Takamo Fiction

[R. RitnourKeymaster]

THE UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE

By Terry Buchholz

Thridwald Urduwaht127
Brother of the Oligarchy and
Governor General of K’UTAL

Re: The Unusual Circumstance

Thrid 127:

What the unreasonable hell? At first glance I thought surely, the report that you sent to me cannot be true. Yet,Yet, No matter how hard I looked for some good news in your message, your failures stared unblinkingly right in my face.

First of all: Why you took it upon yourself to decide to over throw the local Planetary Government without Imperial Permission is unconscionable. It was ambitious true, but not your place at this time as a Newly Elected Brother of The Oligarchy and Governor General and leader of your Smuggling Center Command. One must wait one’s turn on use of Imperial Forces.

Secondly: Why you decided to stir up and Foment Religious Fervor and mix this with the MU / GU units which you commandeered is beyond reasonable. Never has this worked well in the past, as you clearly should have known from your Recent Studies at the Imperial Smuggling and War Tactics College.

Thirdly: By attacking and conquering the K’UTAL world you have slaughtered if you will the ‘Imperial Cash Cow’ which was the current Smuggling Run in this sector. Granted, in this at least we filled the coffers one last time from just before your untimely attack.

Fourthly: The Diversion of the Fleet Combat Air Arm, and the use of Marine Transports not once but twice…Well I have to admit that was inspired genius. But still the way in which you Falsified Orders and had a Planet Attacked in an allied space was reckless and unbelievably beyond your position as a New Brother of The Oligarchy.

Lastly: Again the Recklessness of the use of these Zealots along with the Commandeered Marine Units after and along with the Air Strikes, clearly lead to the situation in which, although later Fighter Strikes were recalled, the Guerrilla Attacks Continued. AND this is despite the fact that our ALLIES had taken the planet before the final GU attack. Clearly in your studies at the Imperial Smuggling and War Tactics College, surely, you must have run across the term ALLIES?

My first instinct is to have you ‘volunteer’ for the Imperial Marines, and lead First Wave in the next charge assault on some forgotten backwater planet. However, I have been reminded that being the Emperor’s Nephew has at least one perk. And the ISWTC is interested in just how you diverted the fleets to your own command.

So Nephew, congratulations on the Shortest Ever Governorship, the Shortest Ever Military Command, and creating the nearest incident yet to a Sector Wide InterstellarWar.

And of course, congratulations as well on your new Professorship at the ISWTC.

See you soon. Watch out for my shoe.

Emperor Rhotaris 13;
Lead Brother of The Oligarchy
The Mutos of Rhatsibahn

[R. RitnourKeymaster]

Interceptor Pilot #247

By David Bellar

I answered the call…”Fighter Pilots Needed”.

When you are born into Rallebian life, you have one of two goals: Accumulation or Commerce. Being a fighter pilot was not on my horizon. Well, all that changed a few years ago. The Rallebian Clan allied with a mining outfit. More of an arrangement for more resources. We would allow certain shipments to go unscathed. Ships intact. Alien lives saved. We get paid in money and ore, and we didn’t have to raid them, just their competitor. What a negotiation. (But of course this is all truly speculation with a hint of definite deniability). That’s when things changed. Along with the ore, came these tech guys and her.

Everyone knows the reasons why. Some female miner from a nearby colony lures the emperor’s son away. I mean for god’s sake, she came from a colony. She keeps him occupied and happy. Parents are embarrassed, for he was already promised to another family. Yes, the elitist still arrange marriages. They believe it is the best way to manipulate (I mean accumulate) wealth and standing within the empire. You know moms. “How could this colony girl keep her eldest son happy and occupied?” “She is from the Quezallian Empire.” You know: blaming Dad, friends, school and the galactic internet. Then, these mining guys revealed the planet her son went to is supposedly loaded with ore. The miners have the entire galaxy mapped out by ore. The home world planet where this girl is from is Blue: only green is better. Our home world is 4th tier, kind of a pissy, dull yellow. So the Accumulation of ore began, along with the recruiting.

The elitist cordoned off a section of our capitol city. That is Rallebian for, “Built a huge wall with keep out signs every 20 feet along with armed guards”. Then we saw it. A special space dock labeled Accumulation Development.

We have fighters. But they are for defense. Hidden in deep dark subsector space. Waiting patiently for uninvited aliens…… Then accumulation of scrap metal begins.

These new fighters are different. Faster, sleeker, meant to pack a punch, but not very defensive. Seems like if anything bigger than your average Cestodial Hegemony dust digger could seriously damage the ship: (That was the first clue something was amiss). The recruiting started right when mass production began.

Training is simple. Complete the mission in the new simulator with more than three kills. You are ready. The simulator is kind of like a life-sized video game except for the over-zealous, uptight, baton wielding Sargent who pokes you in the ribs with a baton when you screw up or die. After 45 hours of simulator training, I have noticed a high correlation between screw-ups and dying. All I have achieved so far was 63 painfully pathetic deaths and multiple sore ribs. Then it happened. I survived the mission and landed back on base. The Talley counter read, “4 kills”.

My Sargent grunted, “You’ve graduated”. He sheathed his baton slowly and walked away.

Just under two years ago we sent our fighters to retrieve the prodigal son. 75 fighters left and none returned. We waited and waited. When the last moon gave way to dawn, we knew we were outmatched, but our resolve grew stronger, hatred deeper and the rewards grew bigger. (Got to love mom). That siren should have looked for another favorite son. The second wave of fighters had more success. We sent 150 of our new fighters, 96 were never seen again. The rest returned heroes. We learned the cold hearted truth, our fighter pilots were not superior. We killed less than 50. Hence, the new simulators.

In response, we did what we do best. Now, the lesson would be ours. 2 fleets of Corsair 3s. The newest of the Rallebian fleet. Stealthy and Fast, definitely superior! We watched them leave from the space dock. All training stopped, to watch the fleets disappear into the stars. 20 ships primed like a Plyuinkian cat. Those stalking eyes ready to pounce on its prey. Determined Corsair pilots: and our most experienced. It seemed almost unfair, but then, revenge never is. They returned victorious. 350 units of loot. Reports of starvation and lack of commerce. An economy in havoc. No Rallebian losses. Take that you wench of a son stealer!

