Karura under attack! What are the Karura anyway?

[Exitium]

NOTE: For doodles of Karuran ships, please visit my new gallery so I may boast about my mediocre sketches.

{NOTE II:} This is also an RPG, sorry, forgot to type that up there. Feel free to join any/everyone!

Galactic year four thousand five, StarTopia. The galaxy is in a state of relative peace. The Galactic Council peacefully debates of the territories of individual space faring nations, while pirating on the inner sphere trade routes are at an all time low. With the second Inter-Galactic war over, billions now settle again on their charred home worlds, searching for new oppurtunities. Few were spared the chaos of the Aronaa-Kasvagorian Massacre, and the memory of planets being melted for ore is still fresh in the minds of the old.

Among the relatively untouched areas of space, was a previously unknown nebula only known as N-4020, the Aquillian Nebula. Inside this vast red nebula lay the Karura, a sentient species consisting of flightless Avians from the planet Osato. Deep within the nebula was a six thousand year old probe that had been sending its signals across the galaxy. Light years away, the Arctannians discovered the probe, and established contact with the Karura. As soon as they met, negotiations were already speeding through the stars. Refusing to reveal their identidy to the whole of the galaxy, the Karura agreed to the Arctannians that the location to their nebula, their planets and their entire existance, would be kept secret to the outside races. This would last for five hundred years.

After the pact was signed, both races agreed to a cultural exchange, and the Karura were more than ecstatic to send the first historical artifacts and tastes of their customs to Arctannia's, "Institute of Interesting Things."

It is also known that the Karura were eager to learn the concept of, "Good Ole' StarTopian Humour."

[LAUNCHING RPG]
C:/Program Files/Eidos/StarTopia/RPG
Launching. . .
Error, file not found!

(Just kidding. . .)

<Location: The Frontier Quadrant. On the fringes of the Arctannian territory floats an oddly shaped object of interesting stature. What look like thick wooden sails, "float" independently of eachother. Upon closer inspection, one could see eleven other prominent shapes, reflective red spheres. They were too floating by themselves in the void, the first up front being the smallest. What these structures were for was a mystery, but one could assume that they were held together by magnets. That is, if a partial observer noted the well disguised readings on his sensors' manager. The sail like structures were similar until they reached the ends. The ending of the supposed ship was almost certainly a propulsion device of some sort, and the front could only be the front of course. The vessel itself was not very long for normal Karuran ships in fact. Deep inside the front sphere was one of these strange beings. Wearing what could've been considered an informal Kimono by Terran historians, the species itself were not too different from Earth birds. Flightless, their magnificent wings were atached to their bulky end fingers, rather than the indexes. Another fact worthy of note was this individual's likeness to a parrot of some sort.>

<The room he (judging from his masculane clothing) was in was spectacular in its appeal. Small cliffs of streams lined by plants potted in synthetic soil brightened the clay coloured room with green leaves and yellow buds. The suspiciously domed blue ceiling was lacking a bit in height, but almost created the illusion of being outdoors. In fact, the room was not too large at all. Silent, except for the tapping keyboard and the sound of a gentle stream flowing in the room, the Karuran was busy at work at his desk. The desk, which sat next to a bed equal in beauty, was the remarkable product of hand-built Karuran woodsmen from Esoto. Irrelevent all the same, the keyboard the Karuran male was at displayed a sort of holographic look (like its respective monitor). Not much to the opposite, it was indeed a temporary layer of particles aligned together to form a paper-thin sheet of metaloids that could be used much like a computer terminal's keyboard and screen. The colours were almost invisible to most other sentient species, and it was highly unlikely another race could interpert the screen's layout. Translated, the avian was typing a report that went much like this. . .>

". . . Day one and we have already excuted a fantastic arrival to the Coruc Tel system in an effecient attempt to keep a strict schedule for our Arctannian hosts. Our crew of two have kept translations between emotions fluent enough for understanding, and I am proud of my pupils for doing so. I was told the Arctannian's patrolling navy would send two corvette sized ships for strenuous escort to the capital's museum. I hope they are in excellent mental stability, for we hope negotiations for a more permanent trade agreement can take place on Esosto when the leaves fall to the plains in Autumn. I dearly miss my beloved-"

<The Keruran was not suprised by the opening of two sliding, automatic doors. A more stately dressed Keruran bird-of-prey-esque male clad in red bowed to him and spoke to his teacher apparently. The way in which he spoke was amazingly fast and detailed, but somewhat below par for his nation's standards. The Kerura informal was a beautiful language, but it paled in comparison to its counterparts. A river of unusual yet soothing consanents and vowels poured out of his sharp beak.>

Keruran: "Teacher Fel'La! Again I am honoured to be within your shining presence. Our reverred ship's computer has detected a most unusual yet intriguing signature of heat five hundred journies within our approximate location. I am persuaded to explore and discover for knowledge, although I am a bit weary of the aftermath."

