked and lose interest completely.

"Ooo look, something shiney."


But yeah, if I am able to help, I won't be able to provide much...

[blackout]

Well, here's the basics of what I need help with.
Prices for ships, weapons, vehicles, and meks.
Registration prices for the Traders, Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, and Assassins Guilds.
An actual monetary system.
And a star map.

[The Orange Zergling]

Assassin's Guilds... just text, or actual mechanics? I'd be happy to write up a concept of one, but I dont know what would actually work gameplay wise.

[blackout]

I already got the whole idea down. Their basically legally-registered killers-for-hire...same with mercenaries, and in most cases, bounty-hunters.

[The Orange Zergling]

Ah... hmm... I'll have to think about this. So... what precisely do you need help with for them?

[blackout]

>> Registration to join the guilds requires money, I need you to help work out a fair price.

[The Orange Zergling]

Ooooh, sorry, I misread "Assassins Guilds" as a whole another line... not part of registration prices. Doh.

[blackout]

Buuuuut, before we can do THAT, or anything else, we need to figure out the monetary system we'll be using.

[The Orange Zergling]

Yeah, I'm fresh out of ideas for that, I suggest staying away from credits because it's used too often.

[blackout]

Hmm......Well, looks like I'm in the market for ideas.

[Dhavaer]

How does the economy work? The tech level seems pretty high, is it high enough to make a technocracy viable? That would make money mostly pointless, though; perhaps they have the tech but won't use it? Someone's preventing the tech from being developed, or propagated?

[blackout]

Well, the economy is sort of like a barter system, with money in there. Think Morrowind: You can use money to basically buy anything, or if the need arises, you can trade an item for another item, with some money or another item thrown into the deal, if the item you were trading before wasn't worth enough.

[blackout]

OK, finally. First chapter! :) Enjoy!

Prologue: Bad Day

Phil Webb walked down the halls of the UNT Cruiser Scimitar, muttering. Phil was a technician on the Scimitar, and it was his job to keep things up and running down in Engineering, but after the party the previous night...well, he wasn't exactly feeling up to it. He didn't see why he was needed in Engineering today, they were in an unoccupied system after all. He yawned as he entered Engineering and immediately went to his post: The coolant-pipe monitoring console. It was a cruddy job, but it was a paycheck at least. Immediately after he sat down, the ship's alarms went off. Phil groaned and rubbed his eyes, his hangover made worse by the alarm.
"Bridge to all hands, man your battle stations! We've got two Amon'krie Bio-ships closing in fast!"
That woke Phil up.
"Amon'krie? Ah, I should've stayed in bed..."

Captain Tabort glared at the image of the two Amon'krie monstrosities on the viewscreen and glanced at the gunnery officer to his left.
"Mr. Silverman?"
"Gun positions and Engineering report weapons and shields are online, awaiting orders."
"Hold fire."
"Yes sir."
Tabort glanced at the tactical display in front of him: Two red dots, the bio-ships, were labeled as roughly 300 kilometers out from the Scimitar: not far, but not close either.
"Arm plasma lances, and torpedoes."
"Yes sir, plasma lances hot, torpedoes loaded and armed."
"Move to attack position Delta-3, target the closer bio-ship."
"Moving to attack position, targeting...Target locked, Captain."
"Fire at will!"
"Firing plasma lances and...Torpedoes away!"
On the viewscreen, everyone could clearly see four torpedoes and a half-dozen streams of light blue energy all fire from various positions on the cruiser and slam into the Amon'Krie vessel, causing varying levels of damage all over the 'hull'.
"Captain, hostile ships are returning fire!"
On the tactical display in front of him, Tabort could see the two bio-ships fire large, green-red globs of some sort of biological material. The globs slammed into the shields of his ship with minimal effect. The bridge crew smirked, with the exception of Tabort.
"Lock all weapons on target, fire at will."
"Firing."
More streams of plasma and torpedoes slammed into the Amon'Krie ships, one of the vessels breaking apart as secondary explosions rippled across it's hull.
"One down, one to go!"
Tabort glanced at the tactical display, and saw something that nearly made him scream.
"No, charge the hyperspace engines and prepare to jump out."
"Sir?"
Tabort showed the tactical display to Silverman: There were literally dozens of Amon'Krie ships approaching from the edge of the system, all larger or just as large as the ones the Scimitar had been shooting at. Silverman's eyes nearly jumped out of his head.
"Two bio-ships, we can handle. A fleet? Not so much."
"Understood, sending orders to Engineering to prepare for Hyperspace jump!"
"We need to speed it up! Estimates on how long it would take if we diverted power from shields and weapons?"
"Two, three minutes tops!"
"Make it happen!"
The Cruiser's shields dropped and the weapons shut down as the ship's engines began to glow with a bright green light.
But then, something happened.
A glob of Amon'krie bio-matter hit the engines and began eating away at the metal, almost like acid, and the engines shut down.
"What happened!?"
"Engines offline!"
What Tabort said after hearing that is simply not capable of being repeated.

