NationStates Jolt Archive

Isengard was the jewel of Asfaltum technology, as trading stations often are. This was a place where foreign merchants came to sell their items, and where Asfaltum traders eagerly awaited them, to impress them with their high-tech gadgets or bio-enhanced products. It was considered a trading-base, but it wasn't really a base, a place where people came to stay a while and then left. No, it was somewhat of a colony, a place to raise children and grow crops. It had all the essentials for sustaining life on such a barren planet; the planet itself, devoid of life, could be best described as a lump of rock and gas. As such, it could offer great mineral and gas resources, which were eagerly mined and sold to allied worlds who sent freighters on a regular basis. This sustained a thriving economy, which in turn sustained a thriving and ever-growing city.

Only one quarter of the city, the one which contained dock-yards, merchants and merchandise, was above ground. The rest of the city lay embedded in a nearby mountain, or below ground-level. The other city-quarters contained hydro-cultured crops, living quarters, and a vast array of civilian and military research facilities. It was in one of the living quarters that the imminent threat was first discovered.

*Counselor Strategorum sat up in his bed, staring wide-eyed at the opposite wall. He swiftly got out of bed and woke his apprentice Vector Skyrider. "Be quick. Follow me." he said, hurrying around the room. "What's the matter?" Vector asked, as he hurried down the corridor after his master. "I have had a fearfull dream of a dark shadow passing over us. There is a disturbance in the Force. We must contact the Counsel as soon as possible." Vector had also felt this, only he had not thought it to be of such great importance. He followed Strategorum quietly, as they hastily moved through the maze of corridors and streets, towards the base headquarters.

OOC:
*Counselors = Asfaltum Jedis

__

Tag

The Scourge was growing.

Every world consumed by the minions of the Lich King swelled their numbers, every foe slain rose in the name of He Most Deified. Each hungered only to do the will of their Master, from the lowliest zombified citzen to the mightiest of his Death Knights, each felt the will of his dark power coruse through them as surely as the sluggish blood that no long ran in their veins.

Now, one of his many roving fleets had come upon a new world, a world not rich in life, yet brimming with potential. The Liches of his most hallowed order, masters of the Cult of the Damned, had cast their minds upon the world, and found it to be pleasing to his Will.

The walls of the Great Dark stretched as the Twisting Nether violated it with its glimmering flame, tendrils crossing the bridge and dazzling in a portal storm that seemed to scar the edge of the system. Isengard lay before them, these black edifices that slid forth like serpents from the gateway. They were black, surfaces undulating with lazily pulsing green runes. Two of them were Necropolis class Mobile Battlefortresses, the mainstay and ultimate power of the Scourge navy. These were the Wrath of Ner'zhul and the Unmerciful Dead, each radiating a signal which would bring the others to them. Nazramath, one of the Commanding Liches upon the Unmerciful Dead smiled at the message that a Nerubian Hivefleet would soon arrive, with battleships to accompany them.

Then the Scourging could begin.

A ripple passed through the worldforest, a quiet sense of disquiet and unease, as that of a chill wind passing through a crowd; making them pause for a moment then continuing about their buisness. And as always, those closest to the great organism knew.

Falek stepped out onto the front step of his dwelling into the bright sunshine, pulling on a deep blue robe over his cream under clothes as he did so. Pausing for a moment to close the door behind him he made his way barefoot toward the vast expanse of trees some distance to the left and just ahead of his house.

The worldforest was more than just another swathe of vegetation, it had a conciousness, it learned from everything it could in any method and through any medium it could. Even from this distance, despite his ageing eyes Falek could see acolytes stading on the topmost branches of the tallest trees, imparting knowledge onto the worldforest, and as he drew nearer he began to hear snatches of voices, singing and music.

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

"It is good to see you again Brother Falek", another green priest bowed his head briefly as the older priest approached, "i trust your little tour around our colony worlds wasn't too waerisome."

Falek smiled, "on the contrary, it is somewhat refreshing to see a place for yourself; even though i may see any of them through the trees, it is none the less pleasant to visit them in person."

The younger Brother nodded slowly, as though in contemplation, "i guess i should really give it a try sometime, i am sure there is more i can do for the worldforest than simply staying here." He paused for a moment, "but what brings you out here today? I would have thought you would seek rest having returned so recently."

"The mere presence of the worldforest is calming and soothing enough for me, no, i felt a...feeling pass through the forest a while ago, a sense of..." he trailed off, "i'm unsure, i must commune with the trees, you will know if i discover anything, it may be nothing."

With that Brother Falek clasped the other's hand warmly and proceeded deeper into the forest, unafraid of its inhabitants. Reaching a sun dappled glade, Falek knelt by a treeling, no more than chest high, its bark still tan in colour and smooth, leaves of the pale green of new growth. He leaned forward till his forehead reasted on the trunk, his hands intertwined around it. Opening his mind to the forest he asked his silent question, "what troubles? What is amiss?"

In answer, unclear images formed in his mind, and a feeling of a shadow across him, and of somethnig deeper. He remained there, seeking answers.

OOC: Nice to have you in, Therac, just please delete the double-post... Jolt does that sometimes...

