I decided to use the names of the church fathers for the names of the clans...hope this turns out like I want it to.
So, I changed all the clan names except two to names of the Church Fathers, with a couple of alterations to make it fit a nation better...(Athanasia from Athanasius, and considering Tertullia from Tertullian) Two of the clan names are still the Titans' from my earlier attempts at naming...
Heh, I'm not so good at naming things. I was chatting with a friend on gmail the other day, using the instant messenger google has, and I sent a youtube video. You know how Gchat has that little thing that pops up on top of the chat box to let you watch the video without having to load an entire webpage? And how it's slower than loading a full webpage? Well, I decided it needed to be called something, so I called it the google-chat-video-pop-up-thingy...I know...my amazing intellect has broken the limits on human thinking again...
Monday, December 05, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Mythology
I've decided to just use Greek mythology, even though this story does not take place in our universe...I like the sound of the Greek names, and people can go look up the names to see what they were.
On the same note, the clan's new names are the names of the Titans, except one is another Greek entity...and I don't know what race he is.
On the same note, the clan's new names are the names of the Titans, except one is another Greek entity...and I don't know what race he is.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Mythology
So I have to write a mythology for my story, because I need something to name the ships, and the original names I was using were said to be "wishy faerie" stuff...kinda makes me sad...cause I liked that type of name.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Plot key
I've finally finished a detailed plot outline for my story, here's to getting a rough draft completed by December 31st.
Friday, September 02, 2011
Two and counting...
The bodies have started piling up, Derek lost two of his men, and is going to have to send another two or three home due to wounds. I'm getting good at killing off characters aren't I? Not only have I killed off several people, but I'm planning on killing several others as well. Kind of a grim direction this story has taken, but it is a war story, people die, that's just how the world spins, nothing really you can do about it, you know?
Anyway, I've started to stall a bit, but that's not really a bad thing, I'm contemplating details further down the line...and I'm doing a lot of studying...so that might be the reason I've stalled out... ;)
Anyway, I've started to stall a bit, but that's not really a bad thing, I'm contemplating details further down the line...and I'm doing a lot of studying...so that might be the reason I've stalled out... ;)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Chapter 15 exceprt
"Nothing you do can protect us. We’re here to stop these people from taking over our land and our homes, we aren’t here to live long lives. We’re here to fight, and if need be, die for our families, and our people. If we live, it's God's mercy, if we die, we did our job."
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Fulcrum
The Fulcrum weapon system is an energy based, short range weapon, with maximum tested range being two miles. Developed by the Silent Spear arm of The Cartel, it proves to be a focal turning point in the Coalition-Confederation war. It's compact design and nearly limitless energy source, in the form of a small fusion generator, provide the Fulcrum operator with unparalleled fire power on the field. A single shot is more than enough eliminate a single light armored vehicle. For heavy armor or tank like vehicles, multiple shots are required.
The Fulcrum was not deployed till after nearly six months of engagement, due to the fact that the facilities it was originally being developed in came under aerial bombardment from Coalition aircraft. The Cartel moved all it experimenting facilities underground as soon as they could, but the production line only created one hundred Fulcrums before being taken over by advancing Coalition soldiers. The Cartel members in charge of the facility succeeded in removing all examples before enemy troops arrived, and destroyed all records and blueprints of the weapon to keep it from their hands.
The weapon was a success as far as weapons go, it accomplished what it was designed to do, but by itself it was unable to win the war.
The Fulcrum was not deployed till after nearly six months of engagement, due to the fact that the facilities it was originally being developed in came under aerial bombardment from Coalition aircraft. The Cartel moved all it experimenting facilities underground as soon as they could, but the production line only created one hundred Fulcrums before being taken over by advancing Coalition soldiers. The Cartel members in charge of the facility succeeded in removing all examples before enemy troops arrived, and destroyed all records and blueprints of the weapon to keep it from their hands.
The weapon was a success as far as weapons go, it accomplished what it was designed to do, but by itself it was unable to win the war.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Direction Defined
I have finally figured out what's going to happen in my story. First things first, the name has changed from Vertical Ridge to Fulcrum, with a subtitle being "Unveiled"
or "Vertical Ridge." The reason for this change is due to the fact that the weapon that wins the final battle (of the book) at Vertical Ridge (a landmark) is called the Fulcrum.
So I've gotten pretty much all the general aspects worked out, I even know a *few* of the particulars. I'll have to do another "rewrite" as a final edit before I have my good friends do a real edit, (the latest chapter I've written outclasses the rest of the story in quality, so the rest will have to be brought up to par before editors get into it.)
or "Vertical Ridge." The reason for this change is due to the fact that the weapon that wins the final battle (of the book) at Vertical Ridge (a landmark) is called the Fulcrum.
So I've gotten pretty much all the general aspects worked out, I even know a *few* of the particulars. I'll have to do another "rewrite" as a final edit before I have my good friends do a real edit, (the latest chapter I've written outclasses the rest of the story in quality, so the rest will have to be brought up to par before editors get into it.)
Monday, May 23, 2011
Vertical Ridge chapter one
Chapter One
Derek watched the rain pour down on his small garden, turning the dust into mud. It had been four weeks since it rained, and even then it was only a light sprinkle. He’d cleaned his gutters and reservoir out, so while the water wouldn’t be fit for drinking it could still be used for anything else.
Derek pulled his combat gear out of the closet and stuffed it into a heavy duffel bag before strapping on a pair of boots and pulling on a long rain coat. He slung the duffel over his shoulder, stepped out into the enclosed carport, and started up his motorcycle. It had been several months since Cora’s 3rd regiment had trained during the rain. This was going to be fun. The motorbike rumbled to life, Derek adjusted the pack and let the bike roll down the driveway toward the flooded road.
Before getting to the road Derek mashed the touch screen on his bike, brought up the mobile communications link, and opened a call to Terry Wilson. Terry was first sergeant of Cora’s 8th combat unit, his and Derek’s unit were going to train together today. After three tones the other end was picked up.
“Terry Wilson speaking.” Derek scrolled the volume bar down, someone must have been playing with the headset since he rode the bike last.
“Terry, this is Derek McConnell, I was wondering if there was any chance we could change plans, and do aggressive vehicle maneuvers instead of close combat today. I know it’s short notice, but a lot of my guys need to train on these vehicles in the mud.”
“Good idea, I’m glad you asked McConnell. I’ll speak to Jose, you see if you can’t get a couple of Lynx, and a handful of Rabbits from the Colonel. Hold.” Derek’s headset beeped twice. He decided to make a quick call to Colonel Rodney to ask about the vehicles. Derek pulled up another contact, labeled “HQ-Col Rod,” and made a second call. The other end was picked up immediately this time.
“Colonel Rodney’s office, this is Jane Rodney.” A female voice spoke sharply over Derek’s headset.
“Jane, Derek McConnell, I have a vehicle request for the colonel, for…eighteen Lynx, and twenty -Cheetahs.” He caught himself before using the nickname given to the All Terrain Vehicles by its operators.
“Would you like to speak to the Colonel directly? He isn’t busy.” Jane’s voice softened after her initial pick up.
“Yes Jane.”
“Just a sec’.” Derek’s headset beeped twice again, but the colonel didn’t even take six seconds to answer.
“This is Colonel Rodney.” The older man’s voice rumbled with daunting authority.
“Sir! Derek McConnell, I’d like to request several vehicles for training purposes.”
“All right, what vehicles were you thinking of requesting Derek?” Rodney had known Derek over ten years now, and had no need for formalities.
“I would like eighteen Lynx and twenty Jack-Rabbits, we’ll be doing aggressive vehicle maneuver and assault today.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. Do you know where you’d be doing this training?”
“I was going to ask Jim Watt out on the Ring if we could use The Giant’s Basin. I think that’s the best place to get as much training done in as short an amount of time I can get.”
“So you haven’t asked him yet?” Rodney’s question was not one off accusation, or disappointment in Derek’s apparent negligence, it was a question, and a question only.
“No sir, I thought it best to acquire the equipment before the training grounds.” Derek’s method was not standard, but he preferred to tie up military equipment before a citizen’s property.
“I’ll let Captain Charles know you need them, and clear it when you say you’ve got permission for the land use.”
“I’ll contact Jim now.” Derek put that line on hold, just in time to catch Terry coming back with a reply.
“Jose’ll go with that McConnell, just wants to know where we’ll be for the training.”
“I’m getting ready to ask Jim Watt if we an use The Giant’s Basin. Give me a minute.” Derek placed Terry’s line on hold and opened a new line. It took nearly a minute for the other end to be picked up this time.
“Hello?” A boy’s thin voice answered.
“This is Derek McConnell, I was wondering if Mr. Watt is in, I’d like to ask him something.” Derek couldn’t figure out which of Jim’s sons he was speaking too. They all sounded almost exactly alike, with the exception of William, the oldest.
“Let me go find him, be right back.” Derek waited three minutes at the end of his driveway before rolling out onto the main road. It was another minute or so before Jim Watt picked up the phone.
“Derek McConnell, what can I do for you on this beautiful day?” Jim was always the optimist. The rain was needed, and to a farmer it was beautiful.
“I was wondering if my unit could do a little bit, or rather a large bit, of vehicle training on part of your property.” Aggressive maneuvers was anything but little.
“You surely can, where were you thinking of driving?”
“I would like to use The Giant’s Basin, I’ve done training there before it’s fairly well suited for the task.” The last time he had done any training in the Giant’s Basin was before Jim Watt had bought it.
“You may certainly use it. Use it for as long as you like. I just want it all there when I get it back.” Jim chuckled.
“Thank you sir, I appreciate this. See you around.” Derek closed the line and picked up the colonel’s line.
“I have permission to use The Giant’s Basin for training.” This brief piece of information was all that was needed to clear the use of the vehicles.
“Excellent! Captain Charles has been notified and you can pick the vehicles up whenever you like. Good work son. Out.”
Rodney closed his line. He sat watching the rain spray against the window.
“That boy will go far… In the event of a conflict…” He shook his head and picked up another line at his daughter’s prompt.
Derek mashed the touch screen to reconnect to Terry.
“Terry, I have permission from Watt to use the Giant’s Basin, I also have nineteen Lynx and twenty four Cheetahs assigned to us, per Colonel Rodney, we can pick them up as soon as we want them.”
“Good work McConnell, it’s a pleasure working with you. Out.” Terry cut his line.
Derek turned off the main road to take a short cut to Raven-Cora’s armory complex. It was dirt road, but the rain had turned it into a river.
“So much for a short cut…” Derek thought dolefully as he slowed to prevent loss of control over his bike. The road ran through the woods, and came out on a ridge twice, each time he was able to catch a slight glimpse of the city below. Cora was the capitol, and largest city of the clan Edge of the Storm. The population had been taken eight years ago, and numbered approximately 47,681. That was not counting anyone under the age of seventeen, and only included the residence of the downtown city, and the urban environment that extended four miles out from the centre of town. It didn’t include the people living five or more miles away, even though they were part of the greater “community.”
Cora was a military industry city, with two aircraft manufacturing plants, a vehicle factory, an armor factory, and three military technology schools. Derek was a small arms manufacturer, specializing in long range guns and tinkering in light weaponry for vehicles. He was one of hundreds who milled guns in their basement, garage, or workshop. Most sent their products to the weapons testing facility in Cora to ensure the arms were exactly in line with the military caliber regulations. It was hardly a surprise that Cora boasted the second strongest division in the confederation, with over 21,000 members in the ‘voluntary’ defense force. Cora had no standing army, but it had about three hundred paid commissioned officers, engineers, pilots, and other aircraft related maintenance personnel.
