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A bunch of short stories from the Monk

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Oct 10, 2005 moldyman link
Well, I'm no good at writing long stories. So I'll write up a bunch of short stories and hope that I can tie them together in the end. And they'll be out of chronological order, well cuz stuff pops into my head when they do.

Anything interesting happening ingame wil be included in a story, hopefully. So do something interesting. ^^
Oct 10, 2005 moldyman link
Okay, first story. I know this one is a little corny and ,um, more on the ,well, sentimental side. But it'll pick up in story two. Opinions are welcome.

"For teh Lady!, erm I mean Akan! >.>" (Story #1)

“Intelligence shows that the lieutenant of the group has been placed in charge during the commander’s absence. This will leave the group more vulnerable to attack. With the commander away and the ‘removal’ of the lieutenant, the group will fragment into many smaller renegade factions, an easier mess to clean up. Any questions ,brother-monk?”

Huh? Of course I hadn’t been paying atenttion to her. Well, to what she was saying. That set jaw, hard dark eyes and light brown hair were all feature that were hard to ignore. “Any questions ,brother-monk?” she repeated.

“No, no, none at all,” was all I could muster to say.

“Good you will operate under the alias of ‘moldyman’. You will be given a government issue ship and dropped by a TPG Frigate, which will take you to Sol II. From there, you will have to work your way into the confidence of the lieutenant of the group and eliminate him. You are authorized to take actions against the Itani people to achieve your objective. You are dismissed, good luck brother-monk.”

“Thank you, captain,” I said as we saluted each other. I exited the plain gray room and headed in the general direction of the docking bay.

This is a dangerous mission, I thought. I’m sorrounding myself with those chipheads, those war mongering bloodthirsty excuses for life. What if I don’t make it back? Should I tell Ostello who took his energy focus and replaced it with a glass ball? Should I tell anyone of that time Eo-Tol bailed on me during a mission and I had to finish it alone? Should I tell the captain how I feel.....

Those were thoughts I always had whenever I made the walk from the briefing room to wherever to prepare for my mission.. Always the same questions, always the same answers. (Always "no".)

As I neared the docking bay, I began to check if I had everything. Pen, Bottle of SunMist, ‘death’ pills, sidearm..

I almost bumped into the figure that greeted me. “How did you get here faster than me, captain?”, as I saluted clumsily with a quizzical expression my face.

“Brother-Monk, no offense meant, but a Guise could trudge here faster than you”, she saluted back. There wasn’t much I could say, even if she wasn’t my commanding officer. Even if I didn’t love her....

I shook my head free of those thoughts. “Captain, I thought I was going alone?” I asked because she was in her flight suit. She punched a nine digit code into the panel besides the five meter wide door. It parted to reveal a Ragnarok.

“Someone needs to bring back your ship. Akan only knows what would happen if you left a ship at an Itani station again” she said as she rolled her eyes and smirked. She has a nice smile, I thought. Of course, I was too out-of-it to remember the time she was referring to. I had left an Akanese class Observer ship at an Itani station while interrogating a Serco terrorist. It had to be remote detonated because I forgot to lock the damn thing up and the station crew was already prodding around inside it. Nosy maintenance crew.

“All aboard!”, she yelled like an Old Earth train conductor from the steps of the ship. Standing at 5’ 4”, she still wasn’t taller than me.

“Sorry, I’m coming Captain Allende”, I yelled as I ran to the ship.
Oct 10, 2005 Corbin Armond link
Not bad, you may want too break up the para graphs so it's easier to read, other then that not bad at all.
Oct 10, 2005 moldyman link
Done, thanks. Apparently indent doesnt work.
Oct 11, 2005 moldyman link
"My friend Mac" (Story #2)

"Good luck, honey"

"Thanks. I'll be back soon, don't worry". We hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. All part of an act, of course. After docking at Jallik Garden, we assumed our roles as husband and wife. Not to say I didn't like the roles... >.>

"Bye, honey"

"Bye, Moldy", she shispered and headed off. D'OH! Only friends call me that. Guess the act would stay that: an act. I practically sulked away to the ticket registry.