Fel'La: "Excellent my pupil! My feet will deliver me to the bridge at once for futher thought."

OOC: I pushed you all off the cliff, now add to the suspense somehow. Suprise parachute maybe?

[JSWY]

Coruc Tel? That does Familiar...

[Arctic_Wolf]

Lovely! I can tell you're writing has much improved since last we met in an RPG. This going to be abso-fooking-lubtly great, especialy since SP is down. Oh and its Institute of Quite Interesting Things

<Space is big, realy big. Somewere in the shallower waters of Arctannian space a great yet strangely elegant horitzontal pillar, with a very slight delta shape to it, floated lazily along. At the largest end of the pillar-delta were another four pillars split off and streaked smartly behind. Cannons corkscrewed around the hull and the tiny merry lights twinkled.

Sprayed lovingly in galacti-speak on its port, starboard and dorsal sides were the words; "A.S.C.N.V Neutral Solstice"

The Neatral Solstice is the Arctannian Space Core Navy's finest vessel. Unlike most capital ships it is not a slow moving behemoth. It's a cruiser. Fast and Manouverable, but can still take a beating and deal one aswell. In a dark room just off of the ovalish command bridge sat a very tired man.>

<This very tired man was slumped over a computer that sat messily on a mass-produced metal desk. The desk, plain and grey was covered messily in cold, three quater-drunk cups of tea and chaoticly stacked data pads, there was even a pizza box somewere under there. This was the desk of Alexandr 'the Wolf' Kerzhakov, he was typing lazily with one hand, the other supported his veagely lupine head. He was reporting his thoughts on the Karuran, he was great enthusiast on their cultere and would usualy love to write at great length on his thoughts and experiences with them but his breakfast had been buttered chicken, so had his lunch and dinner. In Arctannian's boring food had a remarkable effect at lowering concentration and increasing the 'I just can't be bothered factor' The replicators, which usualy loved serving a healty dose of you're favourite food, were on strike because some idiot had asked them for a brussel sprout.

Alexandr was interupted as one of his junior brigadeers(A.S.C.N Brdge Crew) had stepped in.>

Alexandr: Yes, Brigadeer? I am very Busy at the moment.

Junior Brigadeer: Sorry Commander, its just that the Karuran cultural exchange ship has come into sensor range.

Alexandr: Oh good, send them a message that the Thuram and Ferdinand has been reassigned to quell a rebel uprising and that they are dealing with us again. And I get my senior brigadeers in full uniform and on the bridge in 30 minutes please. Dismissed.

[Exitium]

<The two Kerurans walked to the bridge in a stately manner. The hallways that graced their presence were also filled with plants (hanging and mini-canal bordering), and the ceiling also had the colour of blue. Taking a rather out of place, sterile, white coloured tube shaped lift, they proceeded to the center of the, "sphere" and reached a short hallway. This hallway was different from others, it was more sterile than its elevator counterpart, and there were many panels that appeared to be etched into it. At the end of the hallway was a sphere shaped room, with reflective black walls. Fel'La proceeded to a panel and pressed his palm ever so gently against it. The panel split in to like automatic doors, and the apparently plastic made boards slit open to reveal a hovering chair of some sort. He quietly sat in the chair, and the piece of furniture took flight into the sphere. It was obvious by now, that this was the bridge of course. His pupil repeated the process, and holographic screens of all sorts popped up. There were projections displaying the exterior and interior ship cameras, data collected by the ship's powerful computer, and even messages sent from Esoto. The sphere itself actually revealed locations of nearby star-systems, physical features in the system, etc. It was somewhat like a star-chart.>

<Fel'La moved his chair with the micromovements of his feet, and the vehicle scooted towards a screen in the center of the room, much different from the others. This was, of course, the command screen. His student parked himself at a screen in the front (or so thought) of the room and randomly accesed certain information. Fel'La spoke to the ship's computer.>

Fel'La: "Computer! Display all non-physical features in our non-immediate area!"