Derek paused at one of the overlooks. Even with the torrential downpour everything seemed peaceful. The war between the River State Federation and the Respian Coalition of Nations in southern part of the continent seemed so far away and disconnected from all this. He wondered why the monthly training requirement had doubled. No one in Nolia was foolish enough to get into the fight wearing their regiments’ colors. “At least,” Derek thought as he turned away from the view and back to the tunnel-like road ahead, “I hope no one is that stupid.” Derek’s unit had already been adding days here and there whenever more then forty of them could take the time to come out and train, they were hoping to have their unit status, and equipment upgraded to a high level. The 131st Infantry unit was designated a “Heavy Infantry” unit. Derek hoped the next evaluation would upgrade them to “Advanced Infantry.” With a lot more training they could possibly make “Shock Troop” status. After Shock Troop, there was Advanced Shock Troop, and the highest designation “Strike” unit. Cora’s division only had three Strike Units and those were assigned to the Orbital Air Ship Amaranth. Derek shrugged as he turned off onto the last dirt road between him and the armory.
The armory was one of two in Nolia where over ninety percent of the structures were underground. Cora’s 3rd Infantry/Airborne had one, and Dardanelle, in the clan Of the Desert, had the other. The 3rd Infantry’s was by far the better of the two. There were six buildings above ground, each of them merely providing access to the structures underground. In addition to the barn-like structures, there was a single tower in the middle of the armory. The tower had access to the main barracks, and provided anti aircraft capabilities to the base. Two rail-guns turreted independently for ranged targets, and a plethora of conventional guns were scattered around the roof. The tower was built around a frame of steel, hardened concrete, three inches of steel, with an outer façade of heavy stones. Without knowledge of the concrete and steel underneath, anyone looking at it would think it was some ancient relic left over from the days of knights, kings, and castles. The windows on the side of the hexagon tower let light pour into the hall, much like the great halls of the castles, on the exterior the windows were a thin line, but on the interior there was a window seat the size of a couch tucked into the wall.
The main barracks was over forty feet below the surface, broken down into thirty sections, one for each squadron in the regiment, and could house up to four thousand soldiers, as well as two secondary barracks’ were located near the vehicle garages. Four tertiary barracks’ were scattered around near main complex points, and several four man bunk rooms at other locations. With all sleeping facilities accounted for, the whole armory complex could house almost seven thousand people.
The Orbital Air Ship hanger was the largest manmade underground structure in Nolia, the floor was nearly three hundred feet below surface, with the ceiling right at two hundred feet high. The hanger was one thousand feet wide, by fifteen hundred feet long, plenty of room for the many vehicles that would be driven into the room and aboard the ship to be moved to any combat location as needed.
The Aircraft hangers were both on the west side of the OAS hanger. Each had two tunnels connecting them to the OAS hanger, in addition to two lifts, and tunnels leading to west. All the tunnels were large enough for a DC-31 Halberd to be towed through and still have ten feet on all sides. The lifts were also big enough for the drop-ships to sit on, and would take the aircraft or equipment to the surface access building.
The Vehicle Bay was on the opposite side of the OAS hanger, and was connected by four tunnels. . The division owned over three hundred of these ultra light personnel carriers. The lift was the most traversed method of entry to the Vehicle Bay, but several small tunnels that lead out into the forest surrounding the armory were used as well.
At the gate Derek slowed enough so as not to splash mud everywhere, before heading over to an old building that had been turned into a garage set aside for personal vehicles.
Most of his own group had already gathered under one corner of the garage, the over-extended eaves and wall to their backs gave them some shelter from the wind-swept rain. John Grey saluted Derek as he approached, and mumbled a low “’s up” after Derek returned the salute.
“Do you think the Alliance will get involved?” Will Goring, one of the newer members of the unit asked.
“Boy! What did your parents teach you?! The Alliance isn’t there to intervene in each and every conflict that comes within a thousand miles of our border! It’s one and only purpose is to protect the nations committed, only when they’ve been physically attacked by another government entity, and responsibility can be placed for all to see, or if the attacking nation claims responsibility. Only then can, and will, the Alliance get involved in a conflict.” James Williamson, 1st Sergeant of the 131st Surface Infantry (Cora), upbraided the young man for his naivety.
“But we’re friends with the River States, they obviously need help, so why don’t we do something about it?”
“There’s another one with a rather thick skull for James to butt heads with.” Derek thought as James became openly frustrated.
“No! It’s not our land, it’s not our people, and it sure the heck isn’t our fight! Yes we’re trade with the Federation, does that mean we have any obligation to stick our neck out for them? No! Yes, we know people from some of the States, does that mean we have the same obligation to help defend them, as we will with someone from, say, Eagle? No! If the Coalition attacks us, then the Alliance will become involved, and not ten seconds before then. They have neither the power, authority, or will to do so.” James finished his rant, and looked up to see Derek’s attempt to stifle a grin.
“Anything you would like to add to that, Sergeant?” James didn’t think it was funny.
“No, not that I can think of,” Derek was having trouble keeping his face any straighter than what it was with the grin.
“Then wipe that stupid grin off of your face and tell me what crazy, whacked up training plans you have in store for us poor dogs today.” James crossed his arms, and glared across the rain at Derek, even though he was beginning to cool off.
“I was originally thinking of live fire training for today, but when the rain showed I decided a change of plans was in order. We’ll be doing Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault with Terry Wilson’s 118th. I’ve already talked to him about it, and a request, already granted, for nine Lynx and fourteen Bobcats. That should cover most of the people from both units, anyone who can’t fit on can just use their personal vehicle. I asked Jim Watt if we could use The Giant’s Basin down at the far end of his land, he gave me an Okay on that.”
“Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault? We’ve done that already.” Nate McLintock grumbled. He never liked doing anything twice.
“You did it when it was dry. You did it when it was so dry we couldn’t go over fifty miles per hour ‘cause the trucks had no traction in the dust! You haven’t done it in the rain, you haven’t done it in the mud. Out of the…” Derek took a quick head count. “Forty of us here, I can only see sixteen I know have done AVMA in this kind of weather. You need the experience. Now. If you get out on the field, and you’re the driver, what happens when it goes from desert to lake in half an hour? You don’t know how your vehicle will handle. You haven’t felt the winds pushing your vehicle off the path when cruising down a muddy road at seventy mile per hour- not that it’s advisable to go that fast. We will be doing Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault.” Derek glared at the assembled men.
“Now, now serge, no need to get all huffy, put the mullet away,” there was a chuckle, “Nate musta had something he oughtn’ve ate, is all.” Brian Murray lifted one eyebrow and looked around the crowd for some measure of approval. Finding none within sight he shrugged. “Well it was worth a try. You know what you’re problem is? All of you. You’re to damn serious. Lighten up, we’re not in a war yet.”
Derek scowled, an attempt to hide the grin trying to creep over his face. Brian was right, there might be a war on, but they weren’t involved, yet, he shouldn’t be so tough on a newer member, even one that griped as much as Nate, until the business became more serious.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but what I said still stands.” Derek shrugged apologetically. He’d said his piece, if anything else needed to be said, James would say it.
“Well now boys. Shall we go get the carts?” James rubbed his hands together semi excitedly, almost as if he was about to commit some prank. “Roll call first. SGT McConnell,”
“Here.”
“CP Ferguson,”
“Here.”
“CP McKay,”
“Here.”
“CP Shaw,”
“Here.”
“Call your groups. Rollins, Jameson, Miller, Hay, Reilly, Martin, Kerr, Graham, Gibson, Hunter, Hamilton, Rogers.” At each name called, James was answered with either “here” or “Accounted for.” Derek began calling his own men out.
“McKay, Aldridge, Campbell, Allan, Black, MacLean, Wallace, Forbes, Christie, Douglas, Moore, McKenzie, Hughes.” Derek was answered with affirmation of presence, all his men were accounted for. In training, and combat, the 1st Sergeant would have his squad, and at least one other squad, since their unit had over sixty it had been broken into five full squads, the maximum allowed by the Nolian Military Standing Operating Procedures. James would have his men, as well as Corporal Ferguson, Corporal Shaw and their men, Derek would have his own and Travis McKay’s men. Derek waited for McKay to call all his men before moving them off a short way from the rest of the group.
“Which of you have done Aggressive vehicle maneuver and assault before?” Approximately half of the group raised their hands. “And who’s done in adverse wind conditions?” The only three hands dropped from the group of drivers. “Adverse water conditions?” Most of the hands went down, Derek was left with himself, Travis, Ray Aldridge, James Allan, William Black, John Scott, and Hughie McKenzie. “And just for the heck of it, who’s done this in snow?” Travis McKay, Ray Aldridge, and John Scott kept their hands up. “Alright, I’m breaking this squad down further, seven of us have driven under these kinds of conditions before, we’ll be in groups of three students to one instructor, if we can get a hold of the Lynxes before anyone else gets there we’ll get them out on the range and let you guys get some time in before we go organized. Any objections? Good. Grab your gear, lets get moving.” Derek walked back to his motorcycle and put the heavy combat armor on. After strapping the armor on he tied a red cloth over the barrel of his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and waited for his men to assemble before heading to the vehicle bay surface access shaft.
Derek took three Lynx and five Cheetahs, the Lynx only had five places designated for occupation, but they were able to put an extra person on two of them. Derek took gunner seat on the lead Lynx since it was a good vantage point, while Travis’s little brother Steven McKay took the wheel. Steven had not driven the Lynx for training, but Derek had no doubt Travis had made him drive the combat vehicle before. It took less than four minutes to get outside the mountain, and Steven picked up the pace, doing well over forty on the dirt, now a mud road. He didn’t mind much, but by the time the vehicle was getting up to fifty miles per hour Derek decided forty was more than fast enough.
“Alright Steven, bring it back down to forty. You’ve got four passengers without proper seating, slow up some, take it easy. Let’s get there without dumping anyone.” The younger man apologized sheepishly, and allowed the Lynx to decelerate back down to forty.
The training went without major mishap, two collisions between Lynx, no injuries. One Lynx rolled, and almost killed the gunner, but he escaped with only a lot of bruising, and a possible dislocated shoulder, the mud was the main factor in keeping him safe. There was also six cases of Cheetahs rolling, and several collisions, but no serious injures. By the end of the day even the least experienced drivers could take a forty five degree curve at forty miles per hour and not sling anyone off. Terry Wilson’s unit were all driver experts, and with some coaching from them, most of the 131st could run a convoy almost bumper to bumper at seventy miles per hour without rear ending the driver ahead, or spinning out of control. Derek felt good as they drove back to the armory, with the rain still pouring down like the whole ocean was in the sky. He laughed, it was good they had decide to put a heavy drainage system in the underground complex, with all this rain, Derek knew a lot was going down ventilation chutes, tunnels, and access shafts. The inside of the armory would be damp for weeks, even if it didn’t rain any more. But that was okay, every reservoir in the country was empty or low. The water would be pumped into several manmade lakes around the mountain, then run through canals lined with gravel, shunted into rivers, streams and lakes all around. By the time it got to the natural waterways it would be clean of anything it picked up in the armory.
Both units sat outside in the pouring rain for several minutes, despite the low temperatures, before starting to take the vehicles down the access shaft directly to the vehicle bay. Derek made sure they were pressure washed to clean all the mud off before parking the vehicles in the designated locations. Topside, Derek met with James and the unit before they all left.
“Any questions you didn’t ask at the right time? Any requests for next training date? Anything to say before you leave?” James did this every time, even though the training requests had almost no effect on the schedule Derek had compiled. “No? Good. Go home, see you all around.” Everyone snapped to attention, and saluted, James returned the salute before stomping off to his truck, throw his gear in the back and roaring out. The rest of the unit followed suit in whatever vehicle they owned. Derek left his gear by his bike, then headed to the main barracks to put a report in.