"One ticket for TPG Headquarters, Dau System, please".

"Okay, that'll be ten thousand credits".

"WHAT!? That's price gouging!"

"Sir, threat levels have been raised due to incresed Serco activity in Edras. Therefore, we must charge more to coer the costs of damage taken by attacked ships".

Stupid TPG. A very reputable and trustworthy corporation, sometimes they still make me want to wring their neck ith their own capitalist crap.

"This is outrageous", is all I could say as I paid the teller. I snatched the ticket from his hand and stomped off. Even though the Akanese government was paying for it, I still hate being ripped off. I sat at a nearby bench, waiting for the ship to take off. I pulled out a bottle of Aelous SunMist Soda and began to drink it.

Suddenly, I felt something prod me in the back. "Gimme all you got". I spewed out the SunMist in my mouth in pure fear. I raised my hands above my head, bottle still in my right hand.

"I don't have any valuables".

"Yeah, right", I felt the pressure build on my back. My training kicked in. I threw the drink in his face and grabbed the object with my other hand. I twisted it as I got up.

"Ow! OW! Uncle! It's me!", I had grabbed hold of a hand. The man was on his knees, in pain. I grabbed his head and turned t to me.

"My God, Mac. You never were much of a fighter" I let him go.

"Yeah, well..", he coughed out some of the SunMist I had thrown in his face. Oops. He was holding onto his right wrist and his face was contorted with pain.

"Oh, stop it. Your wrist isn't broken. Now let's get you to an Auto-Doc and fix up that face of yours"

"You never were good at jokes". An act I portrayed outside of the Akanese homeworld. At least, I hope it's an act. >.>

"Alright. What info do you have?" I asked as I helped him sit in the Auto-Doc booth.

"What makes you think I have info?" He was leaning over, still clutching onto his wrist. A faint female voice emanated from the Auto-Doc, "Hold still please"

"Otherwise you wouldn't meet up with me. You know I pay good for info." It's true, I do. I didn't bother asking how he found me, as he never asks what I'm doing .

"How much are you willing to pay?", the faint Auto-Doc still repeating it's request in the background.

"Depends on what it's about"

"It's abut that pirate/asassin group"

"BLAK?" I asked as the female Auto-Doc voice repeated itself again.

"Yes". As if to shut him up, the Auto-Doc sprouted five arms with mannacle claws. They locked onto his ankles, wrists and neck. Then they pinnned him to the back of the booth.

"HOLD STILL! Please." The voice was no longer that of a friendly Itani female, let's just put it at that. As my informant was being "healed", I headed over to an Auto-Vend and picked up hot nachos.

<<(( Side-Note: AutoVends are a product of the UIT. Eat at an AutoVend today.))>>

"OW! GOD! ARGH! ACK!"

"Hold still please. Squirming will increase damage to your injured areas and injure undamaged areas". I walked back over to my squirming friend.

"What's the info?"

"Please, press the Morphine button", he begged

"Only if you tell me the info"

"MORPHINE ,PLEASE!" he pleaded.

"Oh, there's my flight. I guess I have to go". Of course that wasn't my flight, In fact, no flights had been announced. But he was in too much pain to notice such a trivial thing.

"ALRIGHT! Alright. OW! BLAK is searching for something. Something that the Itani Government lost. Some type of energy focus," I pressed the morphine button. With that, the squirming stopped as he entered a pain-free high.

"Anything else?"

"I don't know. Maybe a little more morphine will remind me." His out of focus eyes stared at me as his head flopped to the side. With that, I tossed him ten thousand credits and left.

"Flight AZ-1a aboard TPG Trident 'Seraphim' now boarding for departure to the Dau system. Please report to Gate Three" Now, THAT'S my flight. I headed to Gate Three.
Oct 12, 2005 moldyman link
"It's not what it looks like" (Story #3)

"He's in Azek, cut through Dau"
"I got one in Arta, make that two"
"Damnit! I had to eject in Nyrius, there's one there" All the calls of my teamates. And they all gave one prevailing message: We're boxed in. Well, not if I had anything to say about it.

