Thursday, April 30, 2015

Clan Logos And Comics By Pat Willis#224534

Hello one and all, as you know we are going to start accepting Clan Logos for display here on our pages. There have been a few updates since we last reported on this. First off the payment is 10 Niodes per clan logo, BUT it has to be specific to Mecha Galaxy. Which means you can't take an image from another game even if you really, really want to use it, and tell us here you go! So no Battle Tech, Armored Core, Mech Warrior, Gundam, Zoids, etc, etc, logos. It isn't that we don't like them, or appreciate any changes you may have made to them to make it your own. We are trying to avoid copy write issues so the more original the better. If you can give us the name of the artist for your logo for proper credit all the better. But please no random stick figures, or the like for such logos. We're going for a true logo page and hopefully the submissions will reflect as much.

On to the news about comics! What it boils down to is simply we need ideas for our comic artist to make funnies from. As always we're paying you for it, as long as it is quality text/dialogue submissions. Ideally we're looking for something that can cover 3-4 panels, but it can be as little as a single panel or as large as 8, so long as it is funny.

So there you have it folks all the news that will get you paid, and remember you heard it here on Galaxy Gathering! Happy hunting one and all.













Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Boreas Interview Idea By Ron Frye#879655


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Molotok Industries Part 2 By Natalie Kerenski #741904

As you glance around the room, you notice the same expressions on the other representatives...how did they do this??  Again Natalie speaks in a voice that could capture ones heart and bring a sense of pride to oneself. " First of Molotok's Mecha's is our new 25 tonne, the BLKS1 or what we here call her.. The Black Swan.

Do not let the gentle name fool you gentleman,for she can decimate lesser Mecha's quickly and deal great amounts of damage to heavier units. Through all possible combat trials she has out preformed in Stealth,Infiltration and Recon. Having the same weapon slots as a Trooper,she has the speed that of a Orcus. As you noticed that she has next to no sharp edges on her ...yes?

 That is Molotok's new version of stealth plating. It reduces the precision on the enemies she encounters. and gives it the "blur" on the radar tracking systems.    Here is Molotok's answer to the re-define light Mecha."    With out any explanation you start clapping and you see the other representatives start clapping as well, then you can hear music playing in the back, soft but dramatic, like a choir.. then it gets deeper and louder... soon you see Natalie standing straight and still like a solider, with out cause she starts singing a song that you have no idea what language it is, but the music is now more profound then a spot light shines on two flags on the wall.

One you do not recognize.. red with a gold hammer and some curved hand tool... and the second is Molotok's symbol.  You think to yourself, what does all this mean?  What am I going to say in my report??  Then you look down at your empty glass and blurt out God I need a drink...


 THE BLKS1

  Tonnage 25                                 Min Level  11
  Start Armour  50                          Ferrite    550
  Start Weapons  4                         Bioptics  350
  Lvls/Weapon    6                         Niodes  50


  BONUSES:

  Build        Spd +5                      
  Build        Missle Dmg +6%       
  Build        Ice Dmg  +3%          
  Lvl 2        +1 Engine slot          
  Lvl 5        +1 Cockpit slot        
  Lvl 5        Missile Dmg 2%        
  Lvl 6        +1 Weapon              
  Lvl 7        +1 Shield slot            
  Lvl 8        Fork 4%                  
  Lvl 10      Ice Dmg 2%             
  Lvl 12      +1 Weapon
  Lvl 12      +1 Chassis slot
  Lvl 13      +3 Speed
  Lvl 15      Fork 3%
  Lvl 16      +1 Engine slot
  Lvl 18      +1 Weapon
  Lvl 18      Ice Dmg  2%
  Lvl 19      Missile Dmg  +3%
  Lvl 20      +1 Cockpit slot
  Lvl 22      +1 Chassis slot
  Lvl 23      +1 Shield slot
  Lvl 24      +1 Weapon (+ every 6 Lvls)
  Lvl 24      +3 Speed
  Lvl 30      +1 Shield slot
  Lvl 30      +1 Weapon
  Lvl 33     Spd +2
  Lvl 35     +1 Chassis
  Lvl 36     +1 Weapon
  Lvl 40      Ice Dmg 2%
  Lvl 42     +1 Weapon
  Lvl 45      +1 Engine slot
  Lvl 48      +1 Weapon
  Lvl 50      Fork 3%
  Lvl 54       +1 Weapon
  Lvl 55       +1 Cockpit slot
Weapon Load Out: Sleet Storm  x   2 , Advance Fury   x   2.



END OF TRANSMISSION.......