Derek took his report directly to Colonel Rodney when he finished it. He preferred doing things in person, and making sure things happened. The colonel was getting ready to leave when Derek walked up, stood to attention, and threw a salute. Rodney returned it with all due solemnity.
“Stand easy Derek. How went the training?”
“Better than I expected, Terry’s guys are good at their stuff. Here’s the report, we had a few accidents, no major damage to the vehicles, and only minor injuries to the operators.”
“Yes, he’s worked hard to get his people trained to their current level. Would you like to come over for dinner this evening? The wife’s putting it up about 1800 if you’re interested in the cooking.” Rodney’s offer was very tempting, Mrs. Rodney cooked a mean dinner.
“I’d love to, but I have a set of guns I’m supposed to deliver to the Testing Facility Monday at 0900, and they still have to be ground, serials stamped, and assembly needs completion. I’ll be up pretty late with that. Thanks for offering though,” Derek inclined his head in a slight bow of gratitude. The colonel acknowledged the refusal with a bow of his own.
“The offer stands open, let me know when you’re hungry, and the table will be set accordingly. Good day.” Derek handed over the report as he snapped another salute, and left the building.
The rain had not stopped all day, and the flooding was beginning to worry Derek. He’d have to take a path that couldn’t even be considered a road to get home, as long as it hadn’t been washed away. Luckily it was still there – mostly – and Derek had little trouble traveling it back to a smaller path that led from the woods at the base of his hill up to the house. He thought about hosing the bike off before putting it away, but decided against it. As an afterthought he cleaned it and covered it so he wouldn’t have to do it before church in the morning.
Derek had cast and tempered eight 12.7x99 millimeter barrels over the week, and machined all the parts to assemble two H125 gas-powered gatling style automatic weapons. The gatlings were used in many of the combat vehicles, and some light versions were designed to be carried and operated by infantry units. He already had the gas cylinder-chamber core and the ammunition feed put together, all that was need was to finish grinding the barrels, stamp serial numbers on everything, and begin applying the protective finish.
Derek checked the clock after grinding the barrels, it was only five o’clock. He grimaced, there was enough time he could have accepted the colonel’s offer, the first coat of finish would take ten minutes to apply, and would need two or three hours to dry before he could apply the second coat.
“Oh well, another good dinner lost…” He shrugged and started painting the finish onto the long gun barrels. After graving his serial numbers into the chamber cores he fixed a light dinner, glancing outside to see what the weather was like. Rain still fell in torrents, and showed no sign of relenting.
It was after eight before he completed the second coat, and another hour later when he pinned the barrels into each chamber-core. With nothing else to do Derek took a shower and went to bed. As he listened to the rain he reviewed the day. It had been very productive, more than he could say for most Saturday training days.
He drifted off to sleep with an almost-contented smile plastered over his face.
Derek watched the rain pour down on his small garden, turning the dust into mud. It had been four weeks since it rained, and even then it was only a light sprinkle. He’d cleaned his gutters and reservoir out, so while the water wouldn’t be fit for drinking it could still be used for anything else.
Derek pulled his combat gear out of the closet and stuffed it into a heavy duffel bag before strapping on a pair of boots and pulling on a long rain coat. He slung the duffel over his shoulder, stepped out into the enclosed carport, and started up his motorcycle. It had been several months since Cora’s 3rd regiment had trained during the rain. This was going to be fun. The motorbike rumbled to life, Derek adjusted the pack and let the bike roll down the driveway toward the flooded road.
Before getting to the road Derek mashed the touch screen on his bike, brought up the mobile communications link, and opened a call to Terry Wilson. Terry was first sergeant of Cora’s 8th combat unit, his and Derek’s unit were going to train together today. After three tones the other end was picked up.
“Terry Wilson speaking.” Derek scrolled the volume bar down, someone must have been playing with the headset since he rode the bike last.
“Terry, this is Derek McConnell, I was wondering if there was any chance we could change plans, and do aggressive vehicle maneuvers instead of close combat today. I know it’s short notice, but a lot of my guys need to train on these vehicles in the mud.”
“Good idea, I’m glad you asked McConnell. I’ll speak to Jose, you see if you can’t get a couple of Lynx, and a handful of Rabbits from the Colonel. Hold.” Derek’s headset beeped twice. He decided to make a quick call to Colonel Rodney to ask about the vehicles. Derek pulled up another contact, labeled “HQ-Col Rod,” and made a second call. The other end was picked up immediately this time.
“Colonel Rodney’s office, this is Jane Rodney.” A female voice spoke sharply over Derek’s headset.
“Jane, Derek McConnell, I have a vehicle request for the colonel, for…eighteen Lynx, and twenty -Cheetahs.” He caught himself before using the nickname given to the All Terrain Vehicles by its operators.
“Would you like to speak to the Colonel directly? He isn’t busy.” Jane’s voice softened after her initial pick up.
“Yes Jane.”
“Just a sec’.” Derek’s headset beeped twice again, but the colonel didn’t even take six seconds to answer.
“This is Colonel Rodney.” The older man’s voice rumbled with daunting authority.
“Sir! Derek McConnell, I’d like to request several vehicles for training purposes.”
“All right, what vehicles were you thinking of requesting Derek?” Rodney had known Derek over ten years now, and had no need for formalities.
“I would like eighteen Lynx and twenty Jack-Rabbits, we’ll be doing aggressive vehicle maneuver and assault today.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. Do you know where you’d be doing this training?”
“I was going to ask Jim Watt out on the Ring if we could use The Giant’s Basin. I think that’s the best place to get as much training done in as short an amount of time I can get.”
“So you haven’t asked him yet?” Rodney’s question was not one off accusation, or disappointment in Derek’s apparent negligence, it was a question, and a question only.
“No sir, I thought it best to acquire the equipment before the training grounds.” Derek’s method was not standard, but he preferred to tie up military equipment before a citizen’s property.
“I’ll let Captain Charles know you need them, and clear it when you say you’ve got permission for the land use.”
“I’ll contact Jim now.” Derek put that line on hold, just in time to catch Terry coming back with a reply.
“Jose’ll go with that McConnell, just wants to know where we’ll be for the training.”
“I’m getting ready to ask Jim Watt if we an use The Giant’s Basin. Give me a minute.” Derek placed Terry’s line on hold and opened a new line. It took nearly a minute for the other end to be picked up this time.
“Hello?” A boy’s thin voice answered.
“This is Derek McConnell, I was wondering if Mr. Watt is in, I’d like to ask him something.” Derek couldn’t figure out which of Jim’s sons he was speaking too. They all sounded almost exactly alike, with the exception of William, the oldest.
“Let me go find him, be right back.” Derek waited three minutes at the end of his driveway before rolling out onto the main road. It was another minute or so before Jim Watt picked up the phone.
“Derek McConnell, what can I do for you on this beautiful day?” Jim was always the optimist. The rain was needed, and to a farmer it was beautiful.
“I was wondering if my unit could do a little bit, or rather a large bit, of vehicle training on part of your property.” Aggressive maneuvers was anything but little.
“You surely can, where were you thinking of driving?”
“I would like to use The Giant’s Basin, I’ve done training there before it’s fairly well suited for the task.” The last time he had done any training in the Giant’s Basin was before Jim Watt had bought it.
“You may certainly use it. Use it for as long as you like. I just want it all there when I get it back.” Jim chuckled.
“Thank you sir, I appreciate this. See you around.” Derek closed the line and picked up the colonel’s line.
“I have permission to use The Giant’s Basin for training.” This brief piece of information was all that was needed to clear the use of the vehicles.
“Excellent! Captain Charles has been notified and you can pick the vehicles up whenever you like. Good work son. Out.”
Rodney closed his line. He sat watching the rain spray against the window.
“That boy will go far… In the event of a conflict…” He shook his head and picked up another line at his daughter’s prompt.
Derek mashed the touch screen to reconnect to Terry.
“Terry, I have permission from Watt to use the Giant’s Basin, I also have nineteen Lynx and twenty four Cheetahs assigned to us, per Colonel Rodney, we can pick them up as soon as we want them.”
“Good work McConnell, it’s a pleasure working with you. Out.” Terry cut his line.
Derek turned off the main road to take a short cut to Raven-Cora’s armory complex. It was dirt road, but the rain had turned it into a river.
“So much for a short cut…” Derek thought dolefully as he slowed to prevent loss of control over his bike. The road ran through the woods, and came out on a ridge twice, each time he was able to catch a slight glimpse of the city below. Cora was the capitol, and largest city of the clan Edge of the Storm. The population had been taken eight years ago, and numbered approximately 47,681. That was not counting anyone under the age of seventeen, and only included the residence of the downtown city, and the urban environment that extended four miles out from the centre of town. It didn’t include the people living five or more miles away, even though they were part of the greater “community.”
Cora was a military industry city, with two aircraft manufacturing plants, a vehicle factory, an armor factory, and three military technology schools. Derek was a small arms manufacturer, specializing in long range guns and tinkering in light weaponry for vehicles. He was one of hundreds who milled guns in their basement, garage, or workshop. Most sent their products to the weapons testing facility in Cora to ensure the arms were exactly in line with the military caliber regulations. It was hardly a surprise that Cora boasted the second strongest division in the confederation, with over 21,000 members in the ‘voluntary’ defense force. Cora had no standing army, but it had about three hundred paid commissioned officers, engineers, pilots, and other aircraft related maintenance personnel.
Derek paused at one of the overlooks. Even with the torrential downpour everything seemed peaceful. The war between the River State Federation and the Respian Coalition of Nations in southern part of the continent seemed so far away and disconnected from all this. He wondered why the monthly training requirement had doubled. No one in Nolia was foolish enough to get into the fight wearing their regiments’ colors. “At least,” Derek thought as he turned away from the view and back to the tunnel-like road ahead, “I hope no one is that stupid.” Derek’s unit had already been adding days here and there whenever more then forty of them could take the time to come out and train, they were hoping to have their unit status, and equipment upgraded to a high level. The 131st Infantry unit was designated a “Heavy Infantry” unit. Derek hoped the next evaluation would upgrade them to “Advanced Infantry.” With a lot more training they could possibly make “Shock Troop” status. After Shock Troop, there was Advanced Shock Troop, and the highest designation “Strike” unit. Cora’s division only had three Strike Units and those were assigned to the Orbital Air Ship Amaranth. Derek shrugged as he turned off onto the last dirt road between him and the armory.
The armory was one of two in Nolia where over ninety percent of the structures were underground. Cora’s 3rd Infantry/Airborne had one, and Dardanelle, in the clan Of the Desert, had the other. The 3rd Infantry’s was by far the better of the two. There were six buildings above ground, each of them merely providing access to the structures underground. In addition to the barn-like structures, there was a single tower in the middle of the armory. The tower had access to the main barracks, and provided anti aircraft capabilities to the base. Two rail-guns turreted independently for ranged targets, and a plethora of conventional guns were scattered around the roof. The tower was built around a frame of steel, hardened concrete, three inches of steel, with an outer façade of heavy stones. Without knowledge of the concrete and steel underneath, anyone looking at it would think it was some ancient relic left over from the days of knights, kings, and castles. The windows on the side of the hexagon tower let light pour into the hall, much like the great halls of the castles, on the exterior the windows were a thin line, but on the interior there was a window seat the size of a couch tucked into the wall.
The main barracks was over forty feet below the surface, broken down into thirty sections, one for each squadron in the regiment, and could house up to four thousand soldiers, as well as two secondary barracks’ were located near the vehicle garages. Four tertiary barracks’ were scattered around near main complex points, and several four man bunk rooms at other locations. With all sleeping facilities accounted for, the whole armory complex could house almost seven thousand people.