IC:
Strategorum and Vector Skyrider hurried through the city, not yet fully aware of what was happening. They soon reached the Base Headquarters, and took the elevator to the last floor. When exiting the elevator, an officer hurried past them and Strategorum approached him, in order to ask him where the Admiral could be found. But to his great surprise, the officer simply ignored him, and hurried past him. Slightly offended by this, Strategorum hurried after him, wondering what could be more important than taking orders from a Counselour who, after all, outranked practically everybody on the base. They chased the fellow through a couple of corridors and through a door, and suddenly found themselves in the Base Control-room. The Admiral and several other high officials were there, all nervously looking at a tactical hologram-display.

"Ah, there you are. I just sent someone to fetch you, he must have been fast..." the Admiral remarked dryly. "Either that, or we're in big trouble, since I've never seen a counselor looking so awake this early in the morning..." "What have you got?" Strategorum asked straight to the point, not wanting to waste time. "Well, several unidentified vessels have just jumped through a portal at the edge of the system. They don't look friendly, and they sure don't look civilian..." Strategorum studied the vessels on the screen. "The Undead..." he muttered. "The what?" another official asked.

Without wasting time to explain, Strategorum started giving orders and asking questions. "How many military vessels are in orbit?" "19 ship-of-the-line, plus 1 which is docked and will be joining the rest soon..." "20 ships..." Strategorum muttered, touching his long white beard. "Why don't we contact them, and ask them what they want?" Vector asked, suddenly feeling all the eyes in the room looking at him. "This is my apprentice, Vector Skyrider... and I assume your suggestion was ment as a means to gain time... I doubt it will work, but we might as well try to make them belive that we don't know their intentions..." "What are their intentions?!" one of the officials asked, not being as well-informed as the Counselor. "To kill." Strategorum answered simply. "To kill everybody and everything living, and to join them into their own collective, by force if necessary. We have to warn our homeworld, NOW!"

The room exploded into action. All trade-vessels were grounded, and the part of the city which was above ground was starting to be evecuated. All military personell was called into duty, all military installations were put on high allert. The military ships in orbit were ordered to stay where they were, and await further developments. An urgent message was sent back to the home-world, warning for a possible invasion, and asking for re-enforcements.

A message was sent to the intruders:
This is Isengard ground-controll.
You are in Asfaltum territory, please state your purpose and identity.

"Well, what are we looking at?" said a beautiful young women wearing pink power armor. A nervous tech said, stammering, "W-w-well, we ca-call them Thing-things." He smiled and said nervously, "It's fr-fr-from an ancient internet game." He was finally recovering his nerve. The young women, whose name was Jenene, said, "Well, show them to me."

The tech pressed a button, and a sliding metal door went up. Beyond metal grill and four inch thick bullet proof thick glass stood... Things. (http://www.oc88.com/images/uploads/thingthing2.jpg)
They had no arms, legs or necks, but feet and hands stood attached somehow. They all had strange outfits; trench coats of red, black and white, body armor, and all had either hair or masks.

Jenene smiled and said, "Well, show me what they can do." The tech eagerly spoke into a mike. "Initiate test three-four-zero." Three Nascent Planeswalkers entered the room. Guns dropped down, and were swiftly picked up by the Thing-things. One, wearing body armor and had spiky black hair, put his hand to the ceiling. The lights went out and thirty seconds later they came back up.

All three of the Nascents were dead, along with three of the twenty Thing-things. Jenene gasped and looked at the tech, who smiled. "They can run at ninety-three miles per hour, lift up to eight tons and have high-level psionic and psychic powers. The bad news is they can't fight in a team, at all. In tests, large numbers of enemies managed to over-swarm and kill them, which could be countered by them working together, but they just won't. It's not that they'e not willing, but they fumble and fail when they do. Team casualties are a expected ninety-three percent, but individual casualties are about twenty-three."

Jenene thought this over for a minute. "Well, they'll work. Start the official training and press release."

"Regard the mortal...Regard their senseless fear of death, the trepidation they feel in the presence of the truely blessed. They fear us, only because we are the true way. They doubt the path, they doubt the divinity of Ner'zhul.

For these things they must be punished" The Lich let his voice slid forth as a cold whisper, a hiss against the darkness of the vessel. The Unmerciful Dead spun slightly upon its axis, one of the great skulls upon its hull opening it's immense, ancient mouth. A buzzing seemed to fill the air, echoing across comms, filtering into the depths of space as the long range cannons opened fire in a howling torrent of fire, pouring towards the enemy, the new enemy. They were targetting the ship that remained docked...

Missiles hurtled from every available port in the vast Necropolis, swiftly followed by the second, hurling massed ordinance into the midst of the enemy and their fleet holdings with barely a whisper. They did not respond to their enemies frantic communications, instead they began to focus upon the essential business of breaking the defences.

Then the war could begin, when they were on the ground.

OOC: Just a note GAE, you'd best behave and keep yourself toned down, or I have no issue with simply ignoring your involvement.

OOC: Ice, how many ships do you have? Also, you haven't posted their position since they showed up at the edge of the system...

IC:

Asfaltums home-planet was buzzing with activity. The King had solemnly vowed to destroy this new threat, and the Counsel had put all it's resources at the service of the military. A response fleet was being assembled, and a state of urgence could be felt throughout the planet as the warships slowly gathered. A message had been sent to Asfaltums allies, inviting them to aid in this fight against the undead, and several had allready given a positive response.