"Roger, I'm cutting through Azek and will sit in Latos for regroup manuvuer", I said into the group's comm frequency. In my Hornet, I sat stoicly, utilizing the manual controls wth ease. I gently pointed the ship away from any asteroids and engaged the 'Afterburner' drive.

Any other other pilot, Serco or Itani, would've found these manual controls difficult. But the Akanese had been trained in these ancient piloting forms and have been helped by various UIT and Corporate pilots. The help of these pilots, coupled with ancient knowledge, helped when an Energy Focus would arouse unwanted suspicion.

"Minimal Jump Safety Distance Attained" the computer chimed. I iniated the intra-system jump drive and headed for the wormhole to the Dau-Azek wormhole at near-light speeds. Seconds later, the ship slowed to normal speeds. But this was no normal 'reentry'. As soon as I slowed down, proximity alarms wailed as an asteroid appeared not fifty meters ahead of me.

After a hard turn coupled with reverse thrust, I just scraped the asteroid instead of smacking into it. After I pointed the ship in a direction NOT heading for asteroids, I checked the radar. No one within three kilometers good. I checked the graviton detectors and headed in the direction of the wormhole. Soon afterwards, the computer calculated that the wormhole was seven thousand meters out. Add in recharge time for the battery and travel time, it would take me about a minute to get there.

So I laid back to reflect during this time. It had been a week since the previous events. As predicted, after making a mark on the Itani convoys bound for Divinia, some Serco began to notice me. After delivering one hundred and thirty-six crates of Itani Purified Xithricite Ore into Serco hands, I was accepted into the renegade group. The same group I was "convoy bagging" with now. It hadn't been easy, in fact the Itani bots seemed..

"Warning! Warning! Enemy ship detected" the computer blared. It auto-locked onto the ship, which was twenty-five hundred meters ahead of me and closiing. And I was still three thousand meters from the wormhole. "Damn!", was all I could think.

"This is Ona-Tola of the Itani Alliance. Halt and jettison your illicit cargo or prepare to take fire", was said over the sector comm. It might've been a bluff. The UIT Strike Forces would surely destroy his ship and apprehend him. Even now, I could hear the faint static over the sector comm caused by Aerna Seekers jumping nearby.

Think, think, think, think. I did what any sensible person should've done: I halted. Many would make a break for it, but the UIT might've caught me and they don't look kindly on smuggling (After all, they can't exactly collect taxes on illegal goods). I was still fifteen-hundred meters from the wormhole and the Itani pilot was closing in on me.

I had three choices at this point: Run, Run & Fire or Stand Still. With that thought, I unlocked the sfaeties on all four tubes of Gemini Heat-Seeking Missiles. I remembered "You are authorized to take actions against the Itani people". Oh damn, Megan. I never thought that I'd have to use those orders as a justification.

The enemy ship was now in unmagnified sight. Clearly a Warthog, Mark unclear. He came closer.

Eight hundred meters.
Seven hundred meters
Six hundred meters
Five hundred meters...

He was slowing down, probably taking aim. With that realization, and his crossing the three hundred meter mark, I released the reverse thrusters that had been keeping me still and iniated the Afterburner. I came within one hundred meters in two seconds. At this, I unleashed four pairs of Gemini missiles and zoomed past him, towards the wormhole.

The Itani was quick, but his action foolish. He attempted to turbo straight forward, right into he oncoming missiles. The first two pairs hit, causing him to slow down and lose control of his spacecraft. This allowed the second set to hit uncontested.

The last things I saw and heard before I jumped were the sirens and orders of the UIT Strike Force and the fires burning on he Itani's ship.

After exiting the wormhole, I made a mad dash for the wormhole to Latos. Unfortunately, a storm slowed me down. Fortunately, though, it also slowed down the Strike Force after me. Unfortunately, I came out of the storm only to see my Itani 'friend', still with a fire burning on his engines.