The Orbital Air Ship hanger was the largest manmade underground structure in Nolia, the floor was nearly three hundred feet below surface, with the ceiling right at two hundred feet high. The hanger was one thousand feet wide, by fifteen hundred feet long, plenty of room for the many vehicles that would be driven into the room and aboard the ship to be moved to any combat location as needed.
The Aircraft hangers were both on the west side of the OAS hanger. Each had two tunnels connecting them to the OAS hanger, in addition to two lifts, and tunnels leading to west. All the tunnels were large enough for a DC-31 Halberd to be towed through and still have ten feet on all sides. The lifts were also big enough for the drop-ships to sit on, and would take the aircraft or equipment to the surface access building.
The Vehicle Bay was on the opposite side of the OAS hanger, and was connected by four tunnels. . The division owned over three hundred of these ultra light personnel carriers. The lift was the most traversed method of entry to the Vehicle Bay, but several small tunnels that lead out into the forest surrounding the armory were used as well.
At the gate Derek slowed enough so as not to splash mud everywhere, before heading over to an old building that had been turned into a garage set aside for personal vehicles.
Most of his own group had already gathered under one corner of the garage, the over-extended eaves and wall to their backs gave them some shelter from the wind-swept rain. John Grey saluted Derek as he approached, and mumbled a low “’s up” after Derek returned the salute.
“Do you think the Alliance will get involved?” Will Goring, one of the newer members of the unit asked.
“Boy! What did your parents teach you?! The Alliance isn’t there to intervene in each and every conflict that comes within a thousand miles of our border! It’s one and only purpose is to protect the nations committed, only when they’ve been physically attacked by another government entity, and responsibility can be placed for all to see, or if the attacking nation claims responsibility. Only then can, and will, the Alliance get involved in a conflict.” James Williamson, 1st Sergeant of the 131st Surface Infantry (Cora), upbraided the young man for his naivety.
“But we’re friends with the River States, they obviously need help, so why don’t we do something about it?”
“There’s another one with a rather thick skull for James to butt heads with.” Derek thought as James became openly frustrated.
“No! It’s not our land, it’s not our people, and it sure the heck isn’t our fight! Yes we’re trade with the Federation, does that mean we have any obligation to stick our neck out for them? No! Yes, we know people from some of the States, does that mean we have the same obligation to help defend them, as we will with someone from, say, Eagle? No! If the Coalition attacks us, then the Alliance will become involved, and not ten seconds before then. They have neither the power, authority, or will to do so.” James finished his rant, and looked up to see Derek’s attempt to stifle a grin.
“Anything you would like to add to that, Sergeant?” James didn’t think it was funny.
“No, not that I can think of,” Derek was having trouble keeping his face any straighter than what it was with the grin.
“Then wipe that stupid grin off of your face and tell me what crazy, whacked up training plans you have in store for us poor dogs today.” James crossed his arms, and glared across the rain at Derek, even though he was beginning to cool off.
“I was originally thinking of live fire training for today, but when the rain showed I decided a change of plans was in order. We’ll be doing Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault with Terry Wilson’s 118th. I’ve already talked to him about it, and a request, already granted, for nine Lynx and fourteen Bobcats. That should cover most of the people from both units, anyone who can’t fit on can just use their personal vehicle. I asked Jim Watt if we could use The Giant’s Basin down at the far end of his land, he gave me an Okay on that.”
“Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault? We’ve done that already.” Nate McLintock grumbled. He never liked doing anything twice.
“You did it when it was dry. You did it when it was so dry we couldn’t go over fifty miles per hour ‘cause the trucks had no traction in the dust! You haven’t done it in the rain, you haven’t done it in the mud. Out of the…” Derek took a quick head count. “Forty of us here, I can only see sixteen I know have done AVMA in this kind of weather. You need the experience. Now. If you get out on the field, and you’re the driver, what happens when it goes from desert to lake in half an hour? You don’t know how your vehicle will handle. You haven’t felt the winds pushing your vehicle off the path when cruising down a muddy road at seventy mile per hour- not that it’s advisable to go that fast. We will be doing Aggressive vehicle maneuvers and assault.” Derek glared at the assembled men.
“Now, now serge, no need to get all huffy, put the mullet away,” there was a chuckle, “Nate musta had something he oughtn’ve ate, is all.” Brian Murray lifted one eyebrow and looked around the crowd for some measure of approval. Finding none within sight he shrugged. “Well it was worth a try. You know what you’re problem is? All of you. You’re to damn serious. Lighten up, we’re not in a war yet.”
Derek scowled, an attempt to hide the grin trying to creep over his face. Brian was right, there might be a war on, but they weren’t involved, yet, he shouldn’t be so tough on a newer member, even one that griped as much as Nate, until the business became more serious.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but what I said still stands.” Derek shrugged apologetically. He’d said his piece, if anything else needed to be said, James would say it.
“Well now boys. Shall we go get the carts?” James rubbed his hands together semi excitedly, almost as if he was about to commit some prank. “Roll call first. SGT McConnell,”
“Here.”
“CP Ferguson,”
“Here.”
“CP McKay,”
“Here.”
“CP Shaw,”
“Here.”
“Call your groups. Rollins, Jameson, Miller, Hay, Reilly, Martin, Kerr, Graham, Gibson, Hunter, Hamilton, Rogers.” At each name called, James was answered with either “here” or “Accounted for.” Derek began calling his own men out.
“McKay, Aldridge, Campbell, Allan, Black, MacLean, Wallace, Forbes, Christie, Douglas, Moore, McKenzie, Hughes.” Derek was answered with affirmation of presence, all his men were accounted for. In training, and combat, the 1st Sergeant would have his squad, and at least one other squad, since their unit had over sixty it had been broken into five full squads, the maximum allowed by the Nolian Military Standing Operating Procedures. James would have his men, as well as Corporal Ferguson, Corporal Shaw and their men, Derek would have his own and Travis McKay’s men. Derek waited for McKay to call all his men before moving them off a short way from the rest of the group.
“Which of you have done Aggressive vehicle maneuver and assault before?” Approximately half of the group raised their hands. “And who’s done in adverse wind conditions?” The only three hands dropped from the group of drivers. “Adverse water conditions?” Most of the hands went down, Derek was left with himself, Travis, Ray Aldridge, James Allan, William Black, John Scott, and Hughie McKenzie. “And just for the heck of it, who’s done this in snow?” Travis McKay, Ray Aldridge, and John Scott kept their hands up. “Alright, I’m breaking this squad down further, seven of us have driven under these kinds of conditions before, we’ll be in groups of three students to one instructor, if we can get a hold of the Lynxes before anyone else gets there we’ll get them out on the range and let you guys get some time in before we go organized. Any objections? Good. Grab your gear, lets get moving.” Derek walked back to his motorcycle and put the heavy combat armor on. After strapping the armor on he tied a red cloth over the barrel of his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and waited for his men to assemble before heading to the vehicle bay surface access shaft.
Derek took three Lynx and five Cheetahs, the Lynx only had five places designated for occupation, but they were able to put an extra person on two of them. Derek took gunner seat on the lead Lynx since it was a good vantage point, while Travis’s little brother Steven McKay took the wheel. Steven had not driven the Lynx for training, but Derek had no doubt Travis had made him drive the combat vehicle before. It took less than four minutes to get outside the mountain, and Steven picked up the pace, doing well over forty on the dirt, now a mud road. He didn’t mind much, but by the time the vehicle was getting up to fifty miles per hour Derek decided forty was more than fast enough.
“Alright Steven, bring it back down to forty. You’ve got four passengers without proper seating, slow up some, take it easy. Let’s get there without dumping anyone.” The younger man apologized sheepishly, and allowed the Lynx to decelerate back down to forty.
The training went without major mishap, two collisions between Lynx, no injuries. One Lynx rolled, and almost killed the gunner, but he escaped with only a lot of bruising, and a possible dislocated shoulder, the mud was the main factor in keeping him safe. There was also six cases of Cheetahs rolling, and several collisions, but no serious injures. By the end of the day even the least experienced drivers could take a forty five degree curve at forty miles per hour and not sling anyone off. Terry Wilson’s unit were all driver experts, and with some coaching from them, most of the 131st could run a convoy almost bumper to bumper at seventy miles per hour without rear ending the driver ahead, or spinning out of control. Derek felt good as they drove back to the armory, with the rain still pouring down like the whole ocean was in the sky. He laughed, it was good they had decide to put a heavy drainage system in the underground complex, with all this rain, Derek knew a lot was going down ventilation chutes, tunnels, and access shafts. The inside of the armory would be damp for weeks, even if it didn’t rain any more. But that was okay, every reservoir in the country was empty or low. The water would be pumped into several manmade lakes around the mountain, then run through canals lined with gravel, shunted into rivers, streams and lakes all around. By the time it got to the natural waterways it would be clean of anything it picked up in the armory.
Both units sat outside in the pouring rain for several minutes, despite the low temperatures, before starting to take the vehicles down the access shaft directly to the vehicle bay. Derek made sure they were pressure washed to clean all the mud off before parking the vehicles in the designated locations. Topside, Derek met with James and the unit before they all left.
“Any questions you didn’t ask at the right time? Any requests for next training date? Anything to say before you leave?” James did this every time, even though the training requests had almost no effect on the schedule Derek had compiled. “No? Good. Go home, see you all around.” Everyone snapped to attention, and saluted, James returned the salute before stomping off to his truck, throw his gear in the back and roaring out. The rest of the unit followed suit in whatever vehicle they owned. Derek left his gear by his bike, then headed to the main barracks to put a report in.
Derek took his report directly to Colonel Rodney when he finished it. He preferred doing things in person, and making sure things happened. The colonel was getting ready to leave when Derek walked up, stood to attention, and threw a salute. Rodney returned it with all due solemnity.
“Stand easy Derek. How went the training?”
“Better than I expected, Terry’s guys are good at their stuff. Here’s the report, we had a few accidents, no major damage to the vehicles, and only minor injuries to the operators.”
“Yes, he’s worked hard to get his people trained to their current level. Would you like to come over for dinner this evening? The wife’s putting it up about 1800 if you’re interested in the cooking.” Rodney’s offer was very tempting, Mrs. Rodney cooked a mean dinner.
“I’d love to, but I have a set of guns I’m supposed to deliver to the Testing Facility Monday at 0900, and they still have to be ground, serials stamped, and assembly needs completion. I’ll be up pretty late with that. Thanks for offering though,” Derek inclined his head in a slight bow of gratitude. The colonel acknowledged the refusal with a bow of his own.
“The offer stands open, let me know when you’re hungry, and the table will be set accordingly. Good day.” Derek handed over the report as he snapped another salute, and left the building.
The rain had not stopped all day, and the flooding was beginning to worry Derek. He’d have to take a path that couldn’t even be considered a road to get home, as long as it hadn’t been washed away. Luckily it was still there – mostly – and Derek had little trouble traveling it back to a smaller path that led from the woods at the base of his hill up to the house. He thought about hosing the bike off before putting it away, but decided against it. As an afterthought he cleaned it and covered it so he wouldn’t have to do it before church in the morning.
Derek had cast and tempered eight 12.7x99 millimeter barrels over the week, and machined all the parts to assemble two H125 gas-powered gatling style automatic weapons. The gatlings were used in many of the combat vehicles, and some light versions were designed to be carried and operated by infantry units. He already had the gas cylinder-chamber core and the ammunition feed put together, all that was need was to finish grinding the barrels, stamp serial numbers on everything, and begin applying the protective finish.