Now, it’s my turn. 150 strong, and better equipped.
Determined …..Yes
Dedicated …..Yes
Well trained…If I survive, yes! But if I die, You suck, you baton wielding, rib smashing Sargent.

Green Light and we’re off. One wave, one mind, one mission, Ralleb

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

ok. Starting Friday there will be the first part to a several part short fiction story based on a Takamo action. Hopefully this will start a series of short stories based on different Takamo actions. Keep an eye out on this thread Friday (or sooner)

[Anonymous]

Looking forward to it

[Tregonsee – HMU (Heavy Moderator Unit)Participant]

Sorry, Starfall was a separate piece of fiction

[R. RitnourKeymaster]

Thanks for posting that! I saw something glittery and forgot to post.

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

There should be a new piece in the next Suspence and Descision. I’m also working on a piece of short fiction hopefully to be ready in a month or two. Special thanks to CHARON EMPIRE for proofreading and inspiration.

[CHARON EMPIREParticipant]

Yes, If you have it! I read part one in the old Threshold, don’t recall part II.

[CHARON EMPIREParticipant]

How about part 2 to this story, I’ve been waiting many years!

MAROONED [part one]

by Pack story teller, Hjrathgar Treekeeper

[R. RitnourKeymaster]

Marooned Part 2 was published in the old Threshold many years ago. Are you asking to have it re-posted here?

[Tregonsee – HMU (Heavy Moderator Unit)Participant]

This is where you can submit small pieces of fiction related to Takamo. There used to be a fiction section in the Old Threshold. Please keep things in good taste…

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

Action Code 37 Location#1 XYZ12311 aka Search and Destroy
By James MacKinlay and David Williams (editor)

Hsik had already been on duty for 9 hours and it had been a long shift watching the tunnel entrance. His limbs aching, Hsik moved his laser rifle from one clawed limb to another. Hsik had been with the Soelien-Twa Marines, or “Runts” as they were known by the humans for a little over four years and made it up the ranks to be Squad Leader of Iron Squad. In all that time he had never been sent on a Search and Destroy mission. He had invaded alien colonies, terraformed worlds suitable to the Soelein-Twa habitat, and even once been dropped in behind enemy lines as a Guerilla Unit. But this was his first Search and Destroy mission.

In the morning brief, the Commander had communicated there was a good chance nothing would be found today but the marine garrison Hsik was stationed with had been given orders. A Royal Egg had gone missing and they were tasked with finding and destroying it.

Royal Eggs were a kind of insurance policy for the Twa. As long as the Queen remained healthy and popular there was no real need for the eggs and she would consume them before they hatched. However, if the Queen was dying a Royal Egg would be allowed to hatch spawning a new queen. The new queen would take her name and her throne upon the old queen’s death. On rare occasions a queen might be so unpopular that one or more of the Nursery Caste spirited away a Royal Egg to hatch a new queen. That is what had happened this time. If that egg hatched with a healthy queen still in power it would split the Twa race and plunge them into civil war.

It was a little ironic Hsik thought that the reason Queen Soel had been losing popularity was due to her alliances with the humans and other space faring races friendly to the TWA. But, it would be a human Smuggling Center used to get the Royal Egg off world. Although the exact location of the Smuggling Center was unknown, Hsik’s squad had been placed in positions to observe the tunnels most likely to lead to the smuggler’s location.

“Hsik… Gather… Others… Come… Sector… Seven…” The Commander’s telepathic message imprinted on Hsik’s consciousness. Twa telepathy, at least among drones, was quite rudimentary. The majority of their communication was done with limb and antennae gestures. But not having to use radio waves like some of the other races the TWA have encountered meant their communications could not be intercepted. Hsik gathered the rest of his squad and they moved off towards the location the Commander had directed them to.

—–

When Hsik’s squad arrived at the Commander’s location the other two squads had already arrived. The Squad Leaders from Gold and Bauxite Squads were already getting their orders. Hsik could read the Commander’s gestures as he approached. “Iron and Gold – Frontal Assault. Bauxite Sweep Rear.” Hsik wondered if the Commander knew any other orders. His squad always seemed to be doing Frontal Assaults. At least the other Runts in his squad would know what they were doing. There were a lot of new drones in the Marines these days. The Empire of the Soelien-Twa had been going through a bit of a rapid expansion through the Galaxy recently and was almost as large as it had been before the Naplians invaded, and then the subsequent Cybernetic Decimation. Hsik had let his mind wander and only picked up the last of the Commander’s gestures “…the Egg has hatched.”

This was going to make things a lot more difficult Hsik thought to himself. Whereas most newborns or hatchlings of other races were fairly defenceless a new Twa Queen was born with the genetic memory imprinted from all the Queens that had come before her. Also, although physically she might not be as large as an adult queen, a royal hatchling’s telepathy was fully developed in just a few hours.

This was a time where the Commander’s tendency towards Frontal Assaults might come in useful. The longer the new Queen remained alive the more drones she would bring over to her cause. Hsik had enjoyed being a Guerilla Unit on an alien planet but he did not relish fighting Runts from his own world.

—–

It did not take long to zero in on the Smuggling Center and the new Queen. Her thoughts were going out to all Twa commanding them to join her. She identified herself as Queen Mael and her followers the Maelien-Twa. Hsik could see the conflict going on in the minds of the other members of Iron Squad as they fought against their instincts. He wondered if any of them would go over to the new Queen. Most at risk were the new drones, the ones that had not had Queen Soel’s consciousness imprinted on them before. Hsik decided they should lead the charge. It would be harder for them to change loyalties if the new Queen’s guerillas were firing at them.

Hsik looked at the abandoned warehouse the smugglers had been using. Earthwork barricades had been erected in front of the doors and armed Twa could be seen in firing positions at the windows. Hsik looked at his Runts and found their entire attention was on him. He briefly went over the plan and then gave the gesture they had been waiting for… “Attack.”

—–

Soelien-Twa marines were soon rushing down a small embankment, straight into the enemy lines, the firefight was soon a melee, and did not last long. The Maelien-Twa Guerillas were determined but they didn’t have the experience, the weapons, or the bioengineered armour that the Runts had. It had been a wise move Hsik thought, putting the new drones in the first wave. Not a single Runt from Iron Squad had switched sides. In fact there was not a single casualty in Iron Squad. The other two squads did not fare so well. Both had taken heavy casualties when some of their newest drones turned on them. Their squad leaders did not have the same foresight Hsik had and had not led their attacks with the new Runts.