Submitted by Natalie Kerenski #741904

Molotok Industries Part 1 By Natalie Kerenski #741904

 It has been 1 week and 5 jumps since the representative from Molotok Industries showed up at your door, with a invitation to their unveiling of a new line of weapon designs, and something new to Molotok Industries.......  But what does a company with over 600 years of known weapon designers have to surprise anyone with??? Granted the company sticks with their heritage,even the name Molotok means " Hammer" in the Terra based Russian language.  As well,in all the galaxy why would they choose a barren ice world is beyond your thoughts.   But what is really eating at the back of your mind is who else was sent an invitation?

  As the ship touched down, and the outer bay doors closed to seal out the deathly grip of the ice worlds average -220 degrees farenheit, you are lead across the bay to a set of large solid wooden doors, where out of the corner of your eye you spot 3 more ships like the one you arrived in...... who else is here??

Once inside it is a warm setting with a large fireplace as tall as 2 men, and standing by the fire's glow is a group of people chatting and sipping drinks.  As you walk closer you are handed a drinking glass with a dark liquid, you raise it to your nose to find out what contents are in it when the servant whispers "Whiskey sir, your preference we are told"....Stunned... (how did they know that?!?! ) You nod to thank him and continued to the crowd.  The first person you notice is not hard to recognize, the ever present Roman Styling is the Illyrian representative.

Next to him is the popular Cogwerk Planets representative and by the Deathly stare towards the Illyrian is the Shogunate representative, oh how the blood war between these two has lasted as far back as anyone can remember.  But the one that has you entranced is the young lady with the Red hair and a look of determination and the presence of a warrior. As she see's you she motions the others to take their seats. In a beautiful yet commanding voice comes  "Welcome my dear comrades....err  I mean friends. Please excuse my old terms of the language of my fore fathers. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Natalie, Vice C.E.O of Molotok Industries and daughter to the former Commander in Chief of Terra's Defense Force.

As you know my people have been running Molotok Industries since the late 22nd Century.  Many people have come to us seeking to buy weapon designs, as well as the great clans..... like the Illyrians the Shogunate and the Cogwerk Planets. We in all these years have not taken a side, and you respected us for that for we are here just to provide improved weapon designs and make new ones.

  Now we are here to take a stand.... With the return of this "Forerunner" and his mad claim to dominate man kind, and then two of Terra's past, Xerxes the so called "God King" and one of my peoples most hated....Bismarck.  It was a cry from our past to stop this now, so after capturing some of Dr.Drakes Mecha's and salvaging some of the Mecha's from the Forerunner  we set our R&D teams to work.  At long last we are here to announce that we are now in the Mecha Design and Manufacturing". At that moment you could swear you heard a pin drop....How can they have the man power and the resources to build and manufacture Mecha's!!!?!?!

  Before any one could utter a single word, Natalie spoke with pride and reverence, "Please allow me to show you the first of the 2 New Designs"  and with that the spot lights turn on and shine to the far back corner.  You stand up and almost drop your glass..but quickly slug back the drink and realize that that whiskey was at least you figure by the way it burned down your throat, was about 100 years old. Trying not to cough and make yourself look foolish you quickly inhale, like ice the air did feel as it rushed down into your lungs and then you look up. At first glance you are amazed at how elegant it looks. (even for a Mecha), almost....flawless of sharp edges..

END OF FIRST TRANSMISSION.....











Submitted by Natalie Kerenski #741904

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Chameleon In The Wire By Steve Ross#162076

The lights of the ZEON crew accommodation block flickered on around 4 a.m. Various fitters and grease monkeys growled their disapproval and yanked bed clothes over their REM strained faces. A gaunt character crept gingerly across the floor and approached one of the cots where a slumbering figure lay. It reached out and shook the sleeping form carefully. "Chief", it said softly. No movement. The hand applied a shade more pressure and the voice went up an octave or two. "Chief"? The figure repeated.

The bed clothes were pushed lethargically back and the semi-aware face of crew chief Galding blinked for a moment in the bleaching LED glow. "Hu..? Wha's happenin'? Mmmph..." she mumbled as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. She shook her head and looked back at the face of the person by her cot. "Oh, it's you Fu. To what do I owe this unwelcome and ridiculously timed interruption"? she asked.

Don Fugate, ZEON's chief technical officer, leaned slightly closer and lowered his voice once more. "Sorry to wake you chief. Got a bit of a problem. I can't find my initializer card for my new Boreas, y'know, the one I left in the tech-bays with the data chip for my recent power-plant configurations"?