<The computer responded with a change in the walls. This time, instead of stars and local asteroids, a plethora of communication signal origin's are placed in various locations. Although the obvious age of these signals was unknown, many were indeed ancient.>

Fel'La: "My dear pupil, what is it that you wanted me to see here in this desolate void?"

Pupil: "I believe wise teacher, that one of these signals is within immediate proximity of our beautiful vessel. However, I am guessing that there is an urgent distress signal on the Arctannian's inter-galactic frequency for life-boat beacons. One must've been foolish to end up lost out here in nowhere."

Fel'La: "Do not speak of such nonsense, the void is very dangerous at times. Computer! display emergency frequency!"

<The computer complied, and one signal was recorded near an asteroid. It was near enough to be recored in less than a light minute, but the exact object itself was not to be seen.>

Fel'La: "Very well done my student, I hope that the helpless passengers of the vessel have yet to still have hope. Set course for the object. And wake our female occupant, I am distressed at her lack of sleep from last night, and the whole of her oversleeping is equally antagonizing. . ."

<The Karurans both had remembered the Karuran code for life-boats, and ignored the signal sent to them by the Arctannians. Either that, or it had been ignored by the computer's heavily outdated communication array. Either way, this may be the route to trouble.>

[Davidg]

A grey-blue oblong ship slides through space. It is definatly a ship, but of what kind we cannot be certain. There are many, many dishes, and sensors, and other shiny, spinny, and blinky things positioned all over the hull. There is some apparant order to this chaos, patterns can be seen. The instuments are subtly layed out in a grid pattern, the size of them sometimes throwing the eye off. This must be the work of the Turrekkan. Yes, we can definitly see the Turrekkan's binary language inscribed on the side of the bow. From what we can see it says TSS Gadget-Widget. What would it be doing all the way at the far-edge of Arcticannian space?

[Arctic_Wolf]

<Some thirty minutes later, Alexandr Kerzhakov and all senior Brigadeers were assembled on the white oval bridge in full millitary dress. Medals shone and freshly pressed white, red-trim suites dazzled. They all sat at their stations slightly impatient.>

Comm: Commander, they must either be ignoring us or can't recieve us. I believe the former, rather than the later in this case.

Alexandr: Well, transmit again on all frequencies, all types, radio, sup-space, mIRC the lot.

Comm: Aye sir...transmissions sent.

<A few years after these events, the radio message was also recieved by the post-industrial world of Thermestat IV, they hailed it as a miracle and prompty began translation. After thirty long years two sepperate translations and explanations emerged.

"Greetings #name#, this is the #Registration##name#, you're usual recievers, the #name# and the #name# have been reassigned to put down heavy rebel uprisings on #name#. Its a pleasure and an honour to see you again. We have all the required data and atrefacts ready, when can we begin transfers?" The people in this camp believed that while it was great to know there were other races of people in the heavens Thermastat IV had recieved the transmission by cosmic accident. Science should be turned around in an effort to meet these intersteller peoples.

The other camp thought it was a transmission of god from heaven, it showed that thermastatians had gone too far in the persuit of science and technology.

Their world forcmed into two powers, those of the accident theory of those of the divine message. They went into a horrible nuclear war completely obliterating all life on their planet.>

Comm: Commander, we are recieving a signal from one of the stealth ships patrolling the border that a turruken vessel has breached the buffer zone and is currently in our space. The Turruken commity has no Right of Passage through our space.

Alexandr: Tell the scout to send an emergency report of the incident to the S.C.C and prep the Sickle and her crew for immediate dispatch

<It should be noted at this point that the Neatral Solstice is a modified cruiser, if it weren't the best it wouldn't be the flagship. Aswell as the 3 interceptor squadrens(Elderberry Squadren, Steven Fry Squadren and Ghyron-Fan Squadren) it is also able to carry a Type A and Type B Destroyer(ASCNV Hammer and ASCNV Sickle)>

Tech: Yes commander.