Derek checked the clock after grinding the barrels, it was only five o’clock. He grimaced, there was enough time he could have accepted the colonel’s offer, the first coat of finish would take ten minutes to apply, and would need two or three hours to dry before he could apply the second coat.
“Oh well, another good dinner lost…” He shrugged and started painting the finish onto the long gun barrels. After graving his serial numbers into the chamber cores he fixed a light dinner, glancing outside to see what the weather was like. Rain still fell in torrents, and showed no sign of relenting.
It was after eight before he completed the second coat, and another hour later when he pinned the barrels into each chamber-core. With nothing else to do Derek took a shower and went to bed. As he listened to the rain he reviewed the day. It had been very productive, more than he could say for most Saturday training days.
He drifted off to sleep with an almost-contented smile plastered over his face.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Vertical Ridge: Death status
So... I just killed my first characters...for the first time... But they never really came into the story, they were just names until now. Now they're just names on gravestones, or will be soon. Hey! Don't chew on me for killing nonexistent people! It's my first time, I'll work my way up to actual participating characters eventually...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Origins: Nolia
In the seventeenth century, the Sarajevo Empire was the greatest power on Terra One, and had only one rival in the whole of Carrenthia. Several conflicts in the early part of the century placed a strain on the Empire, and the Empirical Council decided a higher tax was needed to bolster the floundering, far-flung armies and navies deployed by the Empire. Without consulting the governments of the colonies and territories, in accordance with the charters or Laws of Binding between the said colonies, territories and the Empire, a tax was forced upon the people. Since the mountains of (RANDOMNAME) had been at the front of one conflict, the region was subjected to a heavy tax. Outraged that all proper channels had been completely thrown away, the local governments demanded the tax be repealed; the Empirical Council refused to even give audience to the representatives sent, and the territories responded by refusing to collect the tax.
With few other options on hand, the Empirical Council redeployed their forces, attempting to enforce the tax with a strong arm. The territories pleaded to the Emperor, to follow the laws accepted by the Empire. The Emperor refused to listen, and allowed the Empirical Council to go through with their plans. Dismayed at the actions of their earthly ruler, the local governments held a conference, declaring that the contract between themselves and the Empire nullified, as the terms had been broken, and declaring that they were, in light of the actions taken by the Empire, independent from all rule and control of the said government. The Empirical Council declared the region as in rebellion, and dispatched additional forces to assist in quelling the “uprising.”
The next year was uneventful, with the territory remaining in a sullen state, resisting in small numbers, attacking Imperial soldiers when they could be found in small numbers, but generally offering a submissive posture to the more powerful oppressors.
Then, one year after declaring independence from the Empire, the territories of the Nolian Mountains turned on the occupying troops with a ferocity that stunned the world. Within weeks, all the major cities in the region had thrown off the heavy hand of the Empire, and sported flags and poorly equipped armies to spite the scattered and stupefied Imperial forces. The victory was short lived, however; with fewer fronts to maintain, the Empire sent two battle hardened armies into the mountains. With vastly superior numbers and training, the Imperial Regulars collected the previously defeated Irregulars, and integrated them into their well trained ranks. Several of the citizen armies engaged the dauntless force on separate occasions, but were soundly defeated.
Six months after the region threw off the oppressing arm; half of their cities were back under Imperial control, their armies in retreat, their spirit lower than any had thought possible at the beginning of their march. Within a year, what armies were left had disbanded, and the whole region back under Imperial control. Attacks on small groups of occupying soldiers continued, but anyone caught in the act was punished with death, and possibly death to their whole family. Two years after the territories declared independence, the hold upon them were strong as iron.
When all hope seemed gone, a man claiming to be a member of an age-old assassins order, appeared with sixty nine soldiers. The order, known as the Silent Hand, was a thing of legends. Warriors whose strength and skills made a single man more than a match for ten ordinary soldiers; fast as horses, silent as wraiths, tales of the Silent Hand was known to all in the Nolian Mountains. In one battle, it is said, an entire army was slaughtered, as they marched toward the mountains, by less than a hundred men from the Silent Hand. When no one believed the man, he set out to prove his claim. A week after the man appeared, a regiment of Imperial soldiers based at city Cora was annihilated – in a single night, there were no survivors.
Rumors of a ghost army barely had time to spread through the Imperial troops in the mountains before the second attack, three days later, occurred. It was as unexpected as it was horrendous as the first. An entire brigade, stationed in the vicinity of Kalina, was challenged by a small group of men. The general ordered a company to arrest the protesters; the two hundred man company was slaughtered in full view of the entire camp; not a single man from the protesters had fallen. The general gave an order to kill the insurgents from range before they could exact any more damage. Before a company of archers or musket-men could be called up, the attacking men rushed the camp, passing through, and leaving bodies strewn about like leaves. Four hours after the challenge was issued, the man leading the insurgent soldiers released the general and his aid, and told them to relay a message to the commander of all forces stationed in the mountainous region, and the message was this: I have destroyed your armies, I will free these people. If you do not take your soldiers and leave this region, all will die the same death as those at Cora and Kalina. Heed this warning, lest you force me to prove my threat. I am Sengol of the Desert. You have my word that I will follow this threat with the might of my hands.
Sengol lost twelve men at Kalina, but with proof to his claim, the mountain people flocked to his call. In the following two months, with the Imperial forces in complete disarray, Sengol trained over a thousand men, and created a formidable army of six thousand. As one brigade of the Imperial army attempted to join with several regiments before attempting to retake Cora, Sengol’s army attacked them head on in a deep valley. The battle was short but furious. The Imperial troops fell by the hundreds; those in the rear eventually turned and ran, leaving all siege weapons, cannon, and most of the army, behind. The losses sustained by Sengol’s army were slight in comparison.
After defeating two more Imperial camps Sengol divided his army into three portions, and sent them to eliminate any Imperial companies they found. The Empirical Council took the threat with gravity, and sent another army to bolster the weakened armies in the region. The commander of Imperial forces pulled every soldier he had into one location. In the middle of the Nolian Mountains is a lake, covering nearly three hundred square miles. To the south there is large plain before the mountains gradually grow back into the sky, General Cobalt entrenched his men on the plain, threw up defenses to rival any castle. Expecting to be attacked from the hills, he placed his cannon along a low wall facing them. After nearly two weeks of nervous waiting, Sengol’s army began filtering into the plain. Far out of range of even the biggest cannon, the gunners nonetheless attempted to fire on the smaller force backed against the hills. Before night fell Sengol’s entire army had gathered, numbering close to ten thousand now.
At dawn they struck. Over a thousand men had taken small boats, and circled around behind the fortifications, on the water there was no heavy guns, and only a sparse guard. The oppressed people charged with the rising of the sun, into enemy guns, vastly outnumbered, they charged. The attack from the rear threw an organized defense out of sync, allowing the attackers from the front to gain a foothold on the wall. The battle raged till noon, ceasing only when General Cobalt the few men left standing surrendered. Sengol had lost over half of his army, but the Imperial army had been all but destroyed.
The remainder of the Imperial army was escorted to the edge of the Nolian territory, and swore oaths never to return. With the threat of occupation temporarily averted, the governments began working on how they were going to continue as a nation, writing treatises. Many demanded Sengol be proclaimed ruler, but he refused. Sengol did assist in trying to settle the people into a nation. After a whole year of debates and bickering, the nation of Nolia was formed. It was divided into nine strategic districts; a central government controlled all military assets, through the local governments, all of which would send representatives to make up the central government. With everything moving in order, Sengol said he and his men would return to the desert where they had come from. The people almost imprisoned him to keep him from leaving, but he insisted, and with heavy hearts the people of Nolia said goodbye to their hero.
Nolia continued as a nation for twenty years before any major problems arose, but a disagreement on tax arose, and three districts declared they would not continue as part of the nation if the taxes were passed. The central government almost took up arms to suppress the districts who opposed them. Sengol, in his desert home, was informed of the happenings, and returned. Now an aged man; and a name of legends, the respect he commanded was absolute. He employed a number of historians to sift through the histories regarding the forms of government they had used before joining the Empire. After eight months of research, the historians showed their findings to the high council of the central government. The people had originally been separated into seven clans; the geographic areas were similar to the strategic districts zoned twenty years earlier. It also included the area Sengol called his home.
After three months of debate, the central government issued a statement: it would reform the clans, according to their names and regions, create a different federal government, and then disband itself. It took over four months to find a system of government for the clans to operate efficiently, but the clans were finally reformed.
The Deep Water Clan, sometimes known as Wolf, was at the heart of the Nolian Mountains. The High Mountain Clan, sometimes known as Tiger, was to the south of Wolf. The Halls of Wind Clan, sometimes known as Badger, was directly east of both Wolf and Tiger. The Valley Clan, sometimes known as Eagle, was north of Badger, and east of Wolf. The Of the Desert Clan, sometimes known as Viper, was even farther north than Eagle, and was solely on the Northern Desert, having no mountains. The Edge of the Storm Clan, sometimes known as Raven, was directly west of Wolf, and slightly south of Viper. The On Swift Wings Clan, sometimes known as Antelope, was farther west than Raven, along the edge of the mountains, situated mainly on the Great Plains.
The central government was charged with delivery of the mail, collection of a tax, agreed upon by all clan councils; that would be on all sales made by corporations, and be no more than two percent. It would use the monies procured to purchase military equipment for the clan militias. The government would act as the liaison of the clans to any and all foreign powers. The central government would also act as a marshal should any conflict arise between two clans. The central government would be made up of members of the clan’s councils, and any action to be taken had to be completely unanimous. There would be one representative from each city, each county, of each clan, and the clan High Council would send a member to lead the representatives of the respective clans. To be a representative to the Central government, one had to be a natural born citizen of the clan they intended to represent.
The new government went into effect on June seventeenth, being known as the Nolian Confederation, in the year of our LORD 1689, twenty three years, seven months, and twelve days after the people of Nolia originally declared their independence from the Sarajevo Empire.
The Sarajevo Empire tried to re-assimilate the confederation twice, and failing that, offered a treaty of non-aggression. Nolia accepted the treaty, and became trade allies with the Empire. In the mid nineteenth century Alsen-Kir, a large nation to the north of Nolia, attacked Of the Desert, but was repulsed with little difficulty. By the mid-twentieth century, the Sarajevo Empire had fallen apart, and a power hungry nation to the west assaulted On Swift Wings, claiming a good portion of the clan for nearly ten years, before then Confederation gained enough intelligence and strength to beat them off and take the land back. No outside forces attacked the Nolian Confederation during the twenty first century, excepting Alsen-Kir, which attacked in 2099.
Over the next three hundred years the clans broke into war among themselves seven times, only three times did the conflict involve all seven clans. The twenty first century contained two clan wars, both involved all seven clans. The first was a light war, lasting only eight months, and costing no more than eight thousand souls and approximately thirty two thousand lbs sterling in materials and equipment damaged or lost. The second was vicious, costing over sixty thousand souls, and nearly two million lbs in materials, equipment, and property lost or damaged. After this fifth clan war, the clans isolated themselves from the world, and effectively hid all technology and research they had acquired over the last century. Alsen-Kir’s invasion in 2099 brought Nolia back into the world. The following five year struggle resolved itself with Nolia’s victory over Alsen-Kir, and resulted in an Alliance between the nation and Confederation.
With few other options on hand, the Empirical Council redeployed their forces, attempting to enforce the tax with a strong arm. The territories pleaded to the Emperor, to follow the laws accepted by the Empire. The Emperor refused to listen, and allowed the Empirical Council to go through with their plans. Dismayed at the actions of their earthly ruler, the local governments held a conference, declaring that the contract between themselves and the Empire nullified, as the terms had been broken, and declaring that they were, in light of the actions taken by the Empire, independent from all rule and control of the said government. The Empirical Council declared the region as in rebellion, and dispatched additional forces to assist in quelling the “uprising.”