Isengard
Strategorum calmly watched as the Undead launched a massive attack against the base and the 20 ship-of-the-line who were orbiting the planet. Considering the distance from which the projectiles were fired, they wouldn't cause large damage. Most likely, they were intended to intimidate and scare the victims with their large fire-power. Also, what the Undead seemingly didn't know, was that Isengard was surrounded by a very potent shield, which was designed to protect all of it's facilities from heavy orbital bombardment.

"What's the status of our ships?" Strategorum asked. "They have taken slight damage, but so far the shields are holding and the point-defence systems are working good..." the officer replied, trying to sound optimistic. Strategorum sighed. "They can't hold their ground against the enemy for long, they're able to put up a good fight, but that isn't good enough, without re-enforcements arriving. Order them to retreat to HB (Homeplanet Base)." "But that's crazy!" an official exclaimed. "Whe'd be completely without fleet-support..." "For a while, until re-enforcements arrive." countered Strategorum. "Would you rather have 20 expensive ships and their crews waste their lives in a battle which they cannot win?" " Besides," Vector added, "we have highly skilled ground-troops. Not only can we defend this base effectively from any attack they may throw at us, but by sending the ships away, we will counter their intimidation tactic. Instead of cowering behind a fleet in orbit, we invite them to land troops and show us what they got..."

"Not exactly my intention, but that could be a way of making them think before they attack." the Admiral agreed. "Also, once they have deployed ground-troops, they won't be able to retreat so easily once our fleet arrives... yes, i agree." And so, the ships were ordered to report back to HQ, and join the growing fleet. In the meantime, a message was recieved from HB.
Comms officer: "Sir, we have incoming message."
Admiral: "Good, on screen."

A small green figure with pointed ears and white robe looked out of the screen. It was Ben-Yoda, a relative of the Jedi master Yoda.

Greetings.
It is with great displeasure that I of this attempted invasion have learned. Forces under my command shortly will be arriving, we will show the enemy the meaning of defeat.

Vector smiled. That was more like it... Ben-Yoda in command of a large fleet showing up to kick a**. Strategorum simply shrugged. "Here we go again..." he thought. "Another nice war with explosions to avoid and bullets to dodge..."

I've sent two of my most powerful ships/battleunits to assault you in preperation for the rest. I tend to use a small amount of heavily armored, highly powered ships to crack defences and keep them occupied, while launching a highly trained, highly dangerous ground assault with masses of specialized units.

Falek sighed like a man having just taken a long drink, he straightened from his kneeling posture in front of the worldtree sapling, having no idea how long he had been linked to the worldforest a simple query told him he had been there for nearly three and a half hours.

For a long time he had discovered nothing about the uneasiness he had sensed in the trees, only through patient and tenacious searching had he gained an inkling. From one of Therac's colony worlds there had been an echo of the uneasiness here, only stronger, it appeared that nothing was amiss, the usual goings on. However the communications station there had picked up faint readings of radiation and light coming from an area of space there shouldn't have been any, at least not to that extent; presumably from an inhabited planet, it was clear something unexpected was happening there and it was also abundantly clear, judging from the trepidation of the worldforest, that that was the source of its...fear.

As Falek slowly strode back to his home he reflected on what he had learnt, that this situation in some far-flung (from his point of view) corner of the Universe was cause enough to worry the worldforest was reason enough for everyone on Therac and its colonies to be concerned, but Therac nor its other worlds simply didnt have the means to learn more of this, they needed outside help.

Coming to a halt and sighing once more Falek did an about turn and made his way towards the nearest tree, this one a giant, reaching into the canopy, its branches intermingling with those of other trees, leafy fronds reaching towards the light. Placing his hand on the bark, Falek sent a message to the only grove of trees established on a friendly non Theran world, that located on the Tsurannuani Homeworld, hopefully they would have more information about this perceived threat.

In the Chief Officer's meeting room in The Garbage Men Headquarter planet. An unusually timed meeting was underway...

"Thank you for all coming at this short notice." said the CEO quite brightly despite it being 2 am in the morning. We've received a message from Asfaltum in regards to a threat that is coming to their homeworld. The question is what are we going to do about it?"

"What information do we have about the attackers?" said Chief Marketing Officer, a question you'd expect from the Chief Security Officer.

"They are apparently undead, being controlled by some lich king. Why?"

"Perfect, from a marketing standpoint these guys are non-entities they are not going to use our services, the only course of action marketing-wise is to support our ally and our market in Asfaltum. The PR alone if we don't couldcause a dramatic slump in sales. We eon't be your friendly sanitation providers if we don't live up to our word."

"We have been looking for a way to test our military arm and the new Cyborgs from Asfaltum. Perfect irony their first battle is defending the planet they were made on."

"So I see we are all in accord here?"

That recevied nods "not my area and so why not" was going through the minds of the other Chief Officers...

"Okay, thank you all for coming. You know what to do..."

And with that the CEO flourished out of the room.

"Does that man never sleep?" Robert Jones asked himself before getting together to talk with the Cheif Security Officer before making appropriate releases.

---

A few days away 4 of The Gargage Men, large-scale trash operations ships appeared in the Asfaltum home system. Though it was no surprise to the Aslfaltum government as they were informed before hand they would.

The ships looked somewhat like a peanut M&M.

---
OOC:

These ships have alot various weapons and defenses using one thing that are mounds of in TGM... Rubbish, or a designed and built for the purposes of dealing with rubbish but also good weapons. There is this especially cool thing these ships can do but it is incredibly wanky so it requires an extremely short range

Tagged.