<Within miniutes the huge fore hanger doors retracted showing the two sleek destroyes held in by great mooring clamps. The more stream-lined and slightly smaller destroyer's clamps let it go, it fell slowly from the ships artificial gravity into the depths of space. The doors closed and the ACSNV Sickle sped away to the turruken incursion under full stealth.>

[Exitium]

<In the deep space of Coruc Tel an eerie set of search-lights illminate the darkness in an out of place fashion. It was dark, and the Karuran ship shining these search-lights was only a shadow against the starry bacground. It had stopped accelerating an hour ago, and it quickly broke speed with its stern mounted reactionless drives. It continued to shine its rays of hope to discover the physical origin of the, "Beacon." During this endeavour, the Turraken ship could not even pick up the faintest of signals from the craft. How this was so, could not be explained in simple terms. Rather, the Karuran vessel was so alien in its design, that neither the automated or manually operated sensors of the Turraken star-ship could even confirm its existance. Adding to the list of cloaks, it was also very dark. Being space and most, this would not be suprising. A lone searchlight finally picked up the white colour scheme of the Gadget-Widget. The siblings of the ray immediatly turned to face the target.>

<Still, the Turraken ship was oblivious to the presence of the much larger ship. Being a small ship, the Turraken sensors ship was indeed dwarfed by a very small Karuran cargo-ship. The bridge of the avian vessel stirred.>

Pupil: "That is amazingly odd my respected teacher. This ship doesnt even have a scratch of micro-meteoroids on it. Maybe they have a similar passive shielding system to ours that is active superior?"

Fel'La: "Indeed, very good deduction. I will attempt to hail these lost souls. Post script; is our other crew member still dreaming of the fields in Esoto?"

Pupil: "Evidently so, but I ponder why she sleeps so. Shall I wake her myself?"

Fel'La: "No, she has a bright rising sun to attend to tomorrow. Let her rest her eyes so they do not shut when it comes up."

Pupil: "Still young, yet very- Teacher Fel'La! The Arctannians have sent a message! The two war mongering corvettes could not arrive. Instead, they are sending their flagship to meet us revered one. Could this, "Flag-Ship" be something of importance?"

Fel'La: "I have no idea what such a word means. I suggest we roost here for now, they can find us later I believe. The more pressing matter lies within that ship. Please fetch me our translating dictionary from the computer's database student."

<Unfortunately, they would not be the first. For in secret, the Turraken ship also picked up the signals sent by the Arctannians.>

[Davidg]

TSS Gadget-Widget, Overbridge, deck A, Section Alpha. The Overbridge is a large, circular room on the very top of the ship, even higher than the command bridge. It is mostly made of transparisteel, with several large "ribs" going across it. Blast-shutters can be secured over it during an emergancy. There are many technicians working at consoles around the edge of the room. Two are looking rather worried, as the pour over a terminal

Sub-Lieutenant Button-Gizmo: Oh dear....

Lieutenant Whir-Gadjet: Sub-Captian!

A sub-captian, in the a blue, science uniform, walks over from the center of the room, to the two officers.

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: Yes? What have you found?

Sub-Lieutenant Button-Gizmo: Well.. It appears the Arcticanians have discovered our presence.

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: That is not good. Helm, plot a course back to the mothership, flank speed.

Ensign Microbeamp: Course, plotted, Captian.

Technician Macroscope: Sir, I am picking up a transmission, on an older style carrier wave. It seems to be from somewhere in this area... But I cannot pinpoint the origin...

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: Helm, cancel that. Maintain position, but be ready to leave if the Arcticanians show up. On screen, Comm.

A viewer appears, holographcially, over a section of the transparant wall

[Exitium]

<Evidently, the Karurans did not take notice of the ship's movement, and Fel'La hastely activated an inter-galactic hailing frequency. A Turraken listening to headphones at a communication's station heard a message queing bleep. He swiftly pressed a button on his command board. Approximately a millisecond after that even, the commanders aboard could hear a very loud popping noise from within the same deck, and a splatter followed. The poor Turraken listening to the communications headphones was left with two missing heads and a gooey green mess within a one meter radius. His more fortunate comrades covered their ear-holes as the headphones still screeched with an ultra high frequency. Fel'La shrugged his shoulders towards his student as he long awaited a reply.>

[Davidg]

TSS Gadget-Widget

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: What in blazes is that! Computer, shut off the audio!

The computer does, as technicans feed the data through the translation matrix.

Technician: Sir, this is not like any language we have ever detected... It is more like music than a language.... Perhaps we should contact the Flagship.

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: We will have to come back to this, helm, plot course to the flagship, flank speed. We have lingered too long. Jettison a probe, to monitor the area.

