Thoughts On The Cindron By Natalie Kerensky#741904

Here is a thought about breathing some new life into some of the Mechas that people pass over.  Or at least some new weapons for these Mechas.  Since I am on the topic of the Cindron, why not have a newer weapon lay out for her. Or "Discovering " lost weapons and tech for the Cindron.  For the current weapon lay out is pretty mismatched... the 2 Assault Plasma's are a excellent start, and the Red plasma is also a good solid weapon. But  having only 1 Red plasma and the 2 particle slates and the 2 small flames?  It's like they lost the original load out specs for this Mecha and tossed in the most commonly used weapons that they could replace for the missing load out.

I have calculated that for a 110 niode mecha she should sport a few different weapons. remove the red plasma and particle slates to add 2 panther wheels and 2 Snavurm lasers.... just one of my weapon load outs for this Mecha. Heck if you want to do a mini story/quest in the Novum missions, where people can find these old yet unique weapons to equip the Cindron or sell them is up to the player.  If you want any more thoughts or ideas for what type of "old weapons" send me a pm or a in game message.

Submitted by Natalie Kerensky#741904

Cindron Mecha Review By Natalie Kerensky# 741904

 I am submitting a review on the 55 ton Cindron.  To hear the the words " Cindron spotted " a lesser Mecha Pilot would be filling their underpants and writing their last will and testaments.  But the few, who can dance with these beautiful beasts and live have had the time to understand and respect them.  And the True Pilots who have earned their place to pilot these Fire Drakes have learned all there is to know about the Cindron. But the Cindron has many old tales she has not given up, for the years of war has almost erased her beautiful past. And the weapon configuration has changed many times as well.

She is more deadly than an Oggun, yet people would disagree. But she too can have the high trample damage as well and she gets the high fire damage and splash effect to add to this deadly combo. And with the right set up her speed is almost equal to a Orcus. The only fault is the Niode cost to keep her up and running, but it pays for itself when you place in 1st, top 10 or top 25 every time.

Submitted by Natalie Kerensky# 741904

Historical Data By Damien Valentine#885659

From: Squadron Commander "Pulsar"
To: Nova Actual
Subject: The Lem Rackmount
Date: September 18, 3290

General --

Per your request, I am attaching this letter as an addendum to the formal report on our expedition to Lem.  The report mentions a single intact rackmount, found in the ruins of Lem's primary military academy.  Obviously, the passage of two or three centuries has not been kind to it; Harcourt says we might never be able to recover some of the data.  As of this moment, here is what we have.

- Item 1: A pre-recorded training lecture for cadets going into the officer corps.  Things must have been getting pretty bad if they were cramming kids into mechs before they had even finished their classes.  A partial transcript follows.

"At ease, cadets.  Be seated.  Welcome to 'Fundamentals of Operational Strategy'.  I'd like to start out by dispelling a particularly foolish rumor -- this is not a TACTICS class.  You will not be comparing a Proto Beam's rate-of-fire to that of an S2A launcher; we will not be discussing formations and maneuvers; arguments about the relative superiority of night-fighting versus daytime actions are completely irrelevant here.  None of that is STRATEGY.

For the past 700 years, the essence of strategy has been the ability to take and hold Gateways.  As you can see on the syllabus, most of this course will be concerned with that aspect of strategy.  Your future courses will cover logistics, campaign morale, effective coalitions, the proper use of orbital bombardment, and military intelligence.

That last subject, however, touches on my first lesson.  It's a lesson that I myself -- and hundreds of other officers -- learned at great cost in the First Galactic War.  Before you start drawing up plans to attack or defend a Gateway, you MUST scout out what's on the other side.  I won't belabor the point with horror stories about what happens when you don't.  That's what your Military History instructor is for.  But you will not, repeat NOT, graduate this course without an understanding of the need for basic reconnaissance.

In theory, of course, skirmish-weight Mecha are ideal for this job, such as our own Gemini-class.  They are armed, and they already possess a niode matrix.  However, since there is a high likelihood of encountering a well-entrenched enemy on the other side, you must regard your recon force as expendable.  I recommend deploying an unmanned probe.  Obviously this means you will have to use some of your niode stockpile to assemble a shipping pallet, and you probably won't get those niodes back.  But you have to think of it as an investment rather than a sacrifice.  Resist the urge to...