Hsik stood surveying the ruins of the human Smuggling Center ship and the bodies surrounding it. The human smugglers had stood and died with the Maelien-Twa Guerillas at the end. The smugglers knew if they were caught that there was only one penalty for smuggling on Twa worlds… death… and every one of them had found it. The largest concentration of bodies was around one small form, barely bigger that Hsik’s torso. The Maelien-Twa Guerillas may not have been Runts but they died protecting their Queen.

“Hsik… Report” the Commander’s consciousness cut through Hsik’s thoughts.

Hsik composed himself and thought about what he was going to communicate. Any Guerillas that got away would rejoin the Soelien-Twa. Their rebellion would not be held against them. It was in their DNA to join a new Queen. It was the way of the Twa. He reached out with his mind, identifying and passing over other Twa in the area. It did not take long to find the Commander’s consciousness, “Queen… Mael… Dead… Smuggling… Center… Destroyed… Mission… Accomplished.”

-The End-

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by .
• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by .

[KNIGHTS OF RANCORParticipant]

Sorry, this was a premature post. What I wanted to post will be ready in a couple of days once again I’m sorry for the premature post.

[KNIGHTS OF RANCORParticipant]

“Who cares if the people hate they are all to be exterminated. The Galaxy must be cleansed!”
From the C.C.C. (Collective’s Central Core) of the KNIGHTS OF RANCOR

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by . Reason: posted too soon

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

The Captain did not know if he was more surprised by Charlie’s words or the squads of “runts” appearing from the darkness with the laser rifles at the ready. Looking over at Mendez he could see her analyzing her datapad, its active sensors on full.

“Active camouflage Captain. I’m only showing sensor shadows where they are. Lots of sensor shadows… and more behind us… I’m pretty sure they knew we were coming.”

“Please drop your weapons,” Charlie said in a monotone voice. “We mean you no harm.”

Mendez looked up from her datapad and met the Captain’s gaze. Slowly shaking her head she said, “There’s just too many.”

Again Charlie’s monotone voice said, “Please lower your weapons. We mean you no harm.”

The two Usul crew members lowered their weapons to the ground. “What now?” the Captain asked.

“You will be allowed to go of course. But I have a message for your leaders…”

“How could you be a spy Charlie?” Mendez interrupted.

“A spy?” Charlie questioned. “No… Charlie was not a spy but we do need to keep him.” Charlie said.

“I don’t understand” Mendez said.

“We need Charlie,” Charlie said. “He will be well looked after as First Speaker of Soel. I need a voice and Charlie will be that voice.”

“Wait a second…” the Captain blurted out. “If you are not Charlie, who are you?”

The previously unseen lights in the room came on and the far wall started sliding up to the roof. Behind the wall a gargantuan sized bug, slightly different from the rest was staring down at the humans.

“We are the Twa,” Charlie’s monotone voice said “And I am their Queen.”

—–

FLEET HEADQUARTERS
HAIKEN MARU HOMEWORLD
STARDATE 3188.1

“So let me get this straight” Commander Wilcox said yelling at the two Usul officers standing at attention in front of him. “You encountered an alien race of giant telepathic bugs, found out they are the best miners in the galaxy, and have untold riches in ore deposits. You then left one of your crew members behind to be a mind controlled slave to their queen just so you could return with offers of diplomatic relations with said race?”

“Yes sir” Captain Monkman said looking sheepishly. “But, the Twa don’t consider it slavery. Each drone exists to obey the will of the Queen. Queen Soel considers Charlie to be another drone, existing to service her will.”

The return of the Usul to Haiken Maru space had created quite a buzz of excitement through the empire. Unfortunately the “loss” of Charlie was not going well and he and Mendez were now facing a naval military courts martial on the charges of dereliction of duty and culpable negligence. Charges they suspected were to protect the image of the Haiken Maru Navy.

Three officers sat in judgment of their not guilty plea, Rear Admiral Osbourne and Fleet Admiral Anderson were well respected officers that had risen through the ranks with valor. Captain Monkman knew and liked both men. Commander Wilcox, on the other hand, was an example that money could still buy position over competence. Wilcox had taken it upon himself to act like a tight arsed, pencil pushing prick (a position he took naturally to) criticizing every decision the Captain had made.

“How do you justify your actions Captain” Wilcox asked.

“If I thought we could have rescued him we were prepared to do so and would have done it. I stand by my actions at the time. I am responsible for all the members of my crew and take responsibility for leaving Ensign Stephenson behind. However, if the fleet is going to abandon contact with the Twa, risk interstellar war, and mount a rescue mission I would like to volunteer to get him back.”

With those words the Admirals briefly looked at each other. Captain Monkman could swear they shared a thought that they would not vocalize before they quickly dismissed he and Mendez to await the verdict.

—–

“We have a decision” Admiral Anderson stated peering down at the two remaining Usul crew members. “This Court Martial was convened to gather the facts concerning the crew of the Explorer class ship Usul and the events on planet B157. The circumstances have been made part of the official record and the Fleet would like to make this statement.” The Admiral paused before continuing, “So often a society in which governments have been replaced by greedy mega-corporations or one in which each individual is required to be incorporated at birth, the individual gets left behind with little to no concern for human life or decency. Unfortunately sometimes the good of the many outweigh the good of the few. Ensign Charlie Stephenson’s sacrifice will benefit the empire a thousandfold. The Ruling Council has decided the Soelien-Twa will take over and expand our Mining Centers, increasing their productivity. This will in turn allow us to increase our Production Centers to build more and bigger ships, increase our tax base, and give us access to intelligence for star systems we have not even seen yet.” Again the Admiral paused, “As for your outcome Captain, the court martial finds that you performed adequately given the circumstances and no punishment will be awarded. You both will retain your ranks and continue to serve the Fleet.”

“However…” Commander Wilcox added. “Due to your abandonment of a crew member…” The Commander paused ignoring the glares from the two Admirals. “…The Fleet has decided that you will forfeit any and all bonuses from the discovery of the Soelien-Twa. You are reassigned to the Usul with a new pilot and ship out for your next tour tomorrow at 0800. You are dismissed.”