"Admiral, we are at our destination. Dropping out of Hyperspace" said a navigator. A man stands in the middle of the control center, He looks like a person who has spent years fighting. This is Admiral Jitrac of the Monra Fleet, who protects every Colony in the Phenixican Empire.

He then speaks "All ships to battle stations and prepare for a assualt, we are at their home planet. But that does not mean u can rest, you must all carry your weapons at all times and be ready at your posts. Lets show them the Fire that is the Phenixican Imperial Navy" The officers didnt cheer or nod but did what they were told, with the click of switches the Control Center screens went from navigation to targeting.

In the Troops Transports that followed was 200,000 soldiers of the Phenixican Army under the control of General George Monran.

The Speakers ran out "All weapons are to be cleaned, armed and ready for war. Soon we will make our way to the main fight and it's your job to wipe the undead scurge from the colony. you are the 24th Imperial Defence Force, You are not your names here. you work as a team, fight as one and advance as one" This man was George Monran, Son of the High Commander Gergo Monran.
taking up the family business of fighting for the empire.

"Lord Desmond thats the tenth hand you won," said Sargent Jim Torrence.

"What can I say I'm the best at poker," said Sargent Desmond Raith.

"Damn near took my next paycheck with that streak."

"Heh I guess its beginner's lu..." suddenly the alarm sounded. It was the mobilization alarm for Armed Slave pilots to get to their stations. Suddenly the intercom started to come on.

"Attention all crews to your station. Attention all crews to your stations. This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill."

"What the hell is going on?" asked Jim to Desmond at the foot of the Arm Slave as he was getting into his flight suit.

"Don't know but it looks serious this time. I'm sure General Helska will inform us."

30 minutes ago in the tactical room of the base....

The base was constructed a year ago on the Asfaltum homeworld when the Ganoxan Alliance joined the LoFW. The garrison included 500 Savage (http://www.full-metal-panic.com/image.php?file=images/recon/mecha/misc/savage01.jpg) Arm Slaves and 5 Kotor (http://www.full-metal-panic.com/image.php?file=images/recon/mecha/gernsback/gernsback01.jpg) Class Arm Slaves and 5000 personnel. The Commander is General Jorus Helska who was sitting at the tactical room table assessing the situation with his staff.

"Give me a sitrep."

"Sir two battleships in orbit have engaged the Allied fleet to crack through with some ground forces. The enemy has an unnatural ability to animate dead bodies to form a zombie army."

"What? How is this possible?"

"I don't know sir, shall we mobilize our forces?"

"Yes immediately the whole battalion. Prep the ASs and the crews. Sound the alarm.

2 hours later....

Sargent Torrence was proceeding with the start up process of their units. Everything checks out. He pilots his Kotor out of the building and meets up with the rest of the battalion.

"This is General Helska. I wish you men and women luck in the coming battle. Here is the latest data of the enemy so far."

"Zombies?!?" yelled Sargent Raith.

"Pipe down Urzu 6. Focus on the mission," ordered Lieutenant Gernsback.

"Sorry sir but is command joking."

"This is not a joke Sargent, the enemy has been reported of animating dead bodies to do their bidding. So unless you would like to turn up as one of those I suggest you concentrate on the mission at hand."

General Helska looked over to the communication officer. "Alert the Asfaltum High Command that we have mobilized the battalion and await orders of deployment."

"Yes sir."

OOC: Sorry I have to post on the CG name since it will not allow my Ganoxa name to post for some reason

OOC: I'll post IC later on... just a few questions, Govts: Where are your forces? The planet/system/base that is being attacked is in Asfaltum home territory... Maybe you could edit the post, and say that you recieved a call for aid from Asfaltum, and are sending a battle-group to our home planet like everybody else?...;)

I've sent two of my most powerful ships/battleunits to assault you in preperation for the rest. I tend to use a small amount of heavily armored, highly powered ships to crack defences and keep them occupied, while launching a highly trained, highly dangerous ground assault with masses of specialized units.

OOC: I also use highly trained, highly dangerous ground assault with specialized units, so that'll be fun... :D

IC:
Asfaltum homeplanet
The fleet was growing. Together with recent allied ships arriving, the number of battle-ships was steadily increasing. Preperations were well under way, soon they would engage the enemy. But not quite yet...

Isengard
The Admiral smiled. The two enemy ships didn't show any signs of coming any closer. "They hesitate." he said. "Who would ever think we would see Undead hesitate?" "Well, those who have, are probably dead by now, since they didn't realize that hesitating gives time for re-enforcements to arrive..." Strategorum suggested. "We must not waste time. When their re-enforcements arrive they will move swift, decisively and without mercy." "Agreed..." the Admiral concurred. "What do you suggest?" Strategorum paused. "I suggest we prepare a welcoming party for our new guests. One thing is for sure though; we will have to abandon all surface structures. This shouldn't be such a big problem, considering that all surface structures consist of our docking-yards and unloading bays. The few trade-ships that are docked will have to be counted as a loss... When the enemy arrives, they will find everything abandoned. It will take them at least 3 days to breach our defenses, by which time we will be more than ready for them, and by which time our fleet will have arrived... Before then however, we might try a counter attack..." the discussion trailed off, as the planning began. Outside, the defenses were being prepared...