[DATA CORRUPTION ERROR]

...besides skirmishing.  I have already referred to their potential as reconnaissance vehicles.  They are also ideal for defending Gateways and urban terrain.  As you have no doubt realized by now, skirmish Mecha are not only smaller than assault Mecha, but less expensive and more numerous as well.  It is therefore easier to build a large squadron, which can apply an overwhelming volume of firepower to a single target -- that is, an enemy which has just appeared in your Gateway.  They also tend to be faster and more maneuverable than assault Mecha, again because of their lighter mass, which allows them to easily navigate city streets, or move quickly between the Gateways in a Gateway cluster.

As you know, assault-weight Mecha are the opposite of skirmish Mecha in every way.  Heavy, sluggish, expensive.  But they can carry multiple weapon systems, so their versatility can make up for their faults in certain situations.  More importantly, they are better armored, an advantage you can supplement by installing torso plating or a shielding device.  This makes them ideal for attacking an enemy Gateway.  Your point-man takes the brunt of enemy fire in an assault Mecha, buying time for the rest of your squadron to arrive.  If you somehow find yourself with a surplus of niodes and assault Mecha --

[Laughter from the audience.]

-- Thank you, cadets, now AT EASE.  Outstanding.  To continue.  In that unlikely situation, you may consider using the 1-kiloton Mark 54 Atomic Demolition Munition.  A.K.A., the handheld nuke.  Only the very heaviest assault Mecha, in the 35 to 55 ton range, are capable of installing this device -- and each one must be permanently connected to five dedicated niodes, or else...

[DATA CORRUPTION ERROR]

...Obviously, only pilots with considerable experience in last-second ejections are suitable.  Current combat doctrine dictates that only the squadron's point-man should carry a handheld nuke...

[DATA CORRUPTION ERROR]

...the only way a Gateway cluster can be irradiated.  For example, the military bases surrounding it are frequently powered by fusion reactors, and small fission reactors of pebble-bed design are relatively common among large assault Mecha, including our own Taurus-class.  If they should be destroyed, whether accidentally or deliberately, several thousand square meters will be covered in nuclear waste.  Mecha can shrug this off, but the infantry platoons and civilian work crews who will follow them cannot.  In tomorrow's lesson, we will review squadron-level procedures for requesting a decontamination team.

ATTENTION!  Dismissed!"

- Item 2: A file labeled "Combat Vehicle Recognition Guide".  Most of the illustrations are lost, along with all of the text, but Harcourt was able to recover five pictures.

- Item 2a: Artist's rendering of a planetary surface, with bare black soil in the foreground; mountains and a city skyline in the background.  The sky is overcast, with peculiar red clouds; stars and a large moon are visible through the clouds.  A light mech, painted in red, takes up the left- and center-foreground.  Like the mechs in Items 2b through 2e, it does not correspond to any known mech design.  Its legs and feet are unarmored, exposing the internal mechanisms.  A rotary missile launcher is mounted on each shoulder, and some kind of energy weapon is mounted on the left arm, almost certainly a variant of what we now call the "Proto Beam".  The right arm has a three-fingered hand.  In front of the mech, and on the right side of the picture, a lightly armored infantryman is cradling some kind of projectile weapon, possibly a shotgun or sniper rifle.  There is a unit insignia on his right shoulder pad, a red shield with a diagonal yellow bar.

- Item 2b: Digital photograph of a rainy street.  Both the pavement and the buildings are of pre-Digital Age design.  A light vehicle with four wheels takes up the center-foreground, identifiable as a modern Bantam-class utility vehicle.  Behind it are two light mechs, equipped with what looks like a dual cockpit and the intakes for jet engines.  (Harcourt believes these are an early form of jump-jet, like the improvised versions we use today; Plunkett claims they are simply turbine IC engines.)  All three vehicles are painted blue.  In my opinion, the mechs depicted here are the "Gemini-class" mentioned in Item 1.

- Item 2c: Digital photograph of an underpass, which opens out onto a sunny but ruined street.  The buildings are constructed in a style reminiscent of the First Digital Dark Age, and all the signposts are in English.  Three infantrymen, in full powered armor, are taking shelter within the underpass.  They are wielding what appear to be projectile-firing assault rifles, of a type popular in the First Digital Dark Age.  A light mech, of the same type as shown in Item 2b, is firing on them with chin-mounted cannons.  The mech could be painted in the same shade of blue as the mechs in Item 2b, but the local sun is extremely bright (an "F-type main-sequence subgiant", according to Plunkett) and contrast washes out most of the background colors.