Phil watched from a viewport as the Amon'krie ships closed in on the cruiser, and something in his gut told him that staying in bed today would not have helped the situation...
END OF CHAPTER.
:) Well?

[blackout]

Chapter 1: Enter the Hunter

The smuggler, Gorab Shikal, ran. He just ran as fast as he could. That lunatic surprised his bodyguards and wiped them out, and was right on his tail. If he could just get to his shuttle, he could get out of here alive, start his business again somewhere else in the galaxy.
But as he heard the loud crack of a gauss rifle, he knew he would never get the chance. Gorab's knee practically exploded, as the gauss rifle round flew straight through it, leaving almost nothing left of his leg. He watched, and heard the bounty hunter walking towards him.

The hunter walked over to the broken and battered body of his prey, grinning behind his visor, like a child in a candy store.
"Well, well, Gorab Shikal. Nice to see you." He grabbed the Xiati smuggler by the collar of his shirt. "We need to talk about that money the police are going to give me when I turn you in."
Gorab spat in the hunter's face, the Xiati's saliva splattering all over his visor.
"Hmm. Guess I'll just have to kill you."
"No! NO, WAIT-"
The hunter raised his reloaded gauss rifle and splattered the smuggler's head(and the rest of his body) all over the walls.
"Less money, but it's worth it all the same." He walked back to the shuttle he had landed in the parking lot, climbed in, and immediately lifted off, flying towards the police station to inform them of Gorab's fate. Or, that was what he was going to do, before someone called him.
The hunter's helmet-comlink began beeping, and the hunter groaned in frustration.
"Larn here."
"Mr. Larn, this is UNT Supreme General Davir."
"Supreme General, eh? I must've impressed someone at the top."
"You did. We need your assistance."
"What's the job pay?"
"Not much-"
"Then I'm not interested."
"-in terms of CASH. In terms of M'lotsa-designed weapons, alot."
"...I'm listening."
"We need you to deal with an Amon'Krie problem."
"Amon'krie? What'd the bugs do this time?"
"Oh, nothing. Just captured a UNT cruiser. Should be a cinch for you."
"You guys have hundreds of cruisers, don't you? Why should I go chasing after THIS one?"
"This one's...'special.'"
"....It's the Scimitar, isn't it?"
"Yep. The 'Hybrid.' Built with a combination of M'lotsa, Zygran, Xiati, and Human technology."
"I can't believe you lost the Scimitar. Usually you guys screw up worse than that. Your slipping, Davir. Anyways, what do you want me to do about this?"
"Recapture the Scimitar. Kill the Amon'krie onboard. Kill the crew and passengers. Nothing gets off alive."
"Why the crew and passengers?"
"Just do it, Larn!"
"Fine. Lemme finish up here. Gotta cash in a bounty."
"Alright. See you at 24th street, 1100 hours."
"Larn out."
Larn shut off his helmet-comlink. Something told him this would be interesting...

END OF CHAPTER.
Still waiting on feedback, ladies and gents.