Living in relative peace and quiet had been their way for several years now since coming into a more involved arena on the galactic stage. Debates about joining any alliance had run long into the nights for there was the unsurity of how much would be asked of them. Eventually it had come down to the Elders descision of whether or not to join. It had been their belief that the only way to enforce peace was to have more allies and being a part of an alliance was the fastest way to acquire them.

Now it had come, the second battle that they were being called upon to fight in since they had made their selves known to the rest of the universe. The first being what was later called the Dark Eternal war that had dragged Elder Sebastian and War Mistress Shizra half-way across the galaxy with half of the Forge fleet. Reports of the incident were still unclear but the young man seemed to know more about what had happened than he was letting on. A divine calling he had called. One that cannot be ignored by any who serve the light. Now it was a new ally calling for assistance as they faced invasion of some unknown adversary. By all reports, allied fleets were growing rapidly and soon to outnumber the enemy.

The dwarven Elder made his way to the center of the main floor in the White Tower. His massive warhammer glinted in the sunlight beaming down to light the way to three empty silver seats that hovered in air. Already a council had been convened and Thrandur was the only Elder on the planet at the moment. Short muscular arms reached up from the brim of his seat, and heaved his hulking form up. He always hated these seats, almost needed a step ladder to crawl into them. With his mere pressence, an inky black orb with grooves and runes covering its outter surface, floated up before him. Holographic screens folded open around him, allowing him access to relay orders to several people at once. Fleet commanders and supervisors of ground forces hovered around him like phantoms with only their heads in view.

"I've gone over de reports fer dis battle. De allies seem te have e'erything under control in de air. So, we'll see te deir needs on de ground. Contact Dag'goroth and 'ave dem prepare several units fer battle. We'll only need a few ships fer dis mission so have two Horde Battlecruisers, five Angellic Cruisers, and five-hundred goblin fighters ready te escort de carriers."

Images of high ranking officials all bowed to his assesment and then vanished to make their preparations. Up above the planet Mythrandir, the moon navel base was flaring to life with activity as the requested ships were being crewed and sent on their way to the next planet to escort their cargo. On Dag'goroth, Uruks in thick armor crammed into landing pods while giant trolls were chained up inside their iron cages. Then came the stench of Necromancer tanks and Bog units. Undead beings reanimated by the dark elves for such purposes. Maggot crawling undeads were put into pressurized tubes to preserve them and keep them secure during flight through the warp. Tank units were sent orders to power down and their treds were locked down to iron floors. With the last heavily armored troll being secured, ground forces had been secured for the battle and were leaving their breeding grounds. Off into the sky they sailed as they were joined by the goblin fighters from the ground. Now the entire fleet had been assembled and was prepared to depart.

Orders relayed through the fleet to standby for the warp. Ships took their positions, ready for the chaos that would swallow them and ultimatly guide them to the chaos of war. A single light flashed followed by a small hole opening in the fabric of space as tentacles of energy reached out, wrapping each ship and pulling them into the warps maw. Once inside, warp shields were activated for protection during tumult of the realm. Coordinants were programmed through ship computers to set course for the Asfaltum homeworld.

OOC: Sorry, but this thread is getting a little too crowded...

IC:
A message was sent to GruntsandElites and Mythrandir:
Greetings dear allies!
Due to practical reasons, your military assistance will not be called upon in this situation. Because Asfaltum values effective tactical coordination instead of superior numbers, in any kind of battle, we would prefer it if you aid our homeplanet economically instead of militarly, thus making the impending battle more coordinated and easier to supervise.

Greetings
The Royal Asfaltumian Counsel


Asfaltum Homeplanet
The Fleet was finally complete. Fully loaded, packed and ready. The commander in chief sent a message to all allied ships:
Asfaltum fleet clear for action. What is your status?
At the same time, coordinates to Isengard were transmitted to all allied ships, the Phenixians, and Garbage Men.

Isengard
An officer stepped up to Strategorum. "Sir, we have recieved a communication from our Ganoxan allied. Their base has been put on highest alert, and they are waiting for orders to deploy their arm slaves." Strategorum thought for a while. "Their garrison is not sufficiently armored to withstand a direct attack from the enemy. Order them to evacuate the base and move all personell and valuable equipment to the city of Isengard. From here we will take it one step at a time. Also, tell them that we are planning to set a little trap inside their base, so that when the enemy arrives they will have a little distraction... tell them that Asfaltum will repay in full the damage caused to their base (in this case, total destruction...)... and... send an explosives squad to take care of the details... and a couple of automated guard-towers (http://moddb.com/images/cache/mods/63/631/gallery/water_34067.jpg), so the enemy will think there still are soldiers inside... What is defense status?" The Admiral glanced at the screen. "All defenses are ready and set... now awaits our most difficult task, to wait..."

it was not fear nor hesitation that stalled them, they knew not these things. Purged in death of the frailties of life, remade beneath the iron will of the Lich King, they were utterly beyond the cesspools of human emotions. The Liches communed, silently, with their lord, allowing their minds to rise upon the Nether, to touch a thousand others. Their troops were eager, hungry for the flesh of the living.

"Netherspace rupture detected, most merciless one..." An acolyte hissed in solemn surety, glancing at the control panel which displayed a view of the system.

"Who has come, valued servant?"

"The Nerubian Hiveship and three Frostmourne Class Battlecruisers. The Lich King has blessed us indeed."