- Item 2d: Digital photograph of a large mech -- probably equivalent to a modern medium or heavy mech -- standing on concrete and viewed from above.  It is equipped with a single Gatling-style weapon on each arm, presumably the precursor to our "Dual Gatlings", and missile racks are visible on either side of the cockpit.  The word "ZIDSON" or "ZIOSON" is partially visible above the cockpit, along with the words "Assault Mecha".

Item 2e: Another digital photograph of the mech shown in Item 2d, this time in three-quarters profile.  The mech's unusual arm structure is clearly visible here, more like a mobile construction crane than a proper mech.

Item 3: A map of Lem's capital city, from when the planet was inhabited.  It must have been made before the Battle of Lem, since what it calls the "Outer Commercial District" is now entirely filled with ruined pillboxes and bunkers, and no ballistic missile installations are shown near the spaceport.

Item 4: A text file labeled "Cyberiad".  Half the text is missing -- including the author's name and the date of publication -- but it appears to be a work of fiction from Old Earth, which would obviously place it somewhere in the First Digital Dark Age.  Why a military-issue rackmount would devote even one kilobyte of space to an ancient fairy-tale is beyond me.  Maybe the Lemnites viewed it as some kind of holy scripture.

Plunkett claims he knows a few Illyrian research colonies that might pay a high price for the data on this rackmount, once Harcourt is finished with it.  I strongly recommend seeking those colonies out.  Nova's Irregulars are unlikely to turn any kind of profit from the rusted ferronite and smashed-up Proto Beams we salvaged from Lem.

Pulsar out.









Submitted by Damien Valentine (313m3n7a1, Kongregate player) #885659

Journey To Garhan Station Part 1 By Pat Willis#224534

Faction wars had come to an end, Xerxes was beaten back, and we were all taking a well-deserved rest at Brotherhood H.Q. I was working on installing new weapons on Jabberwocky when her comm system started to go off indicating an incoming transmission. Curious I pulled it up on the main screen in the cockpit. The transmission was a series of gate jumps to be made in a very particular order which would lead to a final destination marked by a huge question mark. The jumps in and of themselves lead to no place of importance but they seemed to often double back upon themselves throughout Shogunate, Illyrian, and Cogwerk owned space.

Bored and feeling like it was at least worthwhile to check out I got permission for a brief leave from command, made sure Jabberwocky was ready for duty and set out. To say it was a long and arduous task would be to make a monumental understatement. Yet here we were going through roughly fifty gate jumps in the strict order laid out by the transmission. I was getting a little dizzy after so much gate travel in such a short period of time. The gates in and of themselves were no big deal, at best a few days travel from each other back and forth across the various faction borders. We finally got to what was marked as the last gate, an unremarkable gate really on the edges of Cogwerk space. I must have gone through this single gate at least a half dozen times prior on this crazy path laid out by the transmission. This last jump however was far from a normal gate jump. It felt like we were moving faster than normal gate travel, odd colors and sounds penetrated the cockpit of the Regis and I simply passed out.

When I came to I found myself lying on a med cot in a structure I was not familiar with. Nurses clad head to toe in dark greys came and went in and out of my room as it were. They were always silent, never deviating from their task of checking, and rechecking me. I was wondering where my mecha was and tried to get up only to find myself restrained to the med cot. That was when I heard a voice I would never forget from my past. It was a deep base, full of gravel and slight menace. It was the voice of Captain Johnathan Judas the Niodemancer, “Be at peace pilot I mean you no harm. You were brought here to help test out some new ideas and mecha.”

“How the hell did you escape from the high security Illyrian science center?” I barely coughed the words out.

He looked at me with his mismatched eyes and smiled the faintest bit before answering me with one word, “Kellek”.

If I hadn’t been restrained I would have bolted from the room right then and there. The reanimated Forerunner construct housing the personality and mind of the mad scientist Kellek had sprung the Niodemancer from the Illyrians, and now apparently the old space pirate and the Forerunner had reached some kind of beneficial agreement. I had no idea what was going on or why they had seen fit to include me in their plans whatever those turned out to be.