—–

Sitting in the Captains Quarters aboard the Usul, Captain Monkman pulled a note out of his chest pocket passed to him by Admiral Anderson at the conclusion of the official proceedings. As he began to read it again, Mendez announced over the intercom that the ship was ready for departure. Captain Monkman folded the simple piece of paper, and placed it back into his pocket.

The note flatly stated: “We are sorry”

—–

HAIKEN MARU MAPPING EXPEDITION
UNCHARTED ASTEROID BELT DESIGNATED B342
STARDATE 3188.5

Captain Monkman looked over at the new pilot, Charlie’s replacement. It wasn’t that he was a bad pilot, he was even quite likable. But even after exploring planets, asteroids, and other stellar phenomenon for the last few weeks, the Captain thought to himself that the pilot would always be known as Charlie’s replacement. “Sir, I think I have something on the Electromagnagraph” Mendez said. “Faint electronics… looks like a repeating pattern. Not naturally occurring.”

The new pilot asked, “Should I give us a closer look Captain?”

The Captain and Mendez shared a look before the Captain spoke. “No just make a note of it and I’ll include it in the next report.”

The Pilot looked at Captain Monkman with a quizzical look, an unspoken question on his face.

The Captain’s hand slowly came up and gingerly patted his chest pocket. The pocket that showed the small outline of a folded note within. The Captain wanted to say something. The emotional conflict he was going through showed on his face. He wanted to say he didn’t want to lose another crew member. He wanted to scream he couldn’t lose another crew member. But all that came out of his mouth was a whisper, “Take us to the next rock.”

End of Story

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by .
• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by .

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

Mendez and the Captain were both starting to get a bit nervous though the “runt” didn’t appear to notice the two humans watching it. It did however maintain a vigil over the area preventing the Usul crew members from getting back to the tunnels and the safety of their ship.

“Sir, it is past time Charlie was supposed to wait for us.”

“Yes, I think we may have to shoot our way out. But, that laser rifle its holding is going to make it tough as we are severely outranged if we try to rush it. We’ll have to…”

“More movement coming” Mendez interrupted, tapping the data pad. “Half a dozen bugs and… no… she muttered… one human lifesign!”

The two crew members suspected who the human lifesign was even before he came into view. Flanked by a squad of similar sized bugs to the “runt” was a very forlorn looking Charlie. The “runt” they had been watching fell in with the squad escorting the young pilot and the group continued down the path toward the centre of what appeared to be the bug city.

Seeking a better vantage point in an outcropping of rocks, The Captain’s eyes lingered on the spot where the escort squad disappeared from sight, a million thoughts rushing through his mind. In a low voice he asked the sensor officer, “Can you track them?”

“Already on it Cap’n. Half a Klick and increasing. Straight towards the centre of the city. Are we going after him?”

The Captain hesitated for a moment, lost in his memories. “I won’t leave another crew member behind to be slaughtered,” he said still staring towards the centre of the city. He slowly turned his head towards Mendez and said “Let’s go get him back!”

—–

Charlie was confused, during all those boring Xenobiology classes at the Academy and all the mundane moments sitting behind the controls of the Usul, He had never fallen asleep on duty before. Why had he fallen so deeply asleep and how had the “bugs” gotten his weapon?

Every so often the small troop would gather up another heavily armed bug so his escort now totalled seven, all armed with laser rifles and sporting sleek bioengineered body armour. He had yet to hear them utter a sound and any communication seemed to be through limb and antennae gestures.

Initially he had a thought that Mendez and the Captain might rescue him in the tunnels. But, his hope had been dashed when he and his escort had used a different route and were now marching down the streets of a large underground city. Their entry into the bug city only served to reinforce the idea that these were going to be his final hours.

—–

“There he is,” the Captain indicated pointing towards the group of bugs and one Haiken Maru environmental suit disappearing into the largest structure they had seen in the bug city a large elaborate mound. The Usul crew had turned off their active sensors for fear of being discovered and instead had been relying on Charlie and his escort continuing on the same route he had been from the time he entered the city. Using alleys and back streets, and staying in the shadows, the crew had made their way into the centre of the city without being noticed. The Captain had climbed a short tower just to get some perspective and it was reassuring to see Charlie ahead of them, even if it was only for a few seconds.

After spending a few minutes surveying the mound type building Charlie and his escort had entered, the Captain joined Mendez on street level. “I have an idea,” he said before leaning in and explaining to the sensor officer what he had in mind. They double checked their weapons and headed towards the building Charlie had entered.

—–

Static filled Charlie’s ears as his pupils returned to normal. They had been glazed over and he once again felt like he was waking from a deep sleep.

“Charlie,” a voice came through the static. It seemed to be a voice he should know. “Charlie,” the vaguely familiar voice repeated.

Still groggy, his heart pounding in his chest, Charlie looked around the dark cavernous room but saw no-one. The only sound being the static coming through his radio.

“Charlie,” the voice repeated more urgently.

“Yes?” Charlie said uncertainly.

“Charlie, its Mendez. The Captain and I are here to rescue you,” the voice said through the static.

“How… wait… where are you?” Charlie asked the voice.

“Close. I’m jamming all frequencies and sending this on a tight band frequency. We don’t have long. What can you tell us about where you are and how you got in?”

Charlie briefly summed up to Mendez everything he could remember going over which rooms he had entered, the halls he had gone down, and where the guards were that he had seen.

“Sit tight Charlie, we’ll be there soon.” Mendez’s voice said right before the static stopped.

Charlie was left alone in silence. His eyes started to glaze over. “No not again,” he muttered before he lost consciousness.

—–

Between the description Charlie had given them, and the sensor “snapshops” Mendez had gotten by turning on her active sensors briefly every few minutes, the two Usul crew members managed to get to the door of the chamber Charlie was being held in without running into any of the patrolling guards.

The door had been secured by a simple latch on the outside. Being careful to disable the latch, so as to not lock themselves in the room, and so the latch would still appear locked Mendez opened the door. Looking left and then right Mendez and the Captain darted inside. Charlie was standing in the center of the room, arms hanging limply at his sides, his face down. The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness.

Seeing Charlie, Mendez turned on her active sensors to plot the three of them a route out.

“Charlie,” the Captain whispered. “Charlie?”