Chief Galding nodded. "Yeah, I know the one. Fairly basic changes there to get such a surprising set of results. Separating the core conduits with plasma feeders to increase the initial torque is bloody brilliant. It negates almost all targeting vibration meaning you can maintain sustained firing whilst accelerating from a sand still. You can engage the avoidance programs and lose nothing from your counter method. We're gonna have to nick that little gem and drop it on the other vehicles". She gave a half smile. "how did you g......" Officer Fugate held up a hand, "Chief. Please. It's quite urgent", he cut in. "I promise I'll give you all the 'hows' and whys' at a later point. I just need to borrow the engineer's master-card until I find my own. I've got a formation test in half an hour and if I can't get it done the Admiral will chew my ass".

Galding sighed and gave a quick shrug. "Fine, fine. Here", she muttered, and handed the impatient officer her operator's card from her overall pocket lying on the bedside chair. "Just make sure I get that back asap. If that goes walkies sod all gets done around here".

Officer Fugate took the card and nodded his thanks before hurrying out of the dormitory. "Flippin' pilots", Galding grumbled as she pulled her bed clothes back over herself, "They'd lose their minds if they weren't needed".

8.45 in the briefing hall of the ZEON main office block. The senior pilots assembled as per standing orders and awaited the day's op's briefing. A few of the lead hands shared a joke about the previous shift's events. The smell of fresh coffee hung heavily in the air.

The door opened and a red faced and distinctly irate officer Fugate stormed into the room, filling every available inch of breathing space with his near tangible rage. He stormed straight over to crew chief Galding. "Do you mind telling me what the hell you were doing running motion stability tests on my Boreas at 4.25 this morning? That mech had just been re-aligned to run my power-plant improvements. In-field stability tests on a machine that hasn't had the diagnostic assessments completed on it is a sheer bloody danger, not just to the person piloting it, but to any bugger in the vicinity as well"! he barked.

Crew Chief Galding sprang to her feet. "Now you hold the f*** on there 'sir'", she spat the formal courtesy as a criminal would address a judge before sentence. "I haven't taken your machine ANYWHERE. It was YOU who woke me up at stupid o'clock this morning begging my master key off me. If you lose your initializer and need me to dig you out of the cack don't come blame slinging' when it goes wrong, y'hear"? she hollered.

Don pulled his head back and half frowned, half scowled. "What the damned hell are you rattling about technician"? he snapped. "I've just come from the service docks and Prosser from night shift said he saw you take the mech out at a little after four this morning. He says you didn't return with the mech before shift change. I've checked the security replays and clear as day you're there in my mech. Now, here you are large as life. Where the hell have you put my mech"? he spat.

The head of ZEON's maintenance and development department held her hands up, palms facing out, and shook her head. "Don, I have no idea what the heck you're talking about. I didn't even get out of my cot until 6.45. You came into the dorm around 4 this morning and borrowed my master key because you said you had 'Formation testing' to run. I swear it. Check the security replays for the accommodation corridors if you don't believe me".

The senior pilot's features expressed a fleeting hint of uncertainty. He had known chief Galding for years now. The woman was a legend within the maintenance and repair circles within the mecha-combat galaxy. She could take a right-off and get it back in the field with prayer and a stick of chewing gum. Don nodded slowly. "Okay", he said, "Fine. Come with me. We'll get this s**t straightened out".

He and Galder left the room together and made their way down to the security control offices. Upon arrival they found ZEON's current head of security Captain Brown waiting. The captain turned to face them as they entered. "Wondered how long it'd take you two to get here", he said flatly. The pair came to attention, officer Fugate throwing up a formal salute. "Sir", he said. The captain flagged a hand at him. "Calm down chap", he responded, "protocol can take a back seat until we know what the frakk is happening here".

He gestured to the security monitors in front of him. "On the left we have footage of chief Galding leaving the base air lock in officer Fugate's Boreas. I've watched it over and over. No immediately obvious glitches. Now; On the right we have footage of chief Galding leaving the dormitory building at 7.14 and heading to the mess hall for breakfast. A class act considering she did not return at all through the air lock".

The captain turned to face the bewildered pair once more. "Any suggestions on current events"? He inquired.
Officer Fugate pointed to the monitors. "The chief here says I went to see her in her cot around 4 this morning to borrow her master initialization card. Now, I know that's a bunch of c**p because I have my own card and did not leave my room until much later".

He stepped over to a young corporal seated at the operating desk. "Young man, pull up the camera footage from the chief's dormitory corridor around 4 a.m.", he said.

The young op's worker tapped a few keys and brought up the footage as requested. They all stared in silence for a number of minutes, then, at 4.04 on the relay counter, officer Fugate stepped into view, clear as day, and entered the chief's room.