"Communicate our will to the vessels. We are to move swiftly in-system and shatter their defences. All ground troops are readied for attack. Inform the Hiveship that it is to instigate Infestation pattern assault."

"As is your will, pestilant one."

The Hiveship itself was an immense construct that seemed to gleam with metal and black stone, studded with weapons turrets and defences. It was as though a city had been torn from the surface of Northrend and allowed to wander the void. Several kilometres long, its surface gleaming with ancient nerubian writings, it bore the name of the Venom of Nerub. Upon the nominal bridge of the structure, the Crypt Lord Nek'rethan stood watching the world as it began to approach, gleaming rune-screens displaying the position of the Necropoli and the Battlecruisers compared to his own vessel-city.

" The Order is given. Move us into primary Infestation position. I want us to approach with maximum aggression." It snarled, chittering as it turned to those Crypt Fiends who owed it loyalty, Brood-brothers once in the fire and death of Azjol-Nerub, now bound forever in Death under Ner'zhuls undying will.

"As you require, Lord."

The Venom hurtled forward, while the Necropoli and Battlecruisers moved at a slow, deliberate pace. The heavier guns of the other vessels began to hammer down upon Isengard, pounding at the shields with everything that their vessels could muster, their Nethercores fluctuatign at the immense drain in power, the well-water that was required to sustain it almost boiling with the energy released, drawn from the Nether and harnessed through the countless reaction-rites and invocations. The heart of the ships were less like reactor-drives and more like immense incantations, bound within containment fields and maintained by the activation of the Thalassian Well-water. A process that pleased them in the power produced and the fact that it was drawn from the Nether, spurning their eternal foes in the Burning Legion.

The docking structure which held the enemy vessel...Bring it crashing from the skies The voice whispered from one vessel to the other. The Hiveship itself stopped, its surface seeming to modulate and crackle with a burst of energy as the immense primary gun batteries opened up, their barrels seeming to extend deep into the ship-superstructure, a crackling beam of energy scything and darting towards the dock-unit and the shield itself.

They would crack this world between their fingers, and then suck the gristle from it.

OOC: just for the record, Isengard is on the planet surface, as are it's (now abandoned) docking facilities, where usually giant freighter land, load and unload their merchendise, and take off. They can be described as "ports", with large storage facilities, refueling stations etc... Also, as I posted earlier, my 20 ships have left Isengard and joined the amassing fleet at my homeplanet...

__

OOC: just for the record, Isengard is on the planet surface, as are it's (now abandoned) docking facilities, where usually giant freighter land, load and unload their merchendise, and take off. They can be described as "ports", with large storage facilities, refueling stations etc... Also, as I posted earlier, my 20 ships have left Isengard and joined the amassing fleet at my homeplanet...

__

OOC: Damn, hoped it was orbital so I could bring it crashing down. Would've been awesome. Assumed it was in orbit cause you said you had 19 + 1 up. Ah well, know the ships are gone tho ;)

OOC: Damn, hoped it was orbital so I could bring it crashing down. Would've been awesome.

OOC: Mhm... remind me to try that on you, when I invade your territory ... :D

OOC: Just a note GAE, you'd best behave and keep yourself toned down, or I have no issue with simply ignoring your involvement.

OOc:Oh, shit. I think I know you from somewhere, and you didn't agree with me on something..... Oh well. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway.

Also Asfaltum, I hadn't even contacted your nation yet.

The communications officer spoke up to General Helska. "Sir Asfaltum High Command has given us orders for evacuation. All personnel and equipment will be transferred to the capital city of Isengard."

"Begin evacuation sequence and all staff meet me in the command vehicle."

"Yes sir,"

Alarms started blaring all over the base. "Attention. Attention. All personnel evacuate the base. I repeat. All personnel evacuate the base. Load up equipment for evacuation to Isengard."

After a rapid evacuation of the base the battalion headed for Isengard. The AS battalion that was outside prior to the order was far ahead of the personnel except for a few Kotors assigned to guarding the personnel vehicles.

OOc:Oh, shit. I think I know you from somewhere, and you didn't agree with me on something..... Oh well. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway.

Also Asfaltum, I hadn't even contacted your nation yet.

OOC: Your reputation preceeds you, that and your entry into the thread was a tad ridiculous. Regardless, you probably won't have seen much of me, except that time you criticised me without knowing all the facts :)

OOc: I have a reputation? Hooray!

Two orders of business.

1. I apologise for judging you without the facts.

2. The problem I had was that they, for some reason, wanted to emphasize their weaknesses, which is the opposite of reality. Secondly, I also want to say that I was willing to compromise (and I mean actually compromise, not their bullshit "Do what I say is compromising" attitude.) They weren't. I am not going to give up I nation that I worked hard thinking up, and if they don't like it, then ask me, don't command.

3.Actually, if you really wanted to know, most of them would have died in an accident that involved army ants, and interestingly enough, pandas. Remember, their weakness is many enemies at once.

4.In reality, they also weren't thinking straight. If they had thought, they would have realized that being computers my ships would have been vulnerable to computer viruses.

OOC:sorry, dad was on the internet all last night and i couldnt do anything about it.

IC:
------On the Flag Ship I.P.N Monrak-------
A navigator turns and talks "Admiral, we have been given orders to make our way to Isengard" The Admiral went to the wall and pressed a button to talk to the entire fleet "All ships for to enter a loose formation and go into Hyper Space towards Isengard, We must be fully ready to fight straight away" The clicker of buttons and switches started as everybody went to work getting the ships battle ready.