The Niodemancer waved his hands and my restraints fell away with a clatter to the floor. He motioned for me to walk with him across the room. I got up on wobbly legs and simply followed him figuring he may be my only chance at finding my mecha and getting the hell out of here.
“Do you know where you are?” he asked me.

“No, I just know I received a transmission with very specific gate co-ordinates, and instructions on how to go through them, as well as in what order.” I replied.

“Allow me to enlighten you then. Think of the gates you traveled through in that specific sequence as tumblers on a lock. When all the tumblers line up in the appropriate order the lock is sprung, and the door that it held shut will open. Pretty much the same idea here. The gates when gone through in a specific pattern lead to here, the orbital Forerunner defense station known as Garhan”, he told me.

“This is one of the few orbital stations left from the Forerunner wars. It still is fully armed, fully powered and is host to a large number of internal gate systems, which can be accessed if one knows how to get here from multiple worlds.” He continued on while leading me to a viewing portal. “This station will not show up on any star charts, it is in the back forty of the known systems, and it has been given to me by Kellek in exchange for my co-operation.”

He had finished talking as I looked out the portal. I saw the deep dark blue black of space, a few moons, and a roughly earth sized planet suspended in the blanket of night. I was shocked to say the least; Captain Judas noted my reaction and continued to speak.

“What I want from you is simple; I want mecha combat arena style. You and your Regis, against my new design. If you win I offer you on behalf of Kellek an improved Accelerated Actual Intelligence system to replace your old A.I. It has quantum probability engines within its core processing unit, pattern predictability algorithms, and pretty much every weakness of every mecha made contained in its files. Well minus prototypes of course. Overlaid onto your already pseudo intelligent A.I. system Wocky in your Regis it should create a true intelligence.”

I was floored, but the offer was just too good to pass up. “Alright,” I replied. “What do you want me to do?”

“Simple,” he answered. “I want you to fight. Kellek and I have created a new mecha which we wish to see in action. A true test of its capabilities is in order, but we figured to properly test it we would need a mecha that could be a fair match for it. This is where you and your Regis come in. Given your Regis is one of the “wild” Forerunner original models it has tougher armor and better shielding then the mass produced variety. Plus both myself and Kellek have dealt with you in the past, and we knew how to find you. So you are in essence our choice for quality control if you will.”

“Can you at least tell me what I am going to be up against?” I asked while still taking in the view of planet beneath us.

“It is a prototype we call the Cerberus Mark I, a triple headed canine design operated by three pilot drones working in perfect tandem with each other. It sports fire weapons in the left head, ice weapons in the right, and a brutal projectile / laser battery combination in the central head.” He went on to inform me, “It has advanced actuators for surprising agility, unparalleled targeting, and comes in at ninety five tons. Five tons heavier roughly than your Regis, but with enough expansion slots to give it mobility like a seventy five tonner at best.”

The briefing it seemed was over and Judas lead me out of the room we had been in through the bowels of the station. We passed labs full of equipment I couldn’t describe if I had a lifetime worth of words, and huge weapon batteries the size of large drop ships. Eventually we came to a single elevator where we stopped. The Niodemancer addressed me one last time.

“Your Regis has already been outfitted with the Accelerated Actual Intelligence unit, and is as we speak integrating with it. Take this elevator to the hanger deck and get yourself reacquainted with your mecha. I will see to your travel arrangements to the planet below where our mecha is already awaiting you. You will have two hours grace time before it tracks you down and combat begins. Kellek and I figure if you survive you will have earned the Intelligence system, and we will see to your safe return to your clan. If you lose, well then the Intelligence system will be destroyed, and we will know our new design passed with flying colors.”

“So this is literally do or die then.” I commented.

“Oh certainly”, he replied.

“Anything else just wouldn’t be a true test now would it? Ah here is your ride”, he remarked as the elevator arrived. “This will take you directly to the hanger, once you are there simply get in your mecha, plug in and get to know it a bit. I will give you a half hour to reacquaint yourself before you are transported to the planet surface. Once you get there… well that is when the fun begins. Good luck to you.”

I took a deep breath and boarded the elevator, on the plus side I get my Regis back and possibly better than before. On the downside I may not live long enough to fully explore just how much better my mecha is. Damn my curiosity.

