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Open Space / Their Neck of the Woods. (Marakai)
« on: July 23, 2017, 06:34:49 pm »
Out on the fringe of known space, neither within the solar system nor outside of the area entirely, It stands... It dwells in the company of asteroids, and is not dwarfed by them. It is not a thing of nature. It is the Nemesis. A massive device, a machine of human design and incredible engineering: It was a ship, a base, a mining machine, a home - whatever you needed it for, there it would be. Well...once it's completed. The Nemesis is the sum total of all their technological power put towards a mighty creation, but it needs resources to complete it. What began originally as the construction of a Dyson Sphere around a huge plasma-based reactor - heavily armored and heat-shielded to prevent tampering - soon transformed into the ultimate project for the Black Talon.
Who are the Black Talon? They are the descended people from a group of colonists and terraformers who had learned en route to the beginning of their journey - departure from the solar system - that their higher-ups and financial backers had composed this trip in an ill-conceived manner. Their ship was not superfast, which was necessary to reach a new star, nor was there stasis to keep them all alive and still young for when they maybe got there. Ha ha ha...NO. Those in charge had left the people best-qualified to comment on such an oversight out of the loop until the last second. The result: A complete mess. They had a ship which could easily last for generations, but the only solution the command staff had was for them to breed like rapids and live only on recycled food for the next several generations.
You can imagine, then, the rebellion that occurred afterwards, where the NEW leaders decided to break out all of the ship's gear, every bit of equipment used to support and alter life, and use it. They had all that they needed to change the ship and even themselves on the genetic level, all while feeding themselves, developing newer technology to work with, and so on. Why? The Long Game. It was a plan conceived of perseverence. They would be altered genetically, so as to increase physical and mental capability, and then pass their genes onto the next generation, and so on...until they became a people who needed less terraforming and were simply too powerful to be killed off by nature or hazards. This was the christening of the Black Talon, within the vessel they now dubbed the Black Legion, owing to a singular commitment to a goal throughout the years.
Years have passed, flipping generations! The Black Legion is a large longboat-style battleship in space, cast in black and gray with the Talon insignia on its back in red against the black of the hull. A large ship, numerous defensive cannons and missles, tri-barreled main cannon up front - All of this militaristic power and it's still essentially home. However, it's not the only home, not with the Nemesis project started so many years ago. The Black Legion lately goes out to gather resources among asteroids. With many of its labs moved to the Nemesis, its stores are much more free to do that. The Nemesis itself had engines to move it, guns and missles to defend itself, but a number of its important systems were not complete. It was developed to support the Black Talon, but it was also made to grind celestial bodies down and extract the raw materials for use. Those mechanisms were not in operation, nor were the largest cannons, and not all of the ship was filled yet either. The work must continue, and so therefore must the constant defense of their position against all challengers.
Truth be told, they had very few intruders. This was an area of space in the system that was far from any planet and not exactly near anyone's regularly-traveled space route. If they DID, however, come to this area, they could find themselves beset by giant mechs. Originally developed for mining purposes, the Black Talon excelled in developing large robotic vehicles as a military force. You could be drifting along in your ship when suddenly....holy crap, there'd be these flying robots that looked like space-age assassins coming out of nowhere, ready to carve you to pieces with energy blades. Well...such people often need practice, even after training. Hell, even the experts have to be sure of themselves. Thus, we come to the crimson death machine currently drifting into an open and rockless spot, with mostly asteroids as reference points.
The term 'death machine' was likely appropriate for the Blood Omen. It was armed, it was dangerous, and it was most-definitely a machine...and alive. At this time, his pilot - It identified as a him - was in concentration, and they were moving at great speed, maneuvering to catch them, the little targeting drones which flew at random speeds and directions. Their problem was thus: They weren't random enough, not for the humanoid battle machine which overtook them with main engines flaring orange and maneuvering engine-wings repositioning it and altering its attack vector at the drop of a hat. The clawed hand of the thing actually reached out and stabbed the drone. The Omen's single visor-eye then raked an eye beam across the one that had zigged while the other had zagged, and then fired a pinpoint beam at a third that was further away. The Blood Omen stopped.