[Exitium]

NOTE TO DAVIDG: Thankyou for your friendly cooperation.

[Arctic_Wolf]

<The ASCNV Sickle, arrived on the scene. Full stealth. Can't be seen nor heard, excpet maybe by the Karurans, but they're too single-minded to be looking at anything but the turrukens. Microburst communications(untraceable, see the Star-Trek book were Kirk comes back) fly between the Neutral Soltice and the Sickle>

Sickle: Confirmed sir, covert turruken ship is operating in our space. Pretending to be dead in he water. Our bird friends have discovered them and are flashing light-beams at them.

Neutral Soltice: light beams?

Sickle: Like search lights, theres a signal, we can't listen in...oh, just aswell, its...not pretty. Orders?

Neutral Soltice: Continue obse

Sickle: They raised shields!!!

Neutral Soltice: What?

Sickle: They have gone, to yellow allert. Their running lights deflectors, engines and full sensors are up, aswell as their shields. Classic yellow alert situation. As of yet weapons down...they're starting to move off

Neutral Solstice: Dissengage stealth procedure. Go to full red alert and initiate incursion protocols. We're on our way.

Sickle: Aye sir.

<A preciously blank patch of space suddenly lights up. A blackish ship, is illuminated by its sudden running lights, its shields flash up and weapons begin charge sequences. You can see the cannons turning to face the mass of communications and scanning dishes.>

ASCNV Sickle: Attention Turruken intruders. You have violated Arctannian Space and the Peace Accord. Lower you're shields and surrender, resistence is futile. You will not be told twice.

<As a demonstration the sickle's weapons turn and discharge, blasting the probe into microfragments. On everyone's sensors, the ASCNV Neutral Soltice was heading in at full speed.>

[Davidg]

TSS Gaget-Widget, Bridge

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: All hands, to battle stations, red alert! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Helm, evasive pattern Echo Seven, Navigation, get those hyperdrive coordanites punched in!

Helm: Aye, sir, implementing action sequence.

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: Computer, close blast shutters.

Computer: Beep.

The large, thick, blast-shutters slide over the bridge. The ship moves at full speed away from the destroyer, as her hyperdrive powers up. The ship is not well armed, but is much faster than the destroyer, due to its smaller mass.

Tactical: Sir, they are locking weapons, targetting our hyperdrive.

Sub-Captian Tube-Beaker: All sheild to aft quarter, Comm, tell the mother ship we require assitance. Tactical, arm aft torpedo tube, try to hit their sensors. All gunners, try to knock out any missles they launch.

[Arctic_Wolf]

Tut, tut, tut, rule breaking already. You cannot control my ships, only you're own. And a the destoryer is the smallest Intersteller ship made by the ASCN.

<The ASCNV Neutral Solstice streemed in on full sub-light, immediatly dwarfing the tiny turruken vessel and its own destroyer. The Plasma Cannons HAM Launchers trained to the tiny speck>

Sensors: Commander, the turruken vessel is moving off. Its increased power and charged weapons. I don't think its going to surrender.

Alexandr: *sigh* Verywell, dispatch the Elderberry Squadren and start fireing, all weapons aim for their command centre and engines.

Tactical: Aye sir.

<The Huge vessel opened fire opon the turruken spy, the hangers retracted and seven interceptors screamed silently into a delta formation and began attacking runs. Even the sickle opened fire. It would only be seconds longer until the shields collapsed and left vessel exposed and permentently out of commision. Phasers were allready trained on every life-sign on the vessel, just waiting for the shield to collapse and beam out all the survivors.>

[Arctic_Wolf]

<Meanwhile, just out of the action a small trader vessel hung quietly checking out the proceedings on long range sensors. In the tiny cramped cockpit sat an old salt-hog, his breate rattling away, sitting next to him was a much younger salt-hog with a similar cap.>

Old man Salt Hog: *cough* this is interesting.

Young Salt Hog: Why?

Old man Salt Hog: Looks like a war *cough* may be brewing up between the Turrukens and the Arctannians, the *cough* turrukens have violated the peace accord and are incurring *cough**cough* into Arctannian space.

Young Salt Hog: Aren't we incurring?

Old man Salt Hog: *racking cough* no *cough* we're spanishan traders. We *cough* have a write of passage.

Young Salt Hog: Oh, I wish I knew as much as you.

Old Salt Hog: You are me, *cough* when I die transfur my brain *cough* patterns into your's. I will live again.