He charged straight for me. As I turned to face him, I fired off another volley of missiles. However, what appeared to be neutron blasters, opened fire on me as I took heavy damage. I reversed thrust out of the way of some of the shots but he was hit by two of the four missiles. The ship's AutoEject (standard and reequired installation on every ship) saved him, ejecting the cockpit before the ship exploded.

I flew beside the pod and fired a grappling hook onto it. Dragging it to the three thousand meter mark, I could only imagine what was going through the pilot's mind. Must've soiled himself good. Hehe.

Anyway, I jumped to the nearest station and deposited him to the station guards. I pulled away and was about to jump when I contacted the pilot privately and said "For Akan."

I jumped out as I noticed the UIT Strike Force jumping in.
Oct 13, 2005 moldyman link
"Pirates for Teh Win!" (Story #4)

"Well, are you gonna pay up?"

Maybe I should start from the beginning. It was decided by my target (I mean lieutenant) that I was to protect the Serco convoy in the Sedina system. So there I was in my Hornet (yes, the same weapons) sitting in the Sedina system, Sector B-8. All was smooth and clear. Three convoys had gone by unmolested (It was 5am Galactic Mean Time after all). Unfortunately, things never stayed smooth. Not in grey space and defnitely not for me. ~.~

"I am a pilot of BLAK. Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded", was broadcast over the sector's frequency. Since no one else was there, I knew they were talking to me.

It was a UIT ship. But I nearly broke out laughing when I saw the ship he was flying. An Atlas! A trade ship! He had to be joking. An Atlas was no match for my heavy fighter, right? Right? >.>;

I did not power down. I was anticipating a fight, so I unlocked half of my missiles' safeties. This pilot closed the distance quickly in his Atlas. I aimed for him and gunned my engines.

Then I did a full reverse, firing off two pairs of Gemini Missiles at the same moment. But, boy, could this atlas move. He turned on a dime and turboed away. After another ten seconds and three more turns, the Geminis lost track of him and flew out into space.

Damn, I must've been too far away, I figured. So I closed the distance. In hindsight, that was the dumbest thing I could've done. When we got within two hundred meters of each other, I unloaded another four Geminis at him. With some even crazier moves, he avoided all of them. He even manuvered behind me.

Suddenl, Jade colored bolts of energy were pounding my ship. I tried to move the ship but it wasn't quick enough. I fired off more missiles in an attempt to shake him off me. But before I could, my ship's Auto-Eject kicked in. And there I was, floating in my cockpit not two hunred meters from the pirate and the remains of my ship.

I watched from my viewport as he manuvered under me and latched onto the airlock. I could hear the clamps lock and the pressures equalize. I was still strapped in my chair but where could i go anyway? So I grabbed my sidearm and pointed it at the hatch. The wheel turned and the hatch opened downward towards his ship. but it was dark down there. I couldn't see anything, much less aim at..

And then a Nuetron Rifle poked out aimed right at my head. Any moves and I'd be dead. Now back to the beginning of the story...

"Well, are you gonna pay up?"

Grumble Grumble.

I tossed my pistol to the side and pulled out twenty-five thousand in credit chips. It was literally 25 grand or my life. Which would you have chosen? A hand appeared and accepted the credit chips.

"Pleasure doing business with you", an anonymous voice said.

"You pirates ae monsters"

"Rich monsters...." he said right before he closed the hatch and jettisoned me. The automated distress signal was eventually recieved by a certain Serco named Mar Ani. Nice enough to dump me at a nearby Corvus station.

But until she came by to drag my ass to shelter, I stared at an ice crystal outside my viewport and thought "Man, that guy can tumble....."
Oct 13, 2005 LeberMac link
ATLAS OF DOOOOOOMM!
Oct 14, 2005 FSNI link
Yeah...I dragged Moldy back to his station...but if it were monk I'd have dragged him into the closest Levi sector and lobbed the capsule right past the Levi's pinchers...