This is a waste of time. We do not require practice, I especially with my targeting system.
The point is to do it the hard way to prove that even the most instinctive reaction will be the correct one.
My tracking equipment IS by instinct.
Then, you have nothing to worry about with this menial task.
A number of drones had been killed off rather quickly. They were not built to test the Blood Omen, which was as capable in speed as it was in destruction.
Who are the Black Talon? They are the descended people from a group of colonists and terraformers who had learned en route to the beginning of their journey - departure from the solar system - that their higher-ups and financial backers had composed this trip in an ill-conceived manner. Their ship was not superfast, which was necessary to reach a new star, nor was there stasis to keep them all alive and still young for when they maybe got there. Ha ha ha...NO. Those in charge had left the people best-qualified to comment on such an oversight out of the loop until the last second. The result: A complete mess. They had a ship which could easily last for generations, but the only solution the command staff had was for them to breed like rapids and live only on recycled food for the next several generations.
You can imagine, then, the rebellion that occurred afterwards, where the NEW leaders decided to break out all of the ship's gear, every bit of equipment used to support and alter life, and use it. They had all that they needed to change the ship and even themselves on the genetic level, all while feeding themselves, developing newer technology to work with, and so on. Why? The Long Game. It was a plan conceived of perseverence. They would be altered genetically, so as to increase physical and mental capability, and then pass their genes onto the next generation, and so on...until they became a people who needed less terraforming and were simply too powerful to be killed off by nature or hazards. This was the christening of the Black Talon, within the vessel they now dubbed the Black Legion, owing to a singular commitment to a goal throughout the years.
Years have passed, flipping generations! The Black Legion is a large longboat-style battleship in space, cast in black and gray with the Talon insignia on its back in red against the black of the hull. A large ship, numerous defensive cannons and missles, tri-barreled main cannon up front - All of this militaristic power and it's still essentially home. However, it's not the only home, not with the Nemesis project started so many years ago. The Black Legion lately goes out to gather resources among asteroids. With many of its labs moved to the Nemesis, its stores are much more free to do that. The Nemesis itself had engines to move it, guns and missles to defend itself, but a number of its important systems were not complete. It was developed to support the Black Talon, but it was also made to grind celestial bodies down and extract the raw materials for use. Those mechanisms were not in operation, nor were the largest cannons, and not all of the ship was filled yet either. The work must continue, and so therefore must the constant defense of their position against all challengers.
Truth be told, they had very few intruders. This was an area of space in the system that was far from any planet and not exactly near anyone's regularly-traveled space route. If they DID, however, come to this area, they could find themselves beset by giant mechs. Originally developed for mining purposes, the Black Talon excelled in developing large robotic vehicles as a military force. You could be drifting along in your ship when suddenly....holy crap, there'd be these flying robots that looked like space-age assassins coming out of nowhere, ready to carve you to pieces with energy blades. Well...such people often need practice, even after training. Hell, even the experts have to be sure of themselves. Thus, we come to the crimson death machine currently drifting into an open and rockless spot, with mostly asteroids as reference points.
The term 'death machine' was likely appropriate for the Blood Omen. It was armed, it was dangerous, and it was most-definitely a machine...and alive. At this time, his pilot - It identified as a him - was in concentration, and they were moving at great speed, maneuvering to catch them, the little targeting drones which flew at random speeds and directions. Their problem was thus: They weren't random enough, not for the humanoid battle machine which overtook them with main engines flaring orange and maneuvering engine-wings repositioning it and altering its attack vector at the drop of a hat. The clawed hand of the thing actually reached out and stabbed the drone. The Omen's single visor-eye then raked an eye beam across the one that had zigged while the other had zagged, and then fired a pinpoint beam at a third that was further away. The Blood Omen stopped.
This is a waste of time. We do not require practice, I especially with my targeting system.
The point is to do it the hard way to prove that even the most instinctive reaction will be the correct one.
My tracking equipment IS by instinct.
Then, you have nothing to worry about with this menial task.
A number of drones had been killed off rather quickly. They were not built to test the Blood Omen, which was as capable in speed as it was in destruction.