Young Salt Hog: How long until you die?

<the old salt-hog leans over and looks at his digital watch. coughing through it. Amazing those things.>

Old Salt Hog: Oh, about five minutes.

[Senor v2]

Old man Salt Hog: Prepare the transfer initiation sequence, my time is nearly up *cough*

Young Salt Hog: Sequence started, i hope we have a good life.

<The old Salt hog's time had come, as he peacefully died on the science table the brain pattern transfer began. Light filled the room and in the space of two seconds he was reborn......>

Young Salt Hog: Has it worked? awww who am i kidding of course it worked...nothing works better than the nitty gritty technology of the spanishan salthogs! I am reborn, a new chapter has began in the timeline of salthogs everywhere, finally Senor is back.....no scratch that Senor v2 is alive!!!!!!!!

[Davidg]

I am not controlling your ship. It has been established that the sensor craft is very small. It is a small, fast, recon ship. In most systems, Destroyer is a medium sized ship larger than frigate, and smaller than cruiser.

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

TSS Gadget-Widget, Bridge. Alarms are going off everywhere, and red lights appear on most of the consoles. The NAV officer is frantacly working at the hyperdrive controls.

Computer: Warning, sheilds at 12%, and falling.

Sub-Captian: NAV, now would be a very good time. Tactical, cease fire, and put that power into the sheilds.

NAV: Hyperdrive ready, captian.

Just as the sheilds weaken, the ship manages to bring its hyperdrive online. It shoots tword its mother ship.

[JSWY]

---Outside the Coruc Tel system---

<After the previous Galactic war, many races sold surplus war stock to collectors and musuem's, the proprietor of the Karos Graveyard was one who purchaed many ships from many races. Admirial JSWY was seen in orbit around Hiigara purchasing a Carrier off them for a large quantity of Galactic E Units, a ship looking similar to the one purchased now sits on the edge of the Coruc Tel system, onboard the bridge of the ITG Napo, the lights are dimmed>

FleetNAV: We have arrived at the edge of the Coruc Tel system, this is the source of the signals, our Quantum Wave-forum has generated a minimal signature, sensors are clear.

JSWY: Our engines still produce a large engine signature, get the guys down in research on it double time, launch two hyperspace gates and send one near to the origin of the signals, Comm, keep listening to the signal.

<Two small devices launch from the hanger bays, one remains with the carrier and the other streaks off into the Coruc Tel System>

[Arctic_Wolf]

Destroyers are the smallest vessel in mosts fleets. Sometimes its a corvette. And I'm saying you were controlling my ships because you said that they targetted you're hyperdrives, when I had not said that. Though I didn't mean for it to be taken seriously as I eventualy did target you're engines I was just saying to be careful.

<Arctannian Incursion Protocols are that an incurring vessel be told to surrender, if the vessel complies, its nav, sensor and tactical banks are wiped and the crew is brought to a hearing, wereby a court determines wheather or not the incusion was out of ignorence or malicious intent. Those found ignorant have are sent back home with their ship. Those that are found guilty of purposefully violating Arctannian territory are imprisoned for life and their ship is sold to an Arctannian merchent. If the ship does not surrender, it is destroyed and the crew are either captured or put to death. Following these protocols, the ASCNV Sickle jumped to hyperspace and persued, minutes later its sister ship ASCNV Hammer was released and followed. The Neutral Solstice remained with the Kurur...bird people and the Elderberry squadren took the time to get some precision flying practice.>

[Exitium]

NOTES: JSWY: I knew you would figure that one out! By the way, Homeworld ship sizes are in the ranges of extreme. You could literally have a picnic on the bow of a Homeworld Kushani Interceptor (first game). I can only fathom what a HW2 Interceptor is like inside. DAVIDG and ARCTIC_WOLF: Corvette -> Destroyer -> Frigate -> Cruiser -> Heavy Cruiser -> Battleship -> Carrier. The latter being the largest by far. The blokes at Relic thought the term, "Frigate" sounded kind of funny for larger ships, so the name, "Destroyer" was opted towards bigger ships when Homeworld was created. However, in StarTopian RPGs, I prefer that we all use the modern system originally devised by primitive humanoids on the planet, "Earth."