The next year was uneventful, with the territory remaining in a sullen state, resisting in small numbers, attacking Imperial soldiers when they could be found in small numbers, but generally offering a submissive posture to the more powerful oppressors.
Then, one year after declaring independence from the Empire, the territories of the Nolian Mountains turned on the occupying troops with a ferocity that stunned the world. Within weeks, all the major cities in the region had thrown off the heavy hand of the Empire, and sported flags and poorly equipped armies to spite the scattered and stupefied Imperial forces. The victory was short lived, however; with fewer fronts to maintain, the Empire sent two battle hardened armies into the mountains. With vastly superior numbers and training, the Imperial Regulars collected the previously defeated Irregulars, and integrated them into their well trained ranks. Several of the citizen armies engaged the dauntless force on separate occasions, but were soundly defeated.
Six months after the region threw off the oppressing arm; half of their cities were back under Imperial control, their armies in retreat, their spirit lower than any had thought possible at the beginning of their march. Within a year, what armies were left had disbanded, and the whole region back under Imperial control. Attacks on small groups of occupying soldiers continued, but anyone caught in the act was punished with death, and possibly death to their whole family. Two years after the territories declared independence, the hold upon them were strong as iron.
When all hope seemed gone, a man claiming to be a member of an age-old assassins order, appeared with sixty nine soldiers. The order, known as the Silent Hand, was a thing of legends. Warriors whose strength and skills made a single man more than a match for ten ordinary soldiers; fast as horses, silent as wraiths, tales of the Silent Hand was known to all in the Nolian Mountains. In one battle, it is said, an entire army was slaughtered, as they marched toward the mountains, by less than a hundred men from the Silent Hand. When no one believed the man, he set out to prove his claim. A week after the man appeared, a regiment of Imperial soldiers based at city Cora was annihilated – in a single night, there were no survivors.
Rumors of a ghost army barely had time to spread through the Imperial troops in the mountains before the second attack, three days later, occurred. It was as unexpected as it was horrendous as the first. An entire brigade, stationed in the vicinity of Kalina, was challenged by a small group of men. The general ordered a company to arrest the protesters; the two hundred man company was slaughtered in full view of the entire camp; not a single man from the protesters had fallen. The general gave an order to kill the insurgents from range before they could exact any more damage. Before a company of archers or musket-men could be called up, the attacking men rushed the camp, passing through, and leaving bodies strewn about like leaves. Four hours after the challenge was issued, the man leading the insurgent soldiers released the general and his aid, and told them to relay a message to the commander of all forces stationed in the mountainous region, and the message was this: I have destroyed your armies, I will free these people. If you do not take your soldiers and leave this region, all will die the same death as those at Cora and Kalina. Heed this warning, lest you force me to prove my threat. I am Sengol of the Desert. You have my word that I will follow this threat with the might of my hands.
Sengol lost twelve men at Kalina, but with proof to his claim, the mountain people flocked to his call. In the following two months, with the Imperial forces in complete disarray, Sengol trained over a thousand men, and created a formidable army of six thousand. As one brigade of the Imperial army attempted to join with several regiments before attempting to retake Cora, Sengol’s army attacked them head on in a deep valley. The battle was short but furious. The Imperial troops fell by the hundreds; those in the rear eventually turned and ran, leaving all siege weapons, cannon, and most of the army, behind. The losses sustained by Sengol’s army were slight in comparison.
After defeating two more Imperial camps Sengol divided his army into three portions, and sent them to eliminate any Imperial companies they found. The Empirical Council took the threat with gravity, and sent another army to bolster the weakened armies in the region. The commander of Imperial forces pulled every soldier he had into one location. In the middle of the Nolian Mountains is a lake, covering nearly three hundred square miles. To the south there is large plain before the mountains gradually grow back into the sky, General Cobalt entrenched his men on the plain, threw up defenses to rival any castle. Expecting to be attacked from the hills, he placed his cannon along a low wall facing them. After nearly two weeks of nervous waiting, Sengol’s army began filtering into the plain. Far out of range of even the biggest cannon, the gunners nonetheless attempted to fire on the smaller force backed against the hills. Before night fell Sengol’s entire army had gathered, numbering close to ten thousand now.
At dawn they struck. Over a thousand men had taken small boats, and circled around behind the fortifications, on the water there was no heavy guns, and only a sparse guard. The oppressed people charged with the rising of the sun, into enemy guns, vastly outnumbered, they charged. The attack from the rear threw an organized defense out of sync, allowing the attackers from the front to gain a foothold on the wall. The battle raged till noon, ceasing only when General Cobalt the few men left standing surrendered. Sengol had lost over half of his army, but the Imperial army had been all but destroyed.
The remainder of the Imperial army was escorted to the edge of the Nolian territory, and swore oaths never to return. With the threat of occupation temporarily averted, the governments began working on how they were going to continue as a nation, writing treatises. Many demanded Sengol be proclaimed ruler, but he refused. Sengol did assist in trying to settle the people into a nation. After a whole year of debates and bickering, the nation of Nolia was formed. It was divided into nine strategic districts; a central government controlled all military assets, through the local governments, all of which would send representatives to make up the central government. With everything moving in order, Sengol said he and his men would return to the desert where they had come from. The people almost imprisoned him to keep him from leaving, but he insisted, and with heavy hearts the people of Nolia said goodbye to their hero.
Nolia continued as a nation for twenty years before any major problems arose, but a disagreement on tax arose, and three districts declared they would not continue as part of the nation if the taxes were passed. The central government almost took up arms to suppress the districts who opposed them. Sengol, in his desert home, was informed of the happenings, and returned. Now an aged man; and a name of legends, the respect he commanded was absolute. He employed a number of historians to sift through the histories regarding the forms of government they had used before joining the Empire. After eight months of research, the historians showed their findings to the high council of the central government. The people had originally been separated into seven clans; the geographic areas were similar to the strategic districts zoned twenty years earlier. It also included the area Sengol called his home.
After three months of debate, the central government issued a statement: it would reform the clans, according to their names and regions, create a different federal government, and then disband itself. It took over four months to find a system of government for the clans to operate efficiently, but the clans were finally reformed.
The Deep Water Clan, sometimes known as Wolf, was at the heart of the Nolian Mountains. The High Mountain Clan, sometimes known as Tiger, was to the south of Wolf. The Halls of Wind Clan, sometimes known as Badger, was directly east of both Wolf and Tiger. The Valley Clan, sometimes known as Eagle, was north of Badger, and east of Wolf. The Of the Desert Clan, sometimes known as Viper, was even farther north than Eagle, and was solely on the Northern Desert, having no mountains. The Edge of the Storm Clan, sometimes known as Raven, was directly west of Wolf, and slightly south of Viper. The On Swift Wings Clan, sometimes known as Antelope, was farther west than Raven, along the edge of the mountains, situated mainly on the Great Plains.
The central government was charged with delivery of the mail, collection of a tax, agreed upon by all clan councils; that would be on all sales made by corporations, and be no more than two percent. It would use the monies procured to purchase military equipment for the clan militias. The government would act as the liaison of the clans to any and all foreign powers. The central government would also act as a marshal should any conflict arise between two clans. The central government would be made up of members of the clan’s councils, and any action to be taken had to be completely unanimous. There would be one representative from each city, each county, of each clan, and the clan High Council would send a member to lead the representatives of the respective clans. To be a representative to the Central government, one had to be a natural born citizen of the clan they intended to represent.
The new government went into effect on June seventeenth, being known as the Nolian Confederation, in the year of our LORD 1689, twenty three years, seven months, and twelve days after the people of Nolia originally declared their independence from the Sarajevo Empire.
The Sarajevo Empire tried to re-assimilate the confederation twice, and failing that, offered a treaty of non-aggression. Nolia accepted the treaty, and became trade allies with the Empire. In the mid nineteenth century Alsen-Kir, a large nation to the north of Nolia, attacked Of the Desert, but was repulsed with little difficulty. By the mid-twentieth century, the Sarajevo Empire had fallen apart, and a power hungry nation to the west assaulted On Swift Wings, claiming a good portion of the clan for nearly ten years, before then Confederation gained enough intelligence and strength to beat them off and take the land back. No outside forces attacked the Nolian Confederation during the twenty first century, excepting Alsen-Kir, which attacked in 2099.
Over the next three hundred years the clans broke into war among themselves seven times, only three times did the conflict involve all seven clans. The twenty first century contained two clan wars, both involved all seven clans. The first was a light war, lasting only eight months, and costing no more than eight thousand souls and approximately thirty two thousand lbs sterling in materials and equipment damaged or lost. The second was vicious, costing over sixty thousand souls, and nearly two million lbs in materials, equipment, and property lost or damaged. After this fifth clan war, the clans isolated themselves from the world, and effectively hid all technology and research they had acquired over the last century. Alsen-Kir’s invasion in 2099 brought Nolia back into the world. The following five year struggle resolved itself with Nolia’s victory over Alsen-Kir, and resulted in an Alliance between the nation and Confederation.
Monday, April 25, 2011
F-27 Half Ghost
F-27 Half Ghost
The Half Ghost is a long range, two place twin engine interceptor. It was designed in the mid 2220s, and has been produced in great numbers; approximately fourteen hundred Half Ghosts have been manufactured, with around eight hundred being sold directly to the clans, one hundred sold to Alsen-Kir, and the other five hundred being bought by private citizens.
The Half Ghost was developed, designed, and fielded in small numbers, prior to the introduction of Flash-drive technology; however, the designers kept the new propulsion system, yet unfinished, in mind. When several companies began building Flash-turbines, Aircraft of the Desert changed all production to include engines from Valley Industries, and manufactured kits to replace the conventional engines with Flash-turbines on already existing aircraft.
The Half Ghost was intended to replace the aging F-13 Warrior class fighter, which was much closer in design and performance to an attack and close support vehicle than a true fighter. With a design slanted towards stealth, the Half Ghost can pass traditional RADAR sensors almost unnoticed. With incorporation of more stealth design and stealthy materials, the Half Ghost could have been all but invisible on any sensor array.
The Warrior was not completely phased out until the late 2260s, when the F-51 Shrike became widely available.
Specifications:
Power plant:
two Valley Industries Alpha Class 2 Flash-turbines.
Weapons:
Primary: one 2.4cm five barrel gas powered gatling, seven thousand rounds.
Secondary: internal bays for up to four AA Singer missiles, bombs up to 750 lbs can be carried, but the standard Half Ghost does not have a guidance system for bombs, and are therefore not used often.
Compliment:
One pilot, one copilot.
Dimensions:
Length: 10 meters (approx 32 ft, 6 in.)
Wingspan: 12.7 meters (approx 40 ft.)
Height, from deck: 5 meters (approx 16 ft.)
Height, from belly to tail: 3.3 meters (approx 10 ft.)
Speed:
Minimum stall speed: 200 kilometers per hour (120 mph.)
Cruise speed: 600 kilometers per hour (360 mph.)
Max speed: Mach 3.5 (3860 kilometers per hour) (2324 mph.)
Range:
At cruise speed, altitude 100 kilometers: 3000 kilometers (1800 miles.)
At cruise speed, sea level: 3600 kilometers (2160 miles.)
At max speed: 2200 kilometers (1320 miles.)
Max ceiling: 400 kilometers (240 miles.)
(I'm sorry if any of the metric-standard calculations are wrong, I was basing everything off of my knowledge that 60 miles per hour is approximately 100 kilometers per hour.)