Hear speaking over the loud speaker

"Rotationary Shield, are active", "Front side turrents are online, waiting for them to charge" and then "Pilots of the 2nd Colonial Squadron are ready to launch".

The ships turn and one by one they go into Hyperspace toward Isengard.

Jitrac stands at the control room "Time to see if this Equipment was worth all the Phens (Phenixican Currency) we paid"

-------Main Army Transport-------
George toke a deep breath, he was about to prove he could live up to the family name. around him were Proper Imperial troops, Not the colonial bunch he was used too. These guys were confident and Veteran soldiers, Not like the new and amateur Colonial troops.

"When we land it's a quick exit, now they wont be much Tank support since we didn't have the space. You guns and Experiance will be your only true weapons, Aint no Knights to save your reputation here and neither is the Emperor. This is pure one-hundred us and us only, no swords, no powers just those guns you see in those hands and the men you see around you".

This actually made some men worry, the Emperor was right to not send Messiahists to this fight. About time the military started to work by itself.

OOC: Waiting for TGM to report in as clear for action. Won't be on the internet for the weekend, read you guys on monday... that's when the fun starts... ;) :p

The ships were in an orbit as set by the Asfaltum and the Troops were still on board, things had settled into a dull routine. All that was now required was the go-ahead the call for everyone to head to whereever they were meant to be defending.

OOC: TGM, what do you mean by "the troops were on the planet"? We're at my homeplanet, preparing to jump to the Isengard system...

IC:
The Asfaltum ships started to prepare for the slip-stream jump. A message was sent to all allies:
Well then. Let's ride!
The whole Asfaltum task-force jumped.
15 seconds later
Due to differences in propulsion systems, the Asfaltumian ships arrived 1-2 minutes earlier than their allies. They had arrived at the edge of the solar system, not too far away from Isengard, and were now scanning the surroundings. On the bridge of the Dreadnought HMS Die Hard Commander-in-Chief Johnsson looked at the view. "Finally." he said. "Now we will show them that they picked the wrong neighbourhood, knocked on the wrong bloody door..." he glanced at the officer standing beside him. "You have your orders." "Aye, sir." he replied, as he promptly scurried off, to prepare the fleet for the impending fire-fight.

Meanwhile, Isengard
Strategorum observed the Asfaltumian fleet through the electronic eyes of the long-range sensors. "Finally, they have arrived." So far, there had been no sign of the enemy planning to land troops. The only thing that had happened so far, was that an orbital installation had been disintegrated by some sort of energy-burst. But since the installation was automated, and no humans lost their lives, it was of little consequence to Isengard. But Strategorum had no illusions. The enemy would start landing troops soon, and even if Isengard was practically impervious to orbital bombardement, they would surely loose the dock-yards to an infantry assault, as it wasn't protected by the strong-shield, and the high city-walls. As for the rest of the city, well, considering that it was either located inside the nearby mountain, or underground, it would take a significant amount of time to as much as breach its' deffences... but, Strategorum wasn't going to wait for that. He had plans of his own...

After some intense communication between the fleet and Isengard, it was soon decided to send ground re-enforcements to Isengard, in order to prepare for the impending enemy assault...

OOC: Btw folks, here's the OOC-thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=517063)...

__

The TGM ships arrived to find the Asfaltum ships already there and performing final strategy checks.

they waited for a moment before being told the plan, and then once again the ship bursted into a hive of activity. Final checks for troop deployment were carried out as the ships headed towards Isenguard following any instructions that the Asfaltum station or ships provided this was after all the defense of their planet and it did not do well for Public relations to have any sort of incident regarding to someone that was meant to be an ally.

A panel open up in the side of the ship, indeed the docking bay doors had been opened and troop and weapon carriers decended from the 4 ships one out of a time arriving at the pre-determined arrival point.

Troops flooded out to reveal that a portion of the Cyborgs that Asfaltum had sold to TGM where now in a sense coming home to defend. An Irony that was not lost on the Cyborgs or anyone in TGM involved.

The command staff and crew had already settled in their new headquarters inside the city and prepped the Arm Slave battalion for future missions for rapid deployment. General Helska walked into their new briefing room. The pilots came to attention.

"At ease."

The pilots sat down and was listening to the general.

"Our primary mission as you see here is to protect and guard the gate of the city wall from incoming enemy attacks. The size and power of the enemy force is unknown at the moment so be prepared for anything. As we gain more intelligence on the matter we will transfer the data to you. Need I remind you that the wall is Isengard's first line of defense and I expect you to give your all in protecting that gate. Good luck and God speed. Dismissed."

One hour later the entire battalion was moving through the city to the gates of the wall.

bump

bump

OOC: I was about to say the same... I'll TG Ice and Phenix...