(To be continued…)









Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Weapon Review Liquid Hot Magma By Kalevi Karvinen#863817

“Recreate the inside of a volcano. Surround your foes with liquid hot MAG-MA.”

At level 19 you can get Red Plasma, damage 27, speed 105 with 6% Burn. Or a level 29 Assault Plasma, damage 43, speed 102 with 10% Burn. But now you could also buy Liquid Hot Magma at level 20. It delivers a damage of 54 points, that's way more than those mentioned earlier. With speed of 103, added 8% splash and 3% Burn bonus, this new weapon really can make your opponents life a lot hotter... and shorter. Five weapon bulk offer is 124 niodes, or if you prefer only one, that's 31 Niodes, 460 Ferrite and 390 Bioptics. Again there is limit of 300 weapons, so be quick about it, others sure will be.

Submitted by Kalevi Karvinen#86381

Weapon Review Lunch Lady By Kalevi Karvinen#863817

“She's cooking up a fresh batch of "battlefield surprise" just for you.”

Minimum level 9, Damage 35, Speed 102 with 5% chance of Splash and Precision boost of 2. Those are the specifications of brand new fire weapon. Cost of one weapon is 17 Niodes, 360 Ferrite and 280 Biopticks, or five weapons for generous bulk offer, of only 68 Niodes. This surely is a tempting choice for new pilots, if not for any other reason than that next possible fire weapon is Small Flame at level 17, admittedly a cheaper gun, but the damage is only half of what you get with Lunch Lady. And you need almost double your levels before you can get one Small Flame. But the quantity of this Lunch Lady offer is only 300 pieces, so if you want to play with fire, be fast about it.

Submitted by Kalevi Karvinen#863817

Double Weapon Review For the Vulcan Phaser By Kalevi Karvinen#863817 And Deborah Roaché-Hudak #289133

Review #1 - "Change is the essential process of all existence" Live long, live well, and prosper.”

Available at level 35, you now get access to this kind of damage way earlier than before. Vulcan Phaser damage of 66 is beaten only after level 45, with the Flavian Spear, damage of 70, Speed of 99 won't make it the fastest gun there is, but with added 3 points of precision and 7% chance of Crit-Kill, it still is a very competitive weapon. Cost of 42 Niodes, 777 Ferrite and 555 Bioptics, or five weapon bulk offer for 168 Niodes. Vulcan Phaser is more expensive than other weapons around same caliber, but you get that earlier. One downside with this weapon is, that you can buy only 25 Vulcan Phaser. After that it's loot, pillage and steal like any good pilot always does anyway.

Submitted by Kalevi Karvinen#863817

Review #2 -This tribute to one of television's most beloved Vulcan's can be yours to ensure you 'live long and prosper.' An elite laser with a speed of 99, you'll have 66 damage at your disposal. You must be minimum level 35 and it will set you back 42 niodes and some resources. If you are a laser specialist, this is one to consider.

There is precision added into the mix to help you land those hits when it's essential. For those nail biting moments, you also have 7% crit-kill. It won't matter what the damage is when this kicks in, dead is dead. Definitely a killer combo. Don't miss this opportunity, there's a limit of 25 per person. This is the phaser you've been waiting for, it would be illogical to not take advantage of this offer.

Submitted by Deborah Roaché-Hudak #289133

Interveiw With Molliere DAffue By Joel Parras/KilotoneRecoil #637457/#599258

Joel - Thank you for joining me once again my fellow mech pilots & reads alike. Joel Parras here with Molliere Daffue of The Brotherhood of the West as we come ever closer to the threshold of Clan Wars. Great to have you here Molliere. I see you're currently kicking it in Kotm division 4 atm. Hows the view from up there?

Molliere - mmm to be honest Joel Its quit an sight, but i hope to get knocked down. The experience is not worth the prizes

Joel - Yeah the balloon in experience points for kotms has seen quite a few shy away it seems. Well it'll be nice to see those players that want the experience, mechs, weapons & levels to get there chances with many choosing not to play for gold anymore. I was actually discussing ways of increasing general player experience yesterday without actually increasing the experience given out for prizes.....but I'll be keeping that one under my hat i think. All I can say over all when it comes to prizes though is that Clan Wars prizes have never been so up to date & generous from my point of view, which is spectacular to see. (Thanks for that Dev's)

Molliere - I totally agree with you there Joel The prizes have been updated quit well and the gear looks very promising

Joel - I'm excited to see such decent prizes available for divisions 1-3 in particular. With so many new items of equipment being added lately it always keeps things interesting. I think everyone wants to get there hands on the new mecha that's coming out. I've not seen one in the field myself but i hope to soon! Have you got your eyes on any particular mech you want to acquire in the near future yourself?