<The Karurans had been shocked at the sight of weapons' fire, and they patiently awaited the lack of dangerous projectiles and charged particles before making any decisions. The ship's computer, however, did not like the various heat signatures running across her sensors. The almost obsolete CPU crashed. The screens of the Karuran vessel turned to blue malfuctioning screens, and the various automated facilities within the ship went insane with power fluctuations. One of these systems was the emergency super-luminal activation command embeded within the captain's hovering chair. The nearby Arctannian ships' sensors went wild. The Karuran ship now appeared to be a, "Ghosted" object within space, but the allied ships also took notice that their own forces were displaying the same affect. Flows of electricity struck between closely placed ship, but caused little or no damage to their occupants. Then, all at once, they disappeared from that area completely. The Turrakens could clearly see this at their own free will. In reality, the Karuran ship had activated its own emergency transit device. The sphere of effect took in all of the friendly Arctannian ships. The poor Arctannians within the ships could only see darkness out their windows, and Fel'La slowly hummed the tune of the Keruran anthem. Time passed slowly. . .>

<Thirty-five minutes later on Arctannia after the even, a local resident could be seen hiking fifty miles away from any major settlements. Near the legendary steppes of snow on Arctannia, he noticed that it was starting to snow towards his intended destination; which happened to be very large mountains in the distance. A gust of wind blew in huge snowflakes as he hastely began to erect a tent for the night. He eyed the mountains for a quick minute before picking up a very primitive metal stake and hammer. Slowly hammering the object into the earth, he thought he heard a muffled scream behind the loud displacement of cold air. Out of complete curiosity, he looked up towards the mountains again, and thought he had gone insane. For in the distance were two large, very strange looking ships surrounded by what appeared to be smaller chunks of metal. These were fighters of course, and the other ships were none other than the Neutral Solstice and the Karuran cargo vessel.>

[Davidg]

TSS Gaget-Widget, Overbridge. Bridge is a bustle of activity, green grids are projected around the pheriphy of the bridge, showing energy output, ship positions, speed, ect. One on the fore end of the bridge shows the persuit of the Arcticannians. The Neutral Solstic, and fighters, are also shown. Suddenly they dissappear.

Sub-Captian: Where did they go! Did they cloak?

Commander Proton-Quark: No, captian. Our sensors would have registered the cloaking effect, and the fighters are gone, also, they are too small for a cloaking deviece. Ensign, play back the sensor records.... *is looking at the moment of disappearance* Hmm... Another vessel was faintly detected, then it vanished with the rest of them.

Sub-Captian: Our musical friends, possibly?

Commander Proton-Quark: Very likely, I wonder how they decieved our sensors, and where they sent the Arcticanians. I suppose it is good for us.

Sub-Captian We still have their destroyers to worry about. Navigation, ETA, to the Pride of Opray-Ting?

NAV: We will be in range, in three hours, at present speed.

[JSWY]

I prefer the HW(2) system, I find it easier to remember

Most Ultility class vessels (Probes, proximity sensors, Sensor distortion probes) -> Fighters -> Corvettes -> Frigates -> Destroyers -> Battlecruisers (Heavy Crusier and Missile Crusiers go in between, they're certainly not as large as the HW2 Battlecrusiers) -> Carriers -> Shipyards -> Mothership Class vessels

[Arctic_Wolf]

Thankyou for your cooperation.

<Hyperdrive reactors require a lot of space, for ever rank up the speedometer, the space required is doubled. This is why larger starships, while often they cannot outrun the smaller ships in sublight, can run circles around them at FTL. The Destroyers were gaining fast on the turrukens and there was nothing they could do. Commander Igilyn of the ASCNV Sickle was within FTL Torpedo range, he fired. The shot thudded into the smaller turruken vessel from behind, crippling the engines. The hammer slowed down while the sickles was forced to continue on and turn. Moments later the Turruken vessel, coughing through normal space was offered one last chance to surreder as the Arctannian destroyers closed in on its flanks. Their weapons were charged, if the tururkens refused, death was assured.>

(This is an unnescapeable situation. I am treating the turruken vessel as insignificant as you have a mothership, if this is not the case please PM me. Otherwise this could be a great way to get the war started.)

[Exitium]

Please excuse me for that, I have to (re)read these in a hurry at times. I think I'll post less posts at better times from now on.

In other news, I have updated my gallery to include a few more photos/sketches relating to this RPG. I hope everyone enjoys them!

[Arctic_Wolf]

S'ok, now will someone reply.

BOOT