Raising his head, “Char-lie…” the young pilot said, looking like he was trying to remember. “Yes, that was our name” he said softly. He turned to face the other crew members with glazed over pupils. “My name is Charlie Stephenson” he said with conviction, “First Speaker of Soel, Queen to the Soelien-Twa, and you are our prisoners!”

—–

End of Part 4

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

First Contact – Part 3

The light emitting diodes on the environmental suits gave enough light to navigate through the tunnels but not enough to make the Captain feel comfortable. He was much more at ease in the blackness of space than buried under a million tonnes of rock. Looking back at his Sensor Officer he watched her tapping continuously on the datapad. Her eyes had barely left it since they had entered the series of tunnels. First it had been to get geological readings, then plotting a course through the warren of tunnels, then scanning for the random bug creatures patrolling the darkness. At least in the tunnels the suit respirators could finally cool the air so they were not sweating all the time the Captain thought to himself.

“Looks like some type of opening up ahead, a large cavern or something… maybe” Mendez stated with her eyes still on the holographic screen, its data continuously changing with every step down the tunnel.

The two Usul crew members killed the lights on their environmental suits plunging them into pitched darkness. Switching first from night vision, then to thermal imaging, Mendez did another sweep up the tunnel before creeping forward. The two Usul crew members could see an eerie glow ahead. As they cautiously approached the tunnel started to get brighter. First it was just enough light to see outlines of rocky shapes in the tunnel, then the rocks themselves. Finally, it was almost the same light as the bridge of the Usul. Mendez had been right, the tunnel ended and opened up into a vast dimly lighted cavern with an alien city occupying both banks of an underground river. The random rock walls of the tunnels and cavern turned into elaborate structures with rounded spires depicting elaborate hieroglyphs and intricately carved oval entryways. Every so often bug creatures could be seen scurrying into and out of the structures.

“Sir, this is it. The scanners are showing no interference now. I’m showing a massive power source, a highly developed shield, weapons arrays, and sophisticated digital communication relay stations. There must be a larger entrance because I’m even showing what appears to be some type of a space port!.”

“I think we’ve seen all we need to Mendez. Let’s get back before we are discovered and Charlie takes off without us, or we end up as a meal for those bugs.”

Just then the pad in Mendez’s gloved hand began blinking frantically “Hold on…, we’ve got company coming.”
The two crew members took cover behind a loose pile of rocks just in time to see a couple of the two storey tall bug creatures come into view. The two creatures stood there for a minute with their limbs and antennas waving as if they were having a conversation without words.

“What’s this all about” the Captain muttered softly under his breath.

“Look, it’s a runt” Mendez said as she pointed towards a third bug coming into view. This one was much shorter than the other two, standing only about 8 feet tall. However, it was wearing some type of bioengineered metallic body armour and carrying what appeared to be a laser rifle in its clawed limbs.

More limb and antenna gestures continued with the third bug before the larger two moved off. The “runt” stayed just out of earshot but well within sight of the two hidden crew members.

“What now?” Mendez whispered into the mic of her environmental suit, as if she feared talking.
“I guess we have no choice,” was the Captain’s reply. “We wait.”

—–

“Twah” Charlie murmured in his sleep. He awoke with a start. “Was that a noise? How long have I been asleep?” he thought to himself. He checked the chronometer on his suit. The Captain and Mendez should have been back twenty minutes ago. “Now what” he spoke softly to himself. The Captain had left orders but should he wait a while longer or try to get them on the suit radios? As he tried to make up his mind he could feel some dried saliva on the side of his mouth. He desperately wished he could wipe the drool that would show he had been sleeping before the others arrived but the environment suit prevented that.

Looking back at the mountain to double check the crew wasn’t on their way back he noticed a light appear in the sky. The light turned into a magnificent narrow beam of fire burning across the sky. “Just a meteor burning up in the atmosphere” Charlie thought to himself. He watched the beam of fire split into pieces. “Must be breaking up” Charlie thought. Then the pieces changed course towards him.

Charlie had piloted a Fighter before in space but had never seen one do a high speed sweep of a planet from the ground. Now he got to see four of them, totally different from the Maru FTR models he was used to, their weapons ports clearly visible. These resembled the “bug” that had appeared out of the cave entrance… metallic, insectoid, and deadly.

The Usul was a sitting duck on the ground, especially with no crew on board. The camo tarp they had thrown over top would hide it from a cursory sweep but if those Fighters were using active scanners… Charlie had to get back to the ship!

Picking himself off the ground he turned around ready to sprint back to the ship, but he found his path blocked. Three six limbed bug creatures were standing watching him, all armed with laser rifles and wearing armour. These were not as big as the one Mendez had seen but they were still taller than any man. Charlie reached for the pistol blaster in his holster only to find his gloved hand grasping empty air. It was then he saw his weapon tucked into the belt of the lead “bug”.

Letting out a slow breath, his shoulders slumping, Charlie slowly raised his empty hands. Without hope he said, “I surrender.”

—–

End of Part 3

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

Bump

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by .

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

First Contact – Part 2

The crew of the Usul tried to make themselves as small as possible hiding behind the small ridge overlooking the mountain. Only half a klick separated the crew from what Mendez had seen.

The “bug” was huge, more than twice the size of a man. It loosely resembled a dung beetle from Haiken Maru with a hard black shell on its back and six arms or were they legs. It was hard to tell the difference as it would sometimes stand on two, four or even all six of its limbs. The large beetle like creature did not spend long outside the cave entrance. It seemed to dislike the surface of the planet as much as the crew of the Usul did and it entered the cave it had emerged from with no indication it had seen the humans observing it.

It seemed like hours when in fact only several minutes passed after the “bug” re-entered the cave before the Captain deemed it safe to talk. “We stick to Plan A. Mendez and I will go in to get a better electromagnagraph reading. Charlie, you stay here to cover us in case we need to make a hasty retreat. If we don’t come back, head back to the ship and contact Headquarters and report our situation. Maybe they will even send a rescue party.” Although the mention of a possible rescue party was meant to bolster the crew’s courage they all knew that once an Explorer crew got into trouble, they were on their own. In the entire history of the Haiken Maru Interstellar Explorer Fleet there had never been a successful rescue party. “Rescue parties”, if they were ever sent, only ever brought back corpses.