Molliere - The Regis seems to be quit decent and the Aspis I would not mid getting me a pair of them. But with upgrading time and niode cost it will take a while for me to have them ready in my formation

Joel - Oh yeah you can't argue with a Regis! I do like the Aspis but I've got to say i think the Regis is a superior mecha in many ways. Upgrade times are a constant issue, that's why my own never stop! The moment you stop you slip behind. I can't wait to see you dropping a few into your formation. I know you'll pilot them well. I've seen a lot of formations change up their mix of Regis & Aspis over the months & it's only recently that i like what i see with the newer gear on them.

Speaking of recent months Molliere this current Wars has seen some very interesting show downs in several divisions. What if any is your personal assessment of the shape of things to come if you don't mind me asking?

Molliere - To be honest things have changed a lot with the clan wars since the specialists came a long, I do not know what the dev’s have in store for use in the months to come but i hope it will be interesting.
The divisions are quite interesting with the last Clan war having 17 divisions. Most of the divisions seems to be quit fair but here and there I believe, the system did go wrong, But to be honest it’s just well planning for instant having a team of 16 top player’s with higher levels that a team of 8 or 9 with lower levels at the end of the day they will fall into the same division this is one of the things that AFF have been using to dominate their enemies, and it’s also one of the ways to win. Its not quit fair but its an loop hole that is in the game and I’m amazed that many clans have still not started using this tactic.

Joel - Yeah i totally agree.......it's interesting to see where the dust settles when it comes to divisions isn't it. When it comes to having a full clan of 16 it's something I too am surprised many more haven't committed to as yet but AFF does have the rampant numbers to accomplish it in a solid manner first. There's sure to be some showdowns that come close to the wire yet again, although i'm confident that they wont be the same close matches we saw last Clan Wars. Well Molliere it wont be long now until we all depart to out drop sites. Is there anything else you'd like to add or mention to the pilots out there before we take aim?

Molliere - I wish the all the luck in the world and I hope that they will not be facing off against me because I promise you Joel, they will not live to see the sun rise again.

Joel - Then a dark night will set on many moons tonight my brother! I wish you warm barrels to greet your opponents with Molliere! Thanks again for making the time for me & the players! I would wish you luck but i know a tactician like yourself needs none. Enjoy the war Molliere......I'll see you on the front lines soon enough!

Joel Parras/KilotoneRecoil #637457& Molliere DAffue #599258

Large Fury Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

This missile system is available for levels 28 and up and will run you  420 Ferrite, 336 Bioptics, and 11 Crystal to purchase. You can bulk buy them 5 for 44 Crystal, with no limits or restrictions. It deals out 30 Straight Damage, with a Speed of 85, and has the ability of Splash at 4%.

This is the upgrade from the Medium Fury missile system which while faster by 5 points did  7 points less damage while retaining the same ability of Splash at the same percentage of 4. Admittedly these are great little weapons for things like the Shocklite, Luison, Dread, and Orester mechas. Pretty much anything that can be outfitted with missiles or any mecha build with missiles in mind for primary weapons is a good choice for this system. As usual it can be enhanced damage wise by proper skill point allocation, build stats, and equipment load out. At the lower levels missile boat mech aren't as common so perhaps think about making one and surprise your opponents.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Foxholes And Vermin By Sgt Ron Frye player ID # 879655

Sharing Ferrite Foxholes with the Noblest of Vermin
by Jonathan Hollis, War Correspondent

Article from the New Terran Life Magazine
Earth, Pan Galactic AP

"Behold, amongst the garbage high,
Along the paths of shattered stone and rebar wire,
A stirring came amongst the refuse piles,
home of maggot, land of fly.