Btw, this is the Asfaltum fleet currently in the Isengard system:

Immediate response task-force: (now being deployed to Isengard)

30 Ship-of-the-Line
10 Frigates
20 Torpedo-class Destroyers
5 Middle-class Carriers
5 Submarine-class Cloaked Torpedo-ships
1 Sniper-class Gunship
2 Royal Devastators
1 Dreadnought
1 Supernova-class Battlestar
____
Total: 75 ships


IC:
Aboard the Asfaltum Dreadnought HMS Die Hard, the preparations were well underway. The Commander-in-chief looked at the screen. 1500 fighters were slowly floating around the fleet, together with 500 dropships(1 (http://www.3drt.com/3dm/drop-ship/d-ship-01_05.jpg), 2 (http://www.3drt.com/3dm/drop-ship/ds-03_02.jpg), 3 (http://www.3drt.com/3dm/drop-ship/ds-02_02.jpg).) "Deploy dropships." he ordered, "Also, tell our allies to deploy their ground-troops, if they want..." Small flashes of light lit up the darkness of space, as the 500 dropships jumped, and exited close to the planet atmosphere. They promptly entered the atmoshpere, and swarmed towards Isengard. As they approached, ground-control gave them landing coordinates, which turned out to lead them straight into a mountain wall. Slowly, a large door opened up, leading the craft into a cave lined with magnetic deflectors. This meant that the pilots now were relieved from the control of their craft; the magnetic fields swiftly manouvered the craft through small dimly lit tunnels, until they finally were brought to a large underground hangar where they started unloading their soldiers and equipment. Although moral in Isengard was high, most people were still quite happy to see that reenforcements had arrived...

Strategorum walked forth and back across the floor. Fighter-craft and defence installations were all operational. Now they only had to wait for the enemy to land troops...

The Ganoxan battalion of arm-slaves was gathered at the gates, when suddenly the ground started to tremble under them. Slowly, a heaving mass of metall became visible, pounderously moving towards the gate. These were the Asfaltum battle-mechs taking up position by the gate, slowly surrounding the Ganoxans, like a wave of metall completely integrating them into their ranks. The commander of the Asfaltum battle-mechs moved in front of his troops, and soon met up with the Ganoxan commander. He turned his Bad-Boy Prototype (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/GunFox21/Gundam/EVX-331.gif) towards the Ganoxan Kotor (http://www.full-metal-panic.com/image.php?file=images/recon/mecha/gernsback/gernsback01.jpg), and asked quite cautiously: "Hi! I'll be commanding these forces during the coming battle, are you the Ganoxan commander?"

Asfaltum Battle-mechs:
50 Mk. I Desolator (http://www.cybergooch.com/images/tibsunarchive/finm292.jpg)
100 Mk. II Eliminator (http://www.chunq.com/3d-art/walker_mech.jpg)
50 Mk. III Brimstone (http://www.thespacesite.com/gallery/display/299.jpg)
80 Mk. IV Rex (http://www.3drt.com/3dm/mech/mech02-demo-02.jpg)
100 Mk. V Killer (http://www.4peeps.com/pain/Desktops/Mech%20(Large).JPG)
50 Mk. VI Defender (http://www.ovsa.njit.edu/kyle/isaac/cgi_images/ASnew3001.jpg)
5 Mk. VII Walking Fortress (http://moddb.com/images/cache/mods/63/631/gallery/water_33709.jpg)
20 Mk. VIII Destroyer (http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/chromehounds.jpg)
50 Supporter (http://www.thespacesite.com/gallery/display/nmek-1b1.jpg)
70 Payback Battle-mech (http://uk.games-workshop.com/tau/battlesuit-configurations/images/tau-battlesuit.jpg)
40 Bad-Boy Prototype (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v481/GunFox21/Gundam/EVX-331.gif)
10 Tactical Assault Truck (http://www.kevinfreitas.net/img/20050311-31.jpg)

"Yes I'm the commander. Lt. Colonel Greg Thompson 27th Arm Slave Battalion. We have 10 Kotors and 250 Savages ready and waiting."

"Yes I'm the commander. Lt. Colonel Greg Thompson 27th Arm Slave Battalion. We have 10 Kotors and 250 Savages ready and waiting."

"Ah, great." the commander was slightly releaved. "I'm Captain Samuel Vimes, I'll be commanding the Asfaltum forces... Mmm, we're not so familiar with your technology, would you tell me the main features of your two models?" he said, eyeing the ganoxan troops.

"Our Arm Slaves carry muscle packages allowing our units to do human like maneuvers and then some. The Kotor has a more advance version of this allowing it to jump at several meters in the air and to quickly dodge attack especially when it attempts a melee attack with its monomolecualar cutter. The Arm Slaves basically carry oversized versions of regular infantry weapons such as a 37 or 40mm assault rifle or the 57 mm shot cannon."

for the love of god

**BIG BUMP WITH A BAT TO ICE GROWN**

OOC: Thats ICECROWN. I have severe doubts for this thread if patience and literacy cannot endure.

IC:

The first troopships and drop-pods began to stream through the atmosphere like tongues of fire upon the head of the world, searing the sky in the fury of their descent. They cared not for their own, or for the enemy, munitions freely raining in the midst of their landing, to maim and cleanse those waiting enemies. The hiveships themselves moved upon the world, chittering static wailing across all the communications available, the tortured war-screams of the formerly Nerubian host...

The immense ships descended with all the fury of angry gods, tearing towards the world, intent upon their goal. That was the nature of the Hive-Ship, smashing into worlds that opposed the will of the Lich King, disgorging the hosts of the Crypt Lords like immense fortress-monoliths.

The roar of countless tons of black metal and stone tearing through the skies seemed to echo about the world, the gravity of the planet shuddering under the onslaught of such a colossal object.

"Let it begin..." The hissed incant of a lich filled the minds of all those who would fight and die in his name. "Let these wretches know that death is amongst them!"