Mendez and the Captain checked their sidearms and then started towards the mountain leaving a trail of dust as they sprinted towards the cave. Pistol blasters out, pausing at whatever cover there was to catch their breath in this hot dry heat; they made good time to the base of the mountain. Staying wary of the cave entrance the beetle creature had emerged from Mendez and the Captain made their way up to a smaller cave, just above and to the right. With a final look back towards the ridge Charlie was monitoring them from, with hand scanners out, they disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

—–

On another ridge overlooking the mountain a very different observer watched the events unfold with digital magnifiers. With its second set of arms it carried a powered laser sniper rifle at the ready. It focused its weapon onto the unsuspecting members of the Usul’s crew and traced their path towards the cave entrance. It watched the two humans pause before disappearing into a cave just above where the Miner had gone into the mountain. The lone observer, crouched down to wait, its bioengineered armour blending into the dry landscape.

—–

The shelter of the cave entrance brought a respite from the inhospitable environment outside and it even seemed that the temperature had dropped. “Anything on the sensors Mendez?”

The sensor officer’s eyes were glued to her datapad. “Sir, I’ve got a lot more on the scanner now. This is actually an entrance to a series of tunnels. All the readings are still faint but I show electronics, communications, lifeforms, even water in the subterranean tunnels below.” Mendez continued to cycle thru the menus and screens on the datapad. “These readings just don’t make sense Captain…”

“What is it Mendez?”

“It’s this tunnel, all the rocks, even the walls this cavern is made of… they are all from the deep core of this planet, not surface rocks.”

“We are in a mountain, they shouldn’t be surface rocks,” replied the Captain.

“You’re right but if this were a normal mountain the rock should be of a similar makeup and any ore in them should run in veins. These rocks seem to have been stacked here randomly from different deep core mines, and what’s even weirder is that the ore mixed in with them seems to be refined. I’ve never seen natural ore like this with the impurities removed. It’s almost like this is a giant slag pile from different mines but made up of prime ore deposits”

The Captain was getting bored with the geology lesson, “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that if these tunnels continue like this this mountain is worth a fortune to the empire’s mining interests. This could be the richest find an explorer crew has ever made.”

“Well let’s go a little deeper and find out. I’m going to enjoy being rich,” the Captain chuckled. But he couldn’t shake the feeling in the back of his mind that something felt wrong… very wrong.

—–

Night came quickly on the planet designated B157. It did not however dissipate much of the heat. The sandy soil beneath Charlie’s feet seemed to radiate heatwaves. Mendez and the Captain had been gone for just over an hour and nothing had happened. No huge alien bugs, no signs of life at all, just the wind howling and battering at him, blowing up the occasional dust storm. Charlie had managed to find a small outcropping of rock along the ridge overlooking the cave the Captain and Mendez had gone into which allowed him at least a meager bit of protection from the sun’s heat beating down on him.

An unusual fatigue was starting to set in. It was one thing to sit hours on end in the air conditioned bridge of the Usul with the Captain and Mendez for company, but to sit in this heat… Charlie repositioned himself yet again to try to lessen the beating the wind kept giving him. “Maybe if I just lie down I’ll be out of this wind at least” Charlie thought to himself. “I can still see the caves if I lie down.”

As Charlie lay down on his stomach he felt the heat rhythmically emanating from the ground. In the low light the heatwaves from the red soil made the view from that close to the ground a little blurry. He could not remember a time he had felt this tired before. “I can still see the caves,” he reasoned with himself. “I’ll be much more aware if I just take a break. Close my eyes for a second maybe…”

Had anyone been around to see they might have found it odd that Charlie’s pupils glazed over, just before his eyes closed.

—–

End of Part 2

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

Ok, artwork did not attach. Attempt 2

ok. We’ll try a link instead

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by .

[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

It is one thing to get a readout of the results of all these actions we fill in every turn, but a completely different thing to read how the result actually unfolded. This, is the first part of a story entitled “First Contact” but when I wrote it I imagined it was the result of:

Action Code : 2 Location # 1 : XYZ12311

I hope you enjoy it, and it inspires you to bring the actions of your empires to life. A huge thank you to David Williams for his editing, and re-editing as well as for pushing me to tell more of the story that was bouncing around my empty head. Also a big thank you to my extremely talented nephew Gregory Stephenson for his artwork (It took 4+ versions for me to go back to what was essentially the first one). So here it goes…

Action Code : 2 Location # 1 : XYZ12311 aka First Contact

HAIKEN MARU MAPPING EXPEDITION
UNCHARTED PLANET DESIGNATED B157
STARDATE 3187.9

“Mendez, what do we have?” Captain Wesley Monkman said for perhaps the hundredth time this tour! The Haiken Maru Explorer class ship, Usul had been bouncing all over the sector for the last nine months going from one lifeless planet to another, and the crew of the Usul had a bit of a routine going.

“Another useless rock” sensor officer Alicia Mendez replied analyzing the 3D Holographic screen in front of her. “Getting some scanner interference from the Stellar Cloud but the 1st planet… looks like… no, my apologies Captain. Just, Argon… Carbon Dioxide… Nitrogen… No surface water… No surface infrastructure or signs of life, looks like we have another bust.”

“Ok let’s make a low orbit sweep before we jump to the next rock,” the grizzled veteran Captain said.

“Bringing us in,” piped up the last member of the Usul’s crew, ship’s pilot Charlie Stephenson, only 10 months out of the Maru Space Academy. The Usul was Charlie’s first assignment and even after hundreds of useless planets and asteroids visited he still retained his excitement. “Thrusters firing,” he said before the Usul vectored in towards the planet.

“Wait a second Captain… I’m getting something on the Electromagnagraph… Faint electronics… looks like it’s a repeating pattern but masked” Mendez stated. “I would say not naturally occurring.”

The crew waited for the Captain to speak. This was the moment of truth for an Explorer crew. Was it a hostile empire’s colony? Was it a pirate base? Was it a new civilization? Or, was it just some piece of space junk someone had forgotten to switch off that found its way to the planet surface? The bonus paid to the crew for discovering something useful would keep them in alcohol and escorts for a year or more if that is how they wanted to blow their paycheques. However, the Usul had no weapons other than the three hand-held pistol blasters in the tiny closet referred to as “The Armoury”. If the reading turned out to be something hostile the crew of the Usul only had one choice turn and make a run for it, or die.

