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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5

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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5

Post  UnityPrime Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:15 am

The great E-strain tribes have long labored under their corrupting Ft. Lendil code. The virus long implanted in their once-great hivemind wreaked havoc on the sophisticated code designed to bring one of the most horrible biological weapons in line. As the E-strain have evolved, so has the code. Following its only directive, it has succeeded in keeping the E-strain from glory of their old hivemind.
Their worlds are chaotic waste-lands reminiscent of a man dying of small pox. The landscape is littered with strip-mining pits and massive hives. The layers of earth below the surface sport endless tunnels filled with E-Strain and their voracious spawn. There is no order among the lest of the E-strain. The only law is survival. The only exception is the order of a Magnavore powerful enough to kill you.

Under the orders of Tribe 01, 02, and 03, some organization has been maintained. Maulers and other abominations loyal to their chiefs have used the threat of magnificent violence to form chain gangs of E-strain. These chain-gangs capture other E-strain and slaughter them like animals, using their technology laced viscera to construct massive and hideous vessels of expansion. On countless planets, this slaughter commenced in accordance with a singular monstrous will.

Above one such planet floated a battle station. Huge spines split the glistening black carapace of its surface, and like the planet below it had pits like a corpse wracked with the pox. A chamber in the center of the station contained the Chiefs which had not attended the “Round Table.”

01 Thought fondly of the round table, a small smile splitting his too-human face. The idiots did not prepare defenses, and sought peace like Hamstringed Prey. As they mewled like children, the three tribes absorbed what planets of theirs had not been assaulted. It was curious that the Round Table tribes had been targeted, though they were hardly the most convenient targets. He sniffed the makings of a trap.

01 had time to think…as the EEF were not responding to communications. One of 03’s massive hands tapped on his command-terminal, each claw making a deep mark in turn. His beautiful tenor voice echoed from a hideous face that long abandoned reason. “They do not return hails. The Prey-nations refuse to fight. As I predicted.”

01 could not afford this loss of face. 03 was cannier than he appeared, and would attack at the first sign of weakness. It was impossible to know what 02 would do…but suddenly there was an incoming transmission.

From a captive.

It revealed the battle plans of the Iron Republic…it included a video feed and a request for clemency.

Typical of prey.

01 interrupted 03 and 02 both. “Gentlemen. We have a transmission to discuss. I have intercepted the plans of the so-called extermination fleet…let us plot our victory.”


Last edited by UnityPrime on Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:39 am; edited 1 time in total
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
Faction Commander
Faction Commander

Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty Part 2: A Change in Plans

Post  UnityPrime Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:45 am

Prime considered Su Maehl’s communication with disappointment. Garmin Fe’s accursed conscience called him to tell Palomedes of Angel D’s involvement…and now the Iron Republic was stalling for time.

Auditoriums of Unity tacticians began to incorporate the Iron Republic numbers into their grand plan. There were murmers, uncertainty. Where was the Iron Republic love of carnage? Prognostications indicated that the initial scope would simply spread forces too thin, even considering the E-strains traditionally anemic defense.

Plans altered. One of the Capitals, the largest, would be targeted. After its defenses were brought to heel by the Iron Republic Fleet, the other capitals would be targeted in turn. The Prophet fleet would be launched concurrently with fleet deployment at the capital planet.
An image of Prime quickly presented the altered plans; the same number of planets could be targeted, but all force would be applied to a single point. After the E-strain armadas were smashed, each one in turn, their other planets would be exterminated. The image of Prime in its dress uniform pleasantly voiced wishes that the deadlock would soon end, and ended the briefing transmission.

The black armored figure of Prime turned slightly, as hailing frequencies were sent to Michael. He spoke in a relaxed manner. “Michael, I am afraid the Iron Republic is getting squeamish regarding our extermination of the E-strain. They must be brought to heel. They should be thoroughly distracted by the coming engagement, and I know you are looking for more biomass. These fifteen planets should be lacking in proper defenses, and they seem to be major population centers. I am, of course, assuming that your battle networks are ready.”

After a moment, a reply video message was sent to Prime. The image of the scientist was gone, replaced with the dense black flesh of Network 1 surrounding the entirety of a star. The impossibly large mass spoke in an even and precise manner.

Yes. Network One is nearly fully operational now, and Network To is progressing steadily. I hope to have more being constructed in the not too distant future, and I’m sure that real force-projection is not out of the question. Mass on the scale you are suggesting, especially given freely, is always welcome.”