--Mar Ani
Oct 14, 2005 moldyman link
I probably should've done this first but better late then never. WARNING! SPOILERS INCLUDED! So here are the backstories for the two main characters :

Callsign: MonkofAkan (Earlier in his career, the alias moldyman was also used)
Name: Erik
Age: 23
Birthday: 28th day in the month of the Great War, Year 4410 (February 28th standard calendar)
Birthplace: New Anchorage, Cerberus (Akanese Homeworld)
Eye Color: Blue/Gray
Hair Color: Brown
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 11"

General Info:

He is amicable to other people, but doesn't take insults lightly. He can be alone on missions, but may grow bored very quickly. When Serco are within radar range, his ship's nose always points towards them (Serco aren't the friendliest of people). He is upfront and polite to people, unless slighted. He mingles on CommNet Channel 100 when alone on missions. He almost always paints his ships an Army Green color.

He "technically" was an outlaw, as all Akanese are. He was Commander of a mercenary group known as the CDC. He now (oddly enough) works at the Makchuga Bar & Grill with his wife (yes, he got married).

Backstory:

He joined the Order of Akan as a Monk at the age of 16. He specialized in infiltration and general combat leadership. However, one mission would ruin his future in Akanese society. At the end of what seemed to be a sucessful mission, he expressed doubts on what he had done. After another mission, which allowed him to get far away from Itani space and mingle with the Serco, he defected and left the Order. He was being hunted down, thought to have been killed by the Order twice, but both were found to be fake.

Monk drifted from combat to trade to combat again. Eventually, he would found the mercenary group called the Cerberes Defense Council (after an Akanese legend pertaining to a man named Cerberes and loosley based on his homeworld's name, Cerberus). He was commander of said group. It disbanded after a short while, citing low demand for mercenaries and the failure to retreive the NSI.

He met Joyce Sanders, now his wife, around the end of the ever spiraling downward CDC. Through her help (yes, and some alcohol), he got through it and left the group. He currently works alongside her at the Makchuga Bar & Grill as a cook as her husband.

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

Callsign: Captain Allende (earlier known as True Shot)
Name: Samantha
Age: 23
Birthday: Day of Salvation, Year 4410 (June 23rd standard calendar)
Birthplace: Crystal City, Cerberus (Akanese Homeworld)
Eye Color: Deep brown eyes (almost black)
Hair Color: Light brown
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 3"

She interacts fine with people she knows, but is shy at first. She does as the Order sees fit, whether it be shuttling info or asassinating a Serco dignitary on a peace mission (what a laugh, Serco + peace). She doesn't speak much over CommNet Channel 100 for various reasons, usually due to the low intelligence of a certain vocal few. She prefers Sky Blue paint for her ship, but anonimity concerns rarely allow her to paint it in that color.

She is an "outlaw" as all Akanese are, but she is a Commanding officer in the Order of Akan and former RailRifle Sniper.

Backstory:

Captain Allende was born on the Akanese homeworld of Cerberus. At the age of 10, she was recognized for her great skills of accuracy and patience. Thus, she was taught at an early age the skills to be a sniper, in and out of the cockpit. At the age of 16, she was accepted into the Order (officially), even though she had already accomplished three missions before then.

However, through heavy losses on a Border Patrol gone bad, she was promoted quickly. Soon, her callsign "True Shot" no longer had any meaning behind it as she was relegated to administrative duties. She, through guile and connections, went from a paper pusher to CO of a squadron of Monks, of which MonkofAkan was one. While this did not get her on missions more often, it allowed her to pilot more, taking any excuse to get behind a joystick.

She is ocassionally called to asassinate certain people. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, it is for something important. She was contracted to kill MonkofAkan for his crimes against the Akanese(and Itani) people, including:

Treason (allowing the Neural Spike Interface to enter Serco space)
Espionage (Trading information with a barkeep in Odia with connections to a pirate group)
Murder, 46 counts (He has murdered that many Itani in cold blood)
The Crime of Knowing too much

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

Well, soon I'll throw in the Captain. She may even get a few stories just for herself.
Oct 15, 2005 fooz2916 link
AH-HAH! You did want us to take the spike! I was right! Take that Forrest!