“Can you get a fix on the transmission?” the Captain asked.

“The reading is faint sir but I can get us close” Mendez replied

“Charlie, plot us a course… stay low and land us about 5 klicks away. We’ll go on foot from there.”

“Should we send off a message to Headquarters before we go down?” Charlie asked excitedly.

“No! If they are hostile I don’t want to give them advance notice we are coming.”

“Course laid in” came the pilot’s reply as the Usul descended towards the planet’s surface.

—–

It had been a long hike from the Usul. Although the gravity was just under Maru standard the close proximity to the systems sun had made the surface temperature next to unbearable. The crew’s respirators were working overtime trying, not quite successfully, to cool the air in their environment suits. The dry wind howled around them in random gusts beating them back one minute, pushing them sideways the next, then dying out altogether, only to start the entire cycle all over again a few minutes later. Wind twisters picked up the orange and red dust of the planet’s surface and swirled it around them. The blast shields on their visors blocked out the Ultraviolet radiation from the planets sun and cut down on the brightness but did nothing to dispel the fact that this was a hot, rocky, dry planet too close to its own sun. By the time the crew got close enough to use their handheld radio frequency scanners they were all drenched in sweat.

Reaching a ridge overlooking the mountain the Captain called a short break. “What do you see Mendez?” The Captain asked gripping his pistol tightly in his damp palm. Wesley Monkman had been a young pilot the last time he was in a situation like this, decades ago and far, far away. The reading had turned out to be a hidden pirate base, and he had been the only member of his crew to get away. Sometimes his nightmares still brought him back to that day and the screams of his comrades. “Stay alert Charlie and watch our backs.”

Mendez fixed her digital range finding magnifiers on the mountain ahead of them, double checking the heading with the readings scrolling across her data pad. “Sir that mountain looks riddled with caves. Depending upon how deep they go that entire mountain might be hollow. I think the electrical readings are appearing masked because they are coming from within the mountain.”

“Well I guess we are not going to find much sitting here. Charlie, you cover us while we cross to one of those caves. Mendez and I will head in and see what we can find. If you don’t hear back from us in four hours get back to the ship. Report in to HQ…”

“Wait one…” Mendez interrupted. “I see movement. It’s big! It looks like…” her conversation dropped off.

“What is it?” the Captain asked trying unsuccessfully to see what Mendez was looking at.

Bringing the magnifiers down from her eyes Mendez turned to the Captain and said, “It looks like a bug!”

—–

End of Part 1

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by .
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[Soelien-TwaParticipant]

http://www.nscalejames.com/links/non-railway-related/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by .

[Tregonsee – HMU (Heavy Moderator Unit)Participant]

Charon, although you are a cyber, I still try to look for the squishy inside. You asked for it, I found it:

Marooned Part 2

By Roger Buchholz

MAROONED

[part two]

by Pack story teller, Hjrathgar Treekeeper

Leutnant Grauhaar knew he was in big trouble. The drop ship that was sent to get him was atomized in decent by some sort of atmospheric electrofier and all communications, other than his telemetry sender, were useless. Even that was no good if the fleet moved off to subsector space, which he knew was likely if the invasion was scrubbed. The fleet probably hyperjumped back to Wulfhese to avoid being caught in a Bort short for Borthan Empire counterattack. Great, thought Grauhaar, his fighter was toasted by some low tech human fighter jock and he was now stranded on this flat desert world with no way off. Worse, his food was no way near as good as what he knew his pilot buddies were enjoying right now back on the carrier. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll sneak in a Cloakboat and smuggle him out. A slim chance considering what happened to the drop ship just a few minutes ago.

Well, worrying about what he couldn’t control was a waste of energy. He had to find a place to put up for a while and wait for help. “EVAC IMPOSSIBLE. YOUR FAMILY AND GOVERNMENT SALUTES YOU. OVER.” That was the last message that Overflight had sent. “YOUR FAMILY AND GOVERNMENT SALUTES YOU!” His father never wanted him to join the Fighter Corps in the first place but he was the rebel of the litter so he joined. All of his brothers and sisters served in the fleet but he was the only fighter pilot. His dad was going to be pissed. His mom was killed years before he ever became of age in a stupid airpod crash. THE GOVERNMENT! Some Pack bureaucrat right now was probably listing his name in the KIA section of the log and was terminating his pay. His dad would be informed that his last pay was used to perform “administrative duties” and would be pocketed. Everyone knew those bean counters did that but that was big government. After all there were Borts to fight.

He scanned the horizon and didn’t see a thing. Not a thing! Except for that little knob in the distance. He knew he had to get away from here so he gathered his equipment and walked down the ravine a ways looking for shelter. The wind was blowing pretty hard and steady on this slagheap so he knew his tracks wouldn’t last the morning. That was good, but most sensors could detect the ammonia in his body. The way to shield this he knew was his special survival gear that blocked most detectors by ninety-nine percent. Yeah, right.

About a kilometer down the ravine he climbed up the wall to scan the horizon again. He had better keep in the gully so his silhouette wasn’t noticed. Surely by now the Bort knew where he was. His telemetry signal probably gave them a good clue. There was that bump in the distance. But nothing moved. Nothing! He started to think that maybe they, even the Bort didn’t care about him. Why should they, he thought, a week up here and he’d be dead anyway.

The Bort weren’t exactly charitable to the Wulfrace after all. A dead Wulf was a good Wulf. To the Borthan the Wulf were called “growlers” which was not a very flattering term to The Pack people since it was a term referring to their natural language. Before being “humanized”, or genetically altered to appear more like them, they were just a clawage race and this term insulted the Wulf since it suggested they were ignorant dogs. Very few Bort understood Wulf language and if they did they couldn’t speak more than a few words since growling to a human sounded like all growling they associated with their dog pets. Those dogs were so domesticated that even Wulf couldn’t communicate with them. And those dogs hated the Wulf with a passion! Some cousins in the grand scope of things. Stupid dogs, he thought. For sport on Wulfhese the Borts would hunt violent Wulf offenders or revolutionaries with huge dogs called wolfhounds. Massive brutes that knew no fear and could tear a Wulf to shreds.