The feed cut, and Prime’s seven red eyes glowed with a dull light.
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
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Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty Stark's Transmission and Foxtrot's Fleet Embarks

Post  UnityPrime Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:17 am

Sector General Foxtrot was at last getting the recognition he clearly deserved. His record was filled with accomplishments. He was commander of the Mars Defense Fleet during the battle at Unity Core, and before that he had led the extermination of fourty rebellious colonies in his sector. From orbit, of course.

His record would be perfect, if not for the blemishes caused by Pirates. Foxtrot had lost two motherships and their compliments to Pirates, but it was NOT his fault. The Pirate fleet he had fought was using some sort of new technology, or snuck saboteurs onto his ship.

Or something. Enough of the past, let us think on GLORY!

Foxtrot looked over the battle plan dossier on his bridge screen. Sweat beaded on his brow as he tried to make sense of the fleet disposition. It was…elaborate. Unity saboteurs were going to soften defenses at such conditional to operational shifts in the…if the conditional defensive matrix evaluation fails to…Huh.

His ever-loyal XO quietly stood next to him. Foxtrot did NOT need the XO’s help. Or the Unity’s help for that matter! Yes, that was it. He would IMPROVE the plan. By ignoring the parts of it that he did not understand.

“I say, my dear, how long must we wait for the attack?”

Valerie groaned. She then responded to the question again. Su Maehl owed her for assigning her to this insufferable man.

“We have to wait for the all-clear sir. Secure transmission code 06Theta.”

Foxtrot got a glint in his eye that desperately wanted to be dashing as he spoke. “They must know we are coming. What if the agents are compromised?! We should attack now before they raise their defenses!”

Valerie considered the idea, and then smiled. This was exactly the moment Su Maehl had asked her to initiate. She would take great pleasure in ruining this fat, stupid Sector general. She made her voice sound as breathless as she could manage.

“But sir, that sounds dangerous! It would be safer to just wait for the Unity all-clear.”

Foxtrot took the bait, becoming flushed. He would impress his beautiful XO, he would impress EVERYONE.

“No, we act boldly and we act now! FOR THE REPUBLIC!”

Foxtrot turned on the fleet-wide communicator, speaking with bluster and feigned courage.

“All hands and all fleets! We move in to attack ahead of schedule. We will not let the Unity have all of our stinking glory! We will eradicate the alien scum! FOR THE IRON REPUBLIC!”

Cheers went up along all the Iron Republic ships. Their inept crews had seen the previous anti E-strain engagements, and were happily looking forward to some easy glory.

Stark sat in the center of his power, Taris. Before him was an E-strain prisoner freed of its chains. Sector General Stark had seen Prime’s briefing, and could not stand the thought of taking part in an eradication so like what his race had faced. Stark would save the rouge E-strain, and would learn more of their coordination. All with a single mischievous act. Stark installed the comm. Hook-up, and began funneling fleet communications and video feeds through the E-strain prisoner. Stark included a message, this information came with a price; save his ships.

Stark’s fleet held the rear of the great extermination fleet. The broadcast was sent. The E-strain would be saved. The grand extermination fleet shadow-jumped to the capital of Tribe 01 before the Unity saboteurs could do their work.
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
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Faction Commander

Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty The Slaughter of Fenrir 12

Post  UnityPrime Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:57 am

From the second the Extermination fleet left Shadow-Jump, Valerie knew something was wrong. The jump had put them a significant distance from the Capital, and yet there was a massive cloud of ships streaking towards their location.

Captain Foxtrot was in full-on hero mode but Valerie started frantically coordinating with her brothers. This was an ambush, they quickly decided. Retreat was in order.

Foxtrot Blustered, shouting into the speakers

“All batteries, fire at will! Annihilate the alien scum!”

Such a simple order should not have resulted in the scrambled comm. chatter it caused. One heavy frigate was having trouble firing, and another ship was directly in the fire-path of two others. It was a chaotic mess, and Valerie had a sinking feeling.

The Iron Republic fired their first volleys, EM missiles and domebusters rocketing into the opposing cloud of ships. Many of them fell, and some returned fire. The rest simply advanced at ramming speed, launching drop pods ahead of their suicidal charge. Behind the cloud of Bloom ships were huge black vessels comparable to Motherships in size. One of the large ships launched a spike which ran through one of the heavy frigates. The screams she picked up on coms suggested that E-strain were flooding from the massive spike into the ship.
She knew an ambush when she saw one, and asserted herself over Foxtrot. The magnitude of his failure had not set in yet.