...

Could I borrow the spike for a second?
Oct 15, 2005 Martin link
Great stuff moldy. Keep it up.
Oct 15, 2005 moldyman link
Thnx Martin.

Yes fooz I did but I fully support Forrest in what he did. It'd be nice if we got the Spike (and got rid of it) but the job takes precednece (grumble).
Oct 15, 2005 LeberMac link
But if you RECOVER the spike, at least you'll be off of Miharu's "list"...
Oct 15, 2005 moldyman link
I'm already off Leber =D
Oct 16, 2005 Blacklight link
you aint gonna get it :P
Oct 16, 2005 moldyman link
"The Endgame: Part I" (Story #5)

Sol II, SkyCommand

"This will be a great offensive. It appears thst the enemy has been storing Neutron Blaster Mk3s in stations in the Sedina, Odia and Latos systems. That is eleven locations that must be atacked and blockaded. And with our limited manpower, that means two pilots per station," the LT was briefing the group.

"But, sir, won't we have Dominion help?"

"Afraid not. Besides ships and weapons, we can't expect any help from anyone"

"Sir, how will we group up?"

"Good question. Since this operation might require us boarding stations, we will assign one close combat specialist and/or demolitions expert per team. That is all, you are dismissed." With that, the LT turned on a display with our names on the wall and walked out of the room. I walkd to the wall, with everyone else, to see who I was paired with. Was it the Doc? No. Was it Bunny? No.

I stared in shock. The LT had picked me to be his partner. So many thoughts and emotions flowed through me at the same time. I have a mission to do. But these Serco are human, very different from the Akanese propoganda. Oh boy, I said Akanese propoganda. Am I renouncing my teachings as false? Was I purposely misled or have the Akanese believed this from the begininng? I AM ACCUSING MY SUPERIORS OF CONSPIRACY!?

While very disturbing, I shook these thoughts away. I have a mission to complete, a job to do. These thoughts can wait until later. Mission, must think of the mission. What did Captain Allende say? Ah, Captain Allende... I thought, smitten again.

STOP IT! I yelled in my thoughts as I shook my head. Think of the mission; you must kill the lieutenant. These Serco are wr mongering machines. They are not human. Now, how will you complete the mission? I walked to my quarters and thought.

Ukari Command Station (Aelous Barracks)

I worked feverishly under the lieutenant's Warthog. I had reconnected wies, rerouted command functions, shut down pipes, etc. I had been at it for an hour at least. This was all with the intention of disabling the lieutenant's ship without indicating foul play.

You know, I remembered a time when I was damaged and being chased by two Itani fighters. The LT, brave man that he was, roared past me in his SkyCommand Prometheus and destroyed them both.

NO! He killed those Itani because he's a bloodthirsty machine, not to save your life. Remember the teachings of Akan! Remember...

Spark! OW! Ow ow ow ow ow ow! I put my burnt finger in my mouth to try to cool it off. Ow ow! After a minute or so, I slowly resumed my work.

I also remember a time in a bar in the Dantia system. We had a great time. Such comraderie, such patriotism, such humanity. NO! DAMNIT! They're not human. But they are. They are more machine than human; those chips are proof! But they are human underneath.

While arguing with myself, I had finished the modificaations. These modifications would slowly build pressure in the Intra-System Jump Drive's cooling system from when it was first used. It would eventually rupture, taking that system out and hopefully a few others.

While I continued to ague the morals of Serco being human or machine with myself, I had walked out of the docking bay.

Somewehere in Latos

"I just lost helm control" the LT said over the sector channel.

The plan went perfectly. We had even made several jumps into empty sectors to evade any sensors that might be in place. We were currently in an empty sector, the perfect place to do the deed.