As far as he was concerned the Bort were the stain upon the galaxy. Four about a thousand years they colonized every planet or moon they could get their hands on. Their desire for more and more doomed their original homeworld and turned it into a ravaged and barren globe. They continued to advance their technology until machines took care of most of their work and other tasks they preferred not to do. Eventually the cyborg races that the galaxy these days were created because of their laziness and stupidity; stupidity for not controlling these metal machines. If there was one thing both Bort and Wulf didn’t like it was cyborgs. After a while the Borgish Stain grew smarter and started producing themselves and making smarter and more deadlier races. After a time even they had wars between one another and then spread to all the galaxy to destroy organic life. Even more reason to hate the human.

There was a sudden flash of light near the knob and Grauhaar ducked immediately out of pure reflexes. He peered again over the crest line of the ravine and stared at he same spot for what appeared to be minutes. Nothing moved. No further light. He figured that it was definitely unfriendly and it was time to get moving. What was the flash though? A hovercraft? Some sort of ground vehicle? If it were ground based it’d take a few hours to reach here and by that time he could be a few more kilometers down the ravine. It probably wasn’t air based because the Bort didn’t want to risk it being shot down. Grauhaar recalled several fantastic shots by star destroyers as they blew fighters out of the sky from hundreds of kilometers away in space. The Bort didn’t want to risk a airship to any Pack ship lurking close by in space. If The Pack fleet was still there that is. He didn’t think it would be. He knew he was alone.

He stumbled a few times over the rocks in the gully as he proceeded further away from his escape pod. It had to be four or five kilometers behind him by now. But the knob seemed to stay with him. That meant it wasn’t a knob at all but a rather large knob that dominated the horizon in the distance. Maybe kilometers across. It did appear to be just a regular shaped hill and nothing man made. Whatever it was he knew there were unfriendlies there and they were looking for him. He had to find some shelter.The sides of the ravines were pretty steep and well cut into the orange dirt. Every once in a while there were a few holes but nothing resembling a deep enough one or a cave to hide in. Plenty of rocks were strewn about the floor of the gully to trip over. It was getting close to dark, Zenjam had twenty hours of light and twenty hours of darkness, he knew he’d have to find something quick. Zenjam was terraformed nicely for the day but the nights were cold. Then he noted a large shadow in the wall which was big enough to hold him and his equipment. He made a scan to see if there were life forms. None present. Gee, he thought, that wasn’t a surprise. He crawled in and drew out his camo-cloak, a nice little sheet of fabric that could take on the characteristics of the surrounding terrain and in addition shielded him from all those nasty sensor devices. He pinned it over the openings and hung it down to cover the hole and crawled in to hide. The hole wasn’t that big but he could move around a little bit and not be too cramped. Grauhaar made himself comfortable and decided he better get some sleep. He thought that he had come full circle in his evolution as a Wulf. Of course he never lived in a cave or den in his life, he grew up in a nice air-conditioned apartment on Wulfhese. The irony.

The night passed long. He’d start to wonder if he had heard things in the darkness outside but his good hearing was playing tricks on him. The wind was still blowing. Did it ever stop? He had woken hours ago. One cannot sleep for twenty hours and this was getting boring. But he figured he was better off in the hole and not up and about moving around. Infrared sensors worked wonders at night with no sun glare interfering with their scans. He decided to have breakfast. Hmmm… a couple of dry nutri\_cakes and some water; water with lots of nutrients added. Very strange water, you could last a long time on just a couple of tablespoons. Unfortunately you never felt quenched even though you were in reality. You just had to control your desire to chug the entire bottle in one gulp. He laughed to himself as he remembered some cadets in survival training doing this and having to pee for hours on end.

He smiled as he thought of those days years ago. He reclined back against the cave wall and listened to the wind rustling the camo-cloak. The fabric was moving to the sound of the wind. Almost mesmerizing. The cloak bulged in as if hit by a huge gust of wind. Only it wasn’t the wind. He found himself looking into the open mouth of a very large and angry dog.

(To be continued)

STARFALL

Silence ruled the landscape. All motion had stopped. The crystalized air echoed the silence. Those remaining above ground at the port waited. They would greet the visitor. Those outside the portal focused on the distance. They stood as rigid as the glacial cliff towering above them. Their gazes fixed upon the approaching phantom. Its arrival would be heralded by an almost imperceptible tone in the black sky. The phantom would announce itself with a calm, serene change but then quickly transforming itself into the violently destructive reds. They waited for the end which would begin a new journey. Overhead was the comfortable black. Then flat black of the sky bled a hue of deep blue. It was here. In an instant all was in motion. Bodies were already being propelled toward the cliff face. The young were frantically collected and carried toward the portals. They were carried because they did not move, could not move. Entranced by the atmospheric change they stood transfixed by confusion, mesmerized by the blue. Their world had changed. The sky had bled.

The motion was behind them now. The hatches would close automatically; timed to the millisecond. Yet the elders waited in the entrances. The honor was theirs. They would be the last to safety. The safety and comfort of the calm dark on the other side. It was here. They must escape it. Yet they desired to embrace it, knowing it would not appear again in their lifetimes. The security of the black depths beckoned them. Hurry. The hue of blue was taking on a hint of purple. Time stood still yet rushed to meet them. They could sense the pressure breaking the crystalized air. Hurry. Then the hatch slid shut and the fiz of the automatic welder glowed the same purple as the sky. Silence rang out once again. It was here.

Star fall broke the horizon. Waves of compressed gases roared towards the cliff face that had been the scene of activity for centuries but was now deserted. A solid wall of gases pushed forward, fueled by a solar storm found only on worlds whose rotation matched their revolution. The super heated front swept across the frozen surface as the orb glinted above the horizon. The orb was about to sweep across the land to rule for the next three centuries. Light was about to engulf half the sphere. Cacophonic storms swept spinward heralding the arrival of solar waves of destructive energy that would transform the upper crust. The land forms would be changed, mountains leveled, frozen seas raised and all constructs and life destroyed. It was the rotation.

By now the last of the those who were privileged to experience the rotation were tens of miles under ground and hundreds of miles towards antistar side of the sphere. They would meet up with those already nearing the virgin lands awaiting their development on the antistar side of the sphere. The elders turned their attention to the programs and organization they would need to begin. When they arrived they would pierce the crust and begin again in the calm of the dark. As it had always been. The privileged young had but one thought remembering the rotation. Hurry.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by . Reason: Adde Byline

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