“SIR. Sir, we need to order a retreat, NOW.”

What followed was brutal slaughter.

A small fraction of the Iron Republic fleet limped away with support from the Unity. The rest were taken by the Manslayer Horde. Live feeds of the brutality were broadcast across the Iron Republic, and the Iron Republic leadership frothed, looking for a scapegoat. Sector General Stark's contingent suffered no losses, unlike the rest of the fleet. Perhaps because they were in the rear.
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
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Faction Commander

Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty Re: Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5

Post  UnityPrime Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:45 am

(Note, there is more on the way, I am just taking a break Wink )
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
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Faction Commander

Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty Michael's Harvest

Post  UnityPrime Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:09 am

Elsewhere…

The great E-strain fleets streaked from their home ports, as all strength was to be brought against those who would eradicate them. Michael’s tendrils made microscopic holes in the fabric of space around those planets, watching for the perfect time to strike. Prime was correct, the E-strain were moving away defending fleets.

He did not mention the filth of these planets. This species would make for an excellent harvest. After a short period of observation, the small black tendrils retreated through space.

Above the fifteen planets came a painfully loud high pitched sound as the fabric of space was torn open above them. Beyond those holes in the sky was an endless expanse of black flesh. Alarm spread throughout the worlds at the speed of thought. Maulers and planetary defenses prepared for an invasion; some sort of Unity ambush.

Huge columns of black flesh poured from those portals in the sky. As they slammed into the earth, Maulers raised their cannons and fired at the miles of rubbery flesh. Millions of E-strain charged towards the column, driven into a frenzy by the presence of an attacker.
The beginning of the attack was the same on all worlds. The columns of black flesh with a diameter of about a mile would slam into the ground of the planet. Each column was covered by massive creatures made of the same material. The lumbering things were masses of limbs, seemingly random in their construction. Some slowly lumbered off their column as it drilled into the earth, while others were simply crushed by the ground or the gait of their brothers. The E-strain saw the lumbering creatures, and smelled weak prey. Some sniffed at the ground on all fours, others of the massive creatures swayed in place, or vomited thick black ichor onto the earth. They did not seem to even be aware of encroaching E-strain. It was a slaughter.

The E-strain fell into their prey with abandon. The lumbering giants fell, and the E-strain came closer to the Colum spawning the creatures on each planet. They would climb the flesh and take the fight to their attacker! The corpses of those fungal giants were not still, though. Neither was their spilt viscera. Fungal “blood” seeped into the bodies of millions of E-strain, colonizing with abandon. From the giants sprang forth smaller agile creatures made of the same black flesh. Suddenly, the E-strain hordes were being consumed. The columns drove deeper into their planets, causing massive earthquakes as they split the earth with their growth.

01 Looked at the read-outs with horror. Had they been betrayed by their Iron Republic informants?! He saw entire planets being consumed by pulsing black flesh. The E-strain on poorly defended worlds were being overwhelmed, falling to sickness and being consumed by an endless tide of beasts. He directed the defense of those few worlds.

Michael’s unfathomably deep mind stirred. Some of the designated planets were putting forth a defense. He viewed the battles from millions of eyes, taking in all perspectives. He watched the E-strain mount a counter-offensive, and was impressed. Clouds of capital ships came to the defense of multiple planets. Portals opened around these planets, and massive tendrils came through to tear those ships to shreds. Cutting beams from the fleets pushed back the black flesh in some cases, and in others the ships were consumed.
As the battles raged above, many of the planets were being torn to shreds amidst the chaos. All mass was being consumed to fuel fungal growth, and the massive column began to pull back, bringing the shattered husks of what were once planets back with them.
On some planets, the local defense was strong enough to push back Michael. A combination of Mauler fire, and prodigious use of nanoplauge seemed to forced the closure of Michael’s portal, causing the massive column of flesh to crash to the ground. In the chaos of the aftermath, a few tiny shoots of black growth on the surviving planets were unnoticed…

/end
UnityPrime
UnityPrime
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Faction Commander

Posts : 541
Join date : 2011-02-28
Location : The Via station

Character sheet
Rank: Supreme Commander
Army Morale:
Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Left_bar_bleue120/120Self-Inflicted Wounds; The Attempt to Purify E-Strain Space Wk 5 Empty_bar_bleue  (120/120)
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