Don looked over to the others. Galding cocked her head to one side. "Is that an apology I hear Don"? she sneered.

The pilot stared blankly back. "What the F*** is going on here? I don't sleep walk. Seriously, what is going on"? he asked, bemusement hanging on every syllable.

The security captain wagged a conclusive finger. "Now 'that' I can shed a modicum of light upon", he said, and motioned to the two to join him at a third monitor showing a close up still image of chief Galding seated in the cockpit of the missing Boreas.

The captain magnified the image and focused on the chief's eyes. "What do you make of that then peeps"? he said.

The pair leaned in and inspected the close up. There was the evidence. A tell tale milk white iris in the mech-thief's right eye. A flaw common place in one very nasty aspect of the galaxy, usually hidden, but, fortunately for the security captain's keen attention to detail, not in this case.

Officer Fugate stood up straight and stared unblinkingly at officer Brown. "Well... F*** ME"! he stated, "A god damned CLONE"!

The captain nodded slowly. "A bloody good one two. It fooled the DNA access ports on the bay doors AND the main entrance. I had my doubts, but that footage of you, well, the 'other' you, entering the dormitory confirmed it. I can sense Drake's hand in this stinking scenario. That's bad enough, but if the evidence is accurate then it's a whole lot worse. This son of a bitch simulated and copied two of our senior staff with subatomic precision. If we're right on this then A: we have a highly prized mecha out there, possibly in the hands of a lunatic, and B: Said lunatic has perfected polymorphic clones".






 




Submitted by Steve Ross#162076

Tales from the Barracks Part 2, NSFCW (Not Safe for Clan Wars…) By David McCallum# 701548

“MAC! MY OFFICE! NOW!” blared the base tannoy system. Then as an afterthought, “Kev, get yourself in here too…”

The pair in question were in the pilot’s ready room, data slates spread out across the couches and surrounding floor. They had been combing through vids of practice battles sent through by Dave Linton, new C.O. of the Light Brigade. They were shots of his pilots during the previous Clan War and the footage showed a lot of promise.

Mac stared up at the loudspeaker with a puzzled frown on his face, then glanced over at Kev. The returning look managed to convey disapproval and accusation in equal measure.

Mac looked genuinely injured as he threw his hands out palms upwards. “What?” he exclaimed. “I haven’t done anything!” and then added in more truthful tones, “at least not that I can think of…”

Kev said nothing, his mouth screwed up into a hard line as he stood and led the way out into the corridor and along to Jay Dubya’s office. He knocked then held open the old fashioned hinged door, allowing Mac to enter ahead of him.

The C.O. glanced up, gestured to a seat and swiveled his desk monitor around so that it could be viewed from all angles.

“Kev, you’re here purely as a corroborating witness to this process,” he stated. Then directly to Mac, “Fuller wants a full explanation.”

He actuated the play icon on the hard light keyboard and the screen sprang to life. It was pretty cruddy video, taken from what looked like a high up vantage point in a shower block.

Audio kicked in, and running water and a hiss of steam could be heard alongside what sounded like off-key humming, sometimes breaking into a snippet of lyrics. As the picture cleared, or rather the steam thinned out some to get a better view, a solitary figure could be seen taking a shower.

Thankfully the person in question was vigorously soaping themselves and a decent amount of strategic foam was valiantly defending them from even more acute embarrassment because there was an awful lot of pallid white flesh on view, the obvious result of too much time stuck in a cockpit and away from healthy sunlight. The worst part however was the fact that even while showering, this particular figure was still wearing its trademark cowboy hat.

Jay Dubya had seen the vid before and managed to keep his face mostly neutral with a slight amount of distaste. Kev’s face was screwed up in a silent ‘eww’. Even Mac had to let off a small grimace.

On screen, the lone figure, oblivious to the world in general and it’s hidden audience in particular, broke into full throated song.

“You put your left foot in…” and the figures left foot came forward, heel to the slippery floor tiles.

“You brings yer left foot out…” and the left leg came back to cross just behind the right one.

“Ya swing yer left foot in an’ ya kicks him in the ‘nads…”. This time the left foot came forward, held in the air and wiggling around from the ankle.

“You do the hokey pokey as you smack him in the head…” By now the figure was turning in a circle, it’s tucked in arms flapping like a demented fowl. Unfortunately the rear view brought what could only be described as a binary system into the spectator’s sight, and Kev had to cover his eyes.

“And that’s how you do the ‘Protection from Eric Dance’!” Unfortunately the final lyrics were forced very haphazardly into the tune which detracted somewhat from the performance. Even more unfortunately, the singer finished his repertoire by bouncing up and down on his heels and clapping wildly with his palms together like an excited school-girl.