The Half Ghost is a long range, two place twin engine interceptor. It was designed in the mid 2220s, and has been produced in great numbers; approximately fourteen hundred Half Ghosts have been manufactured, with around eight hundred being sold directly to the clans, one hundred sold to Alsen-Kir, and the other five hundred being bought by private citizens.
The Half Ghost was developed, designed, and fielded in small numbers, prior to the introduction of Flash-drive technology; however, the designers kept the new propulsion system, yet unfinished, in mind. When several companies began building Flash-turbines, Aircraft of the Desert changed all production to include engines from Valley Industries, and manufactured kits to replace the conventional engines with Flash-turbines on already existing aircraft.
The Half Ghost was intended to replace the aging F-13 Warrior class fighter, which was much closer in design and performance to an attack and close support vehicle than a true fighter. With a design slanted towards stealth, the Half Ghost can pass traditional RADAR sensors almost unnoticed. With incorporation of more stealth design and stealthy materials, the Half Ghost could have been all but invisible on any sensor array.
The Warrior was not completely phased out until the late 2260s, when the F-51 Shrike became widely available.
Specifications:
Power plant:
two Valley Industries Alpha Class 2 Flash-turbines.
Weapons:
Primary: one 2.4cm five barrel gas powered gatling, seven thousand rounds.
Secondary: internal bays for up to four AA Singer missiles, bombs up to 750 lbs can be carried, but the standard Half Ghost does not have a guidance system for bombs, and are therefore not used often.
Compliment:
One pilot, one copilot.
Dimensions:
Length: 10 meters (approx 32 ft, 6 in.)
Wingspan: 12.7 meters (approx 40 ft.)
Height, from deck: 5 meters (approx 16 ft.)
Height, from belly to tail: 3.3 meters (approx 10 ft.)
Speed:
Minimum stall speed: 200 kilometers per hour (120 mph.)
Cruise speed: 600 kilometers per hour (360 mph.)
Max speed: Mach 3.5 (3860 kilometers per hour) (2324 mph.)
Range:
At cruise speed, altitude 100 kilometers: 3000 kilometers (1800 miles.)
At cruise speed, sea level: 3600 kilometers (2160 miles.)
At max speed: 2200 kilometers (1320 miles.)
Max ceiling: 400 kilometers (240 miles.)
(I'm sorry if any of the metric-standard calculations are wrong, I was basing everything off of my knowledge that 60 miles per hour is approximately 100 kilometers per hour.)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Origins
I guess it would be a good idea to start adding some history for the planet, and nations, instead of putting all my time into the technology. XD I'll start with Nolia, move out and cover all of Terra One; and if I'm feeling up to it after that, I'll move on to Terra Two and the other continents on Carrenthia.
HC-32 Long Lance
The Long Lance Lance was developed in Alsen-Kir at the same time as the Halberd, and is a heavy cargo transport. It was originally intended to serve as an aerial base for a small strike team. It's design incorporated a large amount of stealth technology, was subject to the first generation of counter-gravity generators, and could stay aloft at a altitude of one hundred kilometers for twenty days.
Before it came into full production, an Alliance military convention came to a decision that any ships in the Alliance Strategic Air Command needed to have airship-to-airship combat capabilities, the few defensive weapons carried would not be adequate. The final production model incorporated additional weapons, and weapon capabilities.
Alsen-Kir has hundreds of these in their air military, Nolia has acquired thirty, three serve in every clan, with exception to Eagle and Jaguar.
Specifications:
Power plant:
two Manohar Flight Solutions Class 1 Mk 2 counter-gravity generators
three Sehgal Propulsion Beta Class 3 Flash-turbines - all Long Lance craft were updated to Charlie Class 4 Flash-turbines from 2257-2264.
Weapons:
Primary: two 5.6cm automatic cannons, two gun turret, belly mounted.
Secondary: six 3.7cm tri-barrel gatlings, individually turret mounted, lower end beams.
Secondary: up to twenty seven air-to-air missiles, three launch rails.
Compliment:
Crew: six, pilot, copilot, navigator/gunner, three technician/gunners.
Soldiers: maximum seventy. Cargo compartment can be converted to sleeping quarters, bunks would have to be broken down and stored before any operations could be commenced.
Payload:
Maximum weight, sixty metric tons,
two heavy armored vehicles, four medium armored vehicles.
(Two armored vehicles can be carried with the soldiers if they are being taken from base to a different location, but there is no room on an extended patrol.)
Before it came into full production, an Alliance military convention came to a decision that any ships in the Alliance Strategic Air Command needed to have airship-to-airship combat capabilities, the few defensive weapons carried would not be adequate. The final production model incorporated additional weapons, and weapon capabilities.
Alsen-Kir has hundreds of these in their air military, Nolia has acquired thirty, three serve in every clan, with exception to Eagle and Jaguar.
Specifications:
Power plant:
two Manohar Flight Solutions Class 1 Mk 2 counter-gravity generators
three Sehgal Propulsion Beta Class 3 Flash-turbines - all Long Lance craft were updated to Charlie Class 4 Flash-turbines from 2257-2264.
Weapons:
Primary: two 5.6cm automatic cannons, two gun turret, belly mounted.
Secondary: six 3.7cm tri-barrel gatlings, individually turret mounted, lower end beams.
Secondary: up to twenty seven air-to-air missiles, three launch rails.
Compliment:
Crew: six, pilot, copilot, navigator/gunner, three technician/gunners.
Soldiers: maximum seventy. Cargo compartment can be converted to sleeping quarters, bunks would have to be broken down and stored before any operations could be commenced.
Payload:
Maximum weight, sixty metric tons,
two heavy armored vehicles, four medium armored vehicles.
(Two armored vehicles can be carried with the soldiers if they are being taken from base to a different location, but there is no room on an extended patrol.)
Friday, April 22, 2011
DC-31 Halberd
The Halberd is a fourth generation light drop-ship, capable of delivering one full combat unit (maximum of fourteen soldiers) or ten metric tons of supplies, or a light assault vehicle, to practically anywhere within a thousand mile radius of it's base. It has some inboard weapons, making it possible to be used as a gunship if necessary, and the armor can protect it from most, if not all, small arms fire.
The first drop-ships were used by the Nolian Confederation clans, during the Fifth Clan War, which involved all seven clans, in the mid twenty second century. The drop-ship all but replaced the helicopter in Nolia, but the outside nations paid little attention to what happened among the clans, and did not take interest until after the Nolian, Alsen-Kir War. The first drop-ships were only capable of transporting ten troops, or one short ton of supplies, their main asset was quick launch and comparatively high speed, as well as being far more maneuverable than an equivalent helicopter. After the Fifth Clan War, the clans became isolated from the rest of the continent, and the technology did not not leave the mountains of Nolia. The war with Alsen-Kir, at the end of the twenty second century, brought the drop-ship out of the dark and into the eyes of the world. By then, the clans had begun producing third generation drop-ships, which had twice the range and payload of the first drop-ships.
Historians have debated whether the drop-ship was the main factor in Nolia's victory, or if the clan's ground-battle tactics and simple non-acceptance of defeat that won the war. Little advances were made in the time between the alliance's formation and the discovery of Flash-drive power. After the flash-drive became readily available two companies, Summit Aircraft Industries of Nolia, and Air Enterprises of Alsen-Kir, began experimenting with new designs that replaced the conventional power-plant with flash-drives.
Summit Aircraft Industries finished prototypes for three different drop-ships in 2237, each with varying capabilities and strengths; the smallest was thirteen meters long, and could carry one combat squad, fifteen metric tons, or a light armored vehicle, the largest could carry two combat squads, twenty five metric tons, or two light vehicles. Air Enterprises put out four designs the next year; three of their prototypes were similar in capabilities to the Summit Aircraft Industries designs, but the fourth drop-ship was completely different. It was capable of airlifting up to seventy fully equipped combat soldiers, in addition to twelve metric tons of cargo, and two combat vehicles, or fifty metric tons of cargo, or two heavy armor vehicles(Alsen-Kir, Cavalier), and four medium armored vehicles(Alsen-Kir, Archer).
The DC-31 Halberd was one of the Summit Aircraft Industries designs, the smallest drop-ship from the lineup, it is the standard drop-ship in Nolia, over five hundred have been produced and serve among the seven different clans. Alsen-Kir Air Command bought ten, for experimentation.
Specifications
Power plant:
Two Cogan-Firth Beta Class 3 Flash-turbines
One Cogan-Firth Alpha Class 1 Flash-turbine
Weapons:
Primary; two 3.7cm tri-barrel gas powered gatling, limited traverse, forward facing. Seven thousand rounds each.
Secondary: two 5.6cm automatic cannon, limited traverse, forward facing. Four hundred rounds each.
Tertiary: two 9mm five-barrel gas powered gatling, turreted, mid-hull. Ten thousand rounds each.
(All DC-31s can be outfitted to carry up to fifty six rockets, two hundred fifty pound bombs, or thirty two missiles.)
Compliment:
Crew: Pilot, copilot/gunner, navigator, usually taken from the squad being transported. Up to fourteen fully equipped soldiers.
Armor:
Early model; 2cm steel Glance Plate.
Late model; 1.5cm araien Glance Plate.
Range:
Three thousand kilometers one way trip. Combat radius is restricted to twelve hundred kilometers.
The first drop-ships were used by the Nolian Confederation clans, during the Fifth Clan War, which involved all seven clans, in the mid twenty second century. The drop-ship all but replaced the helicopter in Nolia, but the outside nations paid little attention to what happened among the clans, and did not take interest until after the Nolian, Alsen-Kir War. The first drop-ships were only capable of transporting ten troops, or one short ton of supplies, their main asset was quick launch and comparatively high speed, as well as being far more maneuverable than an equivalent helicopter. After the Fifth Clan War, the clans became isolated from the rest of the continent, and the technology did not not leave the mountains of Nolia. The war with Alsen-Kir, at the end of the twenty second century, brought the drop-ship out of the dark and into the eyes of the world. By then, the clans had begun producing third generation drop-ships, which had twice the range and payload of the first drop-ships.
Historians have debated whether the drop-ship was the main factor in Nolia's victory, or if the clan's ground-battle tactics and simple non-acceptance of defeat that won the war. Little advances were made in the time between the alliance's formation and the discovery of Flash-drive power. After the flash-drive became readily available two companies, Summit Aircraft Industries of Nolia, and Air Enterprises of Alsen-Kir, began experimenting with new designs that replaced the conventional power-plant with flash-drives.
Summit Aircraft Industries finished prototypes for three different drop-ships in 2237, each with varying capabilities and strengths; the smallest was thirteen meters long, and could carry one combat squad, fifteen metric tons, or a light armored vehicle, the largest could carry two combat squads, twenty five metric tons, or two light vehicles. Air Enterprises put out four designs the next year; three of their prototypes were similar in capabilities to the Summit Aircraft Industries designs, but the fourth drop-ship was completely different. It was capable of airlifting up to seventy fully equipped combat soldiers, in addition to twelve metric tons of cargo, and two combat vehicles, or fifty metric tons of cargo, or two heavy armor vehicles(Alsen-Kir, Cavalier), and four medium armored vehicles(Alsen-Kir, Archer).
The DC-31 Halberd was one of the Summit Aircraft Industries designs, the smallest drop-ship from the lineup, it is the standard drop-ship in Nolia, over five hundred have been produced and serve among the seven different clans. Alsen-Kir Air Command bought ten, for experimentation.
Specifications
Power plant:
Two Cogan-Firth Beta Class 3 Flash-turbines
One Cogan-Firth Alpha Class 1 Flash-turbine
Weapons:
Primary; two 3.7cm tri-barrel gas powered gatling, limited traverse, forward facing. Seven thousand rounds each.