Raising his head to scent the air,
His searching ears and piercing eyes,
Sought out his quarry for the hunt,
Now is born the vermin, for tonight he doth arise.",

Col. William "South Paw" Howell
Surveying the ruins of Paris
First Terran Global Techno War
4 May, 3299

"How do I feel about combat? You know what a rat is? A rat is the most survivingst damn thing you ever saw. Well, after my first kill I looked deep into myself and realized just who the hell I am in the process. I am a rat in an asphalt jungle, filled with concrete forests and rebar underbrush. I am a base creature that lives a simple hand to mouth life, but............I defend my home with my life, with no thought of anything save death or complete victory."

Tech. Sgt. Sean Collin McFae
AKA The Rat
Mecha Pilot, Brotherhood, Merc. Reg.
Rosie's Bar and Grill, Andromeda Station
Andromeda System, Milky Way
July 30, 3300

Two wars, two million light years, two view points, one message; war is hell. A message as old as time itself, to use an overly quoted comparison; however, one lesson is learned by examining these two passages. War does not just produce death and destruction. It also gives birth to another commodity. Broken men, with no other skill except the propagation of the very thing they hate the most.....more war.

I could sit here and weave a tale of valor and heroic exploits traversing planets, systems, galaxies, even universes. I could also sit here and spout bullshit until your ears are fertile enough to plant a crop of snow peas, but I'm not going to do that either. I am going to tell you about soldiers. The war, the location of said war, and the time frame involved are all irrelevant. the names and places change, but never the soldiers involved. They are always the same.

You could take a roman soldier fighting with the legions against the Gauls, and a 20th century infantry grunt. If you interviewed them both, they would say the same things about war, "Food sucks, lots of mud, not enough boots, miss home, and my best friend is dead." If I am wrong you can stuff me in a box and mail me
to the moons of Pluto.

Having spent the past six months traveling with a mercenary regiment called "The Brotherhood", these are the lessons I learned. I gained enough material to spew a thousand articles, but print space is limited, so I am going to keep it as short as possible, and that is still a daunting challenge. Odds are that I will be begging my editor for the space to make this a syndicated weekly column, but thats based on interest....so if you like this idea, make sure to send in those fan letters {a little mild chuckling to myself there}. As I say, I want to keep this short, so for this article at least, I just wanted to give you a taste of what the life of a mecha pilot is like. These modern day gladiators, heroes of the battlefield, and the keepers of peace through the administration of selective annihilation.

My first night with the Mecha Pilots of The Brotherhood, I found myself in a shabby, randomly furnished warehouse, that had been transformed into a common gathering area for the off duty soldiers. It was cluttered, dirty, cramped and looked completely disreputable. In other words, it felt like home for a mecha pilot. As I sat there and listened, the various members of the Brotherhood regaled me with stories of their exploits. Half of what they said were tall tales the likes of which the author of Paul Bunyan would have found to be outlandish; however, the other half simultaneously raised the hair on the back of my neck and made me want to cry and buy these warriors a drink.

 Despite the horrors and pain they had endured they remained here, and the reason became apparent almost immediately. They stayed for one simple reason. They loved each other. They loved each other in a way that only a combat veteran could understand. To leave this group any other way than on a cooling slab, would be to abandon their brothers and sisters to the horrors of war without their support, and that would be a violation of honor that would be personally unforgivable to them. As the night progressed I began to think that I could never understand these people and that I had better just give this project up, when suddenly the right light over the Mecha Bay doors came on and a siren pierced the air. The pilots leap up and rushed for the bay, with me in tow. This was it. The shit had just hit the fan.

(To be continued)

Submitted by Sgt Ron Frye player ID # 879655

Vulcan Phaser Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

A special weapon released to honor the late, great Leonard Nimoy was given to all who logged in this past weekend. It is a Niode based laser with a straight damage of 66, a Speed of 99, and the abilities of Precision (3), and Crit-Kill of 7%. There are some on sale in the weapon shop, at the time of this writing there are 134 out of 168. Its cost is 777 Ferrite, 555 Bioptics, and 42 Niodes to buy one. A limit of 25 is attached to this and it has a bulk buy option of 5 for 168 Niodes.

As free stuff should never be turned down there isn't much to say here. Straight damage is solid, as is speed. Precision add ons are always welcome as are crit-kill stats. As usual it can be augmented by proper equipment load out, stat allocation, and mecha it is put on. It was a welcome and unexpected gift from the Craftsmen Guild to honor the passing off a science fiction legend, visionary, and all around great man. It is unfortunate that we should only reap this reward after the passing of such an influential individual. Hats off to the Devs for handing this out.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534