"I'll hook onto you and bring you to the station"

"Roger"

So I aimed towards him and closed in. This was it. I had disabled his ship so I could destroy it. This time I took only two Gemini Missile Launchers, instead of four on my Hornet Mk3. The other two spots were taken by Nuetron Blasters, as missiles would probably not be able to lock onto the AutoEject pod.

This was it... any second now.. Why wasn't I moving? Why wasn't I shooting him? Why? Those thoughts came back, the thoughts that made me doubt not only what I was going to do, but everything I had been taught to believe. Oh boy....not a good time for this, as I stared at the floating Hog, not one hundred meters in front of me.

To be continued in Part II
Oct 18, 2005 moldyman link
"The Endgame: Part II of III" (Story #6)

The mission comes first. I thumbed off the safeties and launched a barrage of missiles while I began to strafe. The blood was rushing to my head. All the anger, all the confusion caused by those questions, just flowed out through my hands and out my ship.

Not seconds later, the lieutenant's ship was no more. I closed in on the AutoEject pod. I lead it's trajectory and let loose a stream of neutron blasts.

Boom.

The mission was complete. I slowly eased off the joystick and laid back in my chair. I held my hands to my head and thought about what I had just done.

Didn't I just renounce my teachings? Why had I carried out a violent act for a people that have decieved me? If the teachings of the Akanese are malicious and wrong, then have I just conducted a malicious and wrong act?

These thoughts would've plagued me to no end as I floated there. But for the interruption I recieved, I would've sat and contemplated for days. I know this because I still do sometimes.

Luckily, and unluckily, the group's comm channel burst to life with curse, epithets and battle cries. I was so angry I didn't monitor the group's channel while I was finishing the LT off. So I did what I would always do: assume it's about me and run. My paranoid ass kicked in the turbo drive and iniated an intra-system jump to the wormhole to Azek. Fear kicked in; it kept pushing me farther and farther away from the scene of the crime. By the time I had calmed down enough to look at my NavComp, I saw I was in Verasi.

I slowed down and hovered by an asteroid to regain my nerves. I flipped on the comm and messaged UIT CommDrone 9i4-at. This was the first of a complex network of CommDrones that the Akanese used from the UIT. I guess we paid enough for them not to ask questions. It eventually ended at an abandoned 13 year decommisioned CommDrone in Jallik. All I could do was sit and Jalilk and cry as the thoughts aked my brain...

Somewhere in Jallik

A change from shuffling around datapads, but not really an improvement. These wee the thoughts of Captain Allende as she coasted to the final dropoff point for messages from the outside. Routine work, but not so much of a REMF job.

She manuvered alongside the drone in a Wraith. She attached to the umbilival transfer node and downloaded the data.

Trade report... trade report... storm warning in Pelatus... trade report... Increased Hive activty in Sedina... 25th Bounty claimed by UIT pilot, callsign "Martin"... Mission Accomplished...

She stopped at that last message. She opened the file and read:

Mission Accomplished.

The deed is done. The group is in the middle of an offensive and is leaderless. Am at Rendevous point in Verasi. Awaiting debriefing and pickup. Engines are damaged.

moldyman, Out

She downloaded the rest of the data and disconnected from the drone. She quickly gave it a premade set of coordinates to relocate to. As they both sped away from each other, the drone to someplace else in Jallik and her to the wormhole to Querkos (the Akanese homesystem), she prepared a small comm drone with the original message and an attached message she hurriedly wrote.

She opened the wormhole and launched the drone through it. As soon as it closed, she rushed towards Verasi. Finally, an excuse to get out of Itani space!, she thought.

Part III, the final part to this long short story, next time...
Oct 19, 2005 jexkerome link
This segment of "Stories from the Monk" brought to you by LeberMac Brand Pocky, and TPG.

"LeberMac Brand Pocky, I swear it's better than LeberMac's Centaur Skills!"

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We now return you to your irregularly scheduled short story.
Oct 19, 2005 LeberMac link
Yay! (pssst, where's my royalty check?)

And, that slogan is kinda like ssaying this:
"LeberMac™ Brand Pocky! Better than swallowing raw sewage!"