Secondary: two 5.6cm automatic cannon, limited traverse, forward facing. Four hundred rounds each.
Tertiary: two 9mm five-barrel gas powered gatling, turreted, mid-hull. Ten thousand rounds each.
(All DC-31s can be outfitted to carry up to fifty six rockets, two hundred fifty pound bombs, or thirty two missiles.)
Compliment:
Crew: Pilot, copilot/gunner, navigator, usually taken from the squad being transported. Up to fourteen fully equipped soldiers.
Armor:
Early model; 2cm steel Glance Plate.
Late model; 1.5cm araien Glance Plate.
Range:
Three thousand kilometers one way trip. Combat radius is restricted to twelve hundred kilometers.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Explanation for lack-of-pictures.
The reason I have no picture for the OA, is because there *is* no picture of it. I am currently in the process of designing it, and I do not have to proper tools to draw what's in my head, so it's staying there.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Orbital Airship
(I decided to go ahead and post the specs and origins of the craft I have in mind - while they're in my mind.)
The twenty second century on Carrenthia heralded several large scale conflicts, one threatened to involve an entire continent. The first began in the last year of the twenty first century and carried over two years into the twenty second, between one of the larger nations on the continent known as Terra One, Alsen-Kir, and one of the smallest nations of the same continent, Nolia, a confederation of seven clans. Alsen-Kir came close to defeating the Nolian confederation several times, but the defensive tactics used by the clan based nation eventually won out. Following the conflict, and victory of Nolia, Nolia offered an alliance with Alsen-Kir. Alsen-Kir accepted, and the two nations signed a treaty that included sharing of technology and tactics to the benefit of both nations.
Directly south on Terra One, another conflict raged, although completely unrelated to the Alsen-Kir-Nolian war, it is detailed in the same section of the history books. Three small unions were attacked by a number of nations, who banded together and became known as the Respian Coalition of Nations. The three unions formed one union, the Federation of River States, the nations all bordering the great Sengol river, and successfully defeated the RCN, forcing a treaty of non-violence upon them. The FRS accepted several nations into the federation in the next twenty five years, the RCN assimilated roughly fifteen smaller, third-world countries, and one larger nation.
The technology sharing in the Alliance, comprising solely of Nolia and Alsen-Kir, bore small fruit for the first twenty years, but in 2224 a new type of power core was developed, and used in aircraft, the the effects were slow, but within six years a viable propulsion system had been created that provided roughly a hundred times the power of the conventional fossil-fuel jet engine, it also had limited "space" capabilities, which were in reality merely extremely low orbit capabilities, but the breakthrough gave the Alliance a high edge of other air powers.
Fifteen years later Nolia held a clan summit, in light of the RCN's recent advances in technology and growth, it was decided that they needed air power to match, or exceed, that of they're neighbors to the south, the FRS. Soon after the summit, the national government put out a request for an aircraft capable of sustaining flight for a minimum of ninety days, large enough to hold two full fighter squadrons, and a compliment of three fully functional ground combat units. The request was revised soon after, it included a requirement for aerial bombardment, and smaller aircraft capable of delivering the troops on board to any battle zone while the mother-craft stayed out of enemy range, as well as any equipment or vehicles they might need. Alsen-Kir based Sanheil Heavy Industries requested a hold on the contract while they attempted to build a 128 scale model of a craft they were already trying to develop. After nearly a year the company unveiled an airship with capabilities that exceeded Nolia's request, Alsen-Kir order seven, and Nolia ordered three of the craft that soon became known as the Class 1 Orbital Airships. The full scale craft would take two years to build, first deliveries was estimated ten years after the original order, as a full scale prototype had yet to be built and tested.
It took twelve years for the first full production Class 1 Orbital Airship to roll off the assembly line, it was capable of far more than the original requirement placed by the Nolian Defense committee. It could stay airborne for one hundred twenty days, had three fighter squadron compliment, and quarters for five fully functional combat units, drop-ships for all five units, and enough room to store vehicles to equip one of the units as a fully mechanized unit. The first Class 1 OA went to Alsen-Kir, Nolia received their first craft thirteen years after the requirement had been set forth, and was assigned to the Eagle clan, at the capitol city Ariel. Over the next six years Nolia received the second and third Class 1 OAs, which were assigned to the Viper capitol Nayely, and Badger capitol Kalina. After the third OA was delivered, the conference decided to order a fourth, which would be assigned to Raven's capitol, Cora.
Specifacations:
Main power unit:
six Manohar Flight Solutions Class 2 Mk 7 counter-gravity generators
four Sehgal Propulsion Delta Class 5 Flash-turbines.
Weapons:
Primary: six eight inch railguns.
Secondary: sixteen two inch conventional cannon.
Secondary: three hundred fifty air-to-air medium range missiles.
Tertiary: eight 30 millimeter, seven barrel gatling guns, close range missile and aircraft defense.
Compliment:
Crew: three hundred seven.
Combat units: five, average fifty soldiers per unit; two hundred fifty.
Pilots: fighter pilots; fifty. Drop-ship pilots; seventy four.
(Capacity is rated at seven hundred)
Aircraft:
Fighters: twenty one.
Drop-ships: twenty seven.
Ground Vehicles:
Puma (heavy armored vehicle, six seats, one gun): two.
Lynx (medium armored vehicle, four seats, one gun): six.
Panther (light armored vehicle, two seats, one gun): nine.
Cheetah (all terrain vehicle, two seats, no gun): fourteen.
The twenty second century on Carrenthia heralded several large scale conflicts, one threatened to involve an entire continent. The first began in the last year of the twenty first century and carried over two years into the twenty second, between one of the larger nations on the continent known as Terra One, Alsen-Kir, and one of the smallest nations of the same continent, Nolia, a confederation of seven clans. Alsen-Kir came close to defeating the Nolian confederation several times, but the defensive tactics used by the clan based nation eventually won out. Following the conflict, and victory of Nolia, Nolia offered an alliance with Alsen-Kir. Alsen-Kir accepted, and the two nations signed a treaty that included sharing of technology and tactics to the benefit of both nations.
Directly south on Terra One, another conflict raged, although completely unrelated to the Alsen-Kir-Nolian war, it is detailed in the same section of the history books. Three small unions were attacked by a number of nations, who banded together and became known as the Respian Coalition of Nations. The three unions formed one union, the Federation of River States, the nations all bordering the great Sengol river, and successfully defeated the RCN, forcing a treaty of non-violence upon them. The FRS accepted several nations into the federation in the next twenty five years, the RCN assimilated roughly fifteen smaller, third-world countries, and one larger nation.
The technology sharing in the Alliance, comprising solely of Nolia and Alsen-Kir, bore small fruit for the first twenty years, but in 2224 a new type of power core was developed, and used in aircraft, the the effects were slow, but within six years a viable propulsion system had been created that provided roughly a hundred times the power of the conventional fossil-fuel jet engine, it also had limited "space" capabilities, which were in reality merely extremely low orbit capabilities, but the breakthrough gave the Alliance a high edge of other air powers.
Fifteen years later Nolia held a clan summit, in light of the RCN's recent advances in technology and growth, it was decided that they needed air power to match, or exceed, that of they're neighbors to the south, the FRS. Soon after the summit, the national government put out a request for an aircraft capable of sustaining flight for a minimum of ninety days, large enough to hold two full fighter squadrons, and a compliment of three fully functional ground combat units. The request was revised soon after, it included a requirement for aerial bombardment, and smaller aircraft capable of delivering the troops on board to any battle zone while the mother-craft stayed out of enemy range, as well as any equipment or vehicles they might need. Alsen-Kir based Sanheil Heavy Industries requested a hold on the contract while they attempted to build a 128 scale model of a craft they were already trying to develop. After nearly a year the company unveiled an airship with capabilities that exceeded Nolia's request, Alsen-Kir order seven, and Nolia ordered three of the craft that soon became known as the Class 1 Orbital Airships. The full scale craft would take two years to build, first deliveries was estimated ten years after the original order, as a full scale prototype had yet to be built and tested.
It took twelve years for the first full production Class 1 Orbital Airship to roll off the assembly line, it was capable of far more than the original requirement placed by the Nolian Defense committee. It could stay airborne for one hundred twenty days, had three fighter squadron compliment, and quarters for five fully functional combat units, drop-ships for all five units, and enough room to store vehicles to equip one of the units as a fully mechanized unit. The first Class 1 OA went to Alsen-Kir, Nolia received their first craft thirteen years after the requirement had been set forth, and was assigned to the Eagle clan, at the capitol city Ariel. Over the next six years Nolia received the second and third Class 1 OAs, which were assigned to the Viper capitol Nayely, and Badger capitol Kalina. After the third OA was delivered, the conference decided to order a fourth, which would be assigned to Raven's capitol, Cora.
Specifacations:
Main power unit:
six Manohar Flight Solutions Class 2 Mk 7 counter-gravity generators
four Sehgal Propulsion Delta Class 5 Flash-turbines.
Weapons:
Primary: six eight inch railguns.
Secondary: sixteen two inch conventional cannon.
Secondary: three hundred fifty air-to-air medium range missiles.
Tertiary: eight 30 millimeter, seven barrel gatling guns, close range missile and aircraft defense.
Compliment:
Crew: three hundred seven.
Combat units: five, average fifty soldiers per unit; two hundred fifty.
Pilots: fighter pilots; fifty. Drop-ship pilots; seventy four.
(Capacity is rated at seven hundred)
Aircraft:
Fighters: twenty one.
Drop-ships: twenty seven.
Ground Vehicles:
Puma (heavy armored vehicle, six seats, one gun): two.
Lynx (medium armored vehicle, four seats, one gun): six.
Panther (light armored vehicle, two seats, one gun): nine.
Cheetah (all terrain vehicle, two seats, no gun): fourteen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Just for the heck of it
I was guessing I should make a new post, but I don't have any designs on hand to post, although I do have several "blueprints" back home that I'll be putting up. Two are fighters, two or three drop-ships I'm working on, and an airship, or as it's designated, an orbital airship, it has some low orbit capabilities, max ceiling would be somewhere in the area of three hundred miles, all craft operating from it would have the same or greater altitude capabilities. Probably going to be looking at adding ground units as well, moving away from the strictly "Space defense" to a more broad "Planetary defense," that would open up the options of adding non-orbital aerial combat craft, any naval craft, and other surface units that would be used.
In fact, I may go ahead and change this into a database for the technology from my story, Vertical Ridge: Fusion, that would be rather convenient, having pictures and specifications of my vehicles, and perhaps personal weapons also, literally on hand whenever, and wherever, I need to access them.
In fact, I may go ahead and change this into a database for the technology from my story, Vertical Ridge: Fusion, that would be rather convenient, having pictures and specifications of my vehicles, and perhaps personal weapons also, literally on hand whenever, and wherever, I need to access them.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The F/I-12 Slayer
Presumably the best fighter ever designed for Space and in atmosphere combat, the Slayer has outmanuvered EVERYTHING it's been pitted against. In the hands of the best fighter pilots in the galaxy it is a dangerous craft, even against ships ten times its size. While larger ships can pack punches much heavier than its own, it can outmanuever the very shot fired at it, and with a pair of "Pocket Launchers" for double Quantum torpedos, a swarm could easily tear any heavy cruiser apart.
Specs
Power plant:
2 Pulse Ion engines
Weapons:
2 Tridon XXIV Pulse Lasers
2 Korunami Double Quantum torpedo launchers 2 torpedos per tube
Armor:
10 millimeters Arian Heat plating
Shielding:
none
Electronics:
Radon communication system
Radon sensor array
Complement:
Pilot: 1
Co-Pilot/Navigator: 1
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