Most unfortunate of all was the fact that the valiant piece of foam that had done such sterling work finally chose that moment to give up on its impossible task and dripped to the floor, leaving Colonel Toenjes on screen in all his… glory.

The picture froze and thankfully for all concerned Jay Dubya had the presence of mind to clear it from the screen before he did anything else. Glaring at Mac, he said simply, “OK, Talk.”

Mac paused and made a show of considering the request. “Well, as an audition tape for Mecha Galaxy’s Got Talent it leaves a lot to be desired. He may get some of the sympathy vote but I doubt he’ll make the final ten.”

Jay Dubya exploded. On his feet, knuckles pressing on the desk as he lent forward towards the pilot in front of him, he let out a tirade.

“Can the horseshit Mac! Fuller wants full disclosure and an apology, which is a damn sight better than Toenjes who wants you shot! This little gem,” he gestured at the darkened screen, “was uploaded to all BBB channels and the Exiles personal net! Fuller spent all morning fielding irate comm calls. Silverhawk and Guhswa went ballistic. Mainer was so fracking livid that his girls saw it that he couldn’t even make the call himself! He had to get Jessica to make it for him, which was even worse because she apparently spent half the call giggling! Zeon got hold of a copy somehow and uploaded it to the web where it’s gone viral with over a squillion hits! And now the hacks from A.N.N. want to do a full in depth article while the Galaxy Gathering muppets want him for their next calendar!” He was panting by the end of it.

Mac rubbed the end of his nose and crossed his legs, brushing some imaginary lint of his coveralls in the process. “That’s the first time I’ve seen it boss,” he said neutrally.

“Bull!” his C.O. shot back.

Mac shrugged, and indicated the screen. “When was it recorded?”

“Huh? Last night, our time according to the Colonel,” Dubya responded, perplexed at the relevance of the question.

Mac’s face pulled into a slight smile. “So a rest day during Clan War,” he stated. “So you already know it wasn’t me… and so does every member of the Heroes.”

Jay Dubya opened his mouth to speak again, but Mac raised a hand to forestall him.

“T minus 2 days, beat the comms nets and rustle up your honor guard. T minus one day, search the web for pre-war sales and hassle the suppliers for their best deals. Strip and tune your mechs, check your load-outs and make sure the new kit is synching properly. Shake out your formations and do you final test runs against your clan mates. Come out faster, meaner and a damn site more dangerous than you were last time. Fight a day, rest a day, fight a day, get more guards.” He dropped his hand. “Boss, for eleven days of the month, the toys get put away in the cupboard and you get a consummate professional. It’s the same basic drill you taught us both over a year ago,” he said gesturing to Kev who nodded in agreement. “I don’t deviate from it, never have. It’s probably the one reason why you guys put up with my ‘horseshit’ for the rest of the month.”

“He’s right boss,” put in Kev. “I’ve even seen him cut all comms links and set up auto-sentry guns around his hanger to make sure he doesn’t get disturbed. Even the General commented on how he’d come out with a vengeance that time. If the General calmed down and thought about it for a minute, he’d know it wasn’t Mac,” then added as a truthful afterthought, “this time…” and glanced over at Mac apologetically.

Jay Dubya considered what had been said for a moment, then relaxed and sat down. He sighed, “Yeah, I believe you. Just for the record, I take it you’ve got something a bit more concrete I can show Fuller?”

“Not that you should need it,” commented Mac pointedly, “but that sounds around the time I was taking practice runs against Kev and Skoob, so you’ll have the cockpit telemetry.”

“Yeah, I’ll pull it up if I need it,” Jay Dubya shook his head, not looking forward to the call-back to their Clan Chieftain that had to be made, then added hopefully, “there’s nothing else at all you can add to what I can tell him?”

Mac chuckled. “What, you mean you’d like me to give you an ‘expert opinion’?” he said, fingers making quotation signs. Then he was all business. “Sure. Your culprit is a technically adept amateur, not a grifter.”

The others looked at him questioningly before he continued. “A grifter’s motive is first and foremost profit. If it doesn’t make a profit, or safeguard against loss, or at least give you a better placement to do either of those two in the future, it’s not worth the effort. Take that stunt with Fuller’s coffee last week. I at least pointed out to you that by carrying out that scam at the correct time you could turn an advantage and possibly lead to us netting a better prize pack, yes?”

They nodded at the recollection and Mac continued, gesturing to the blank screen. “That video should have been money in the bank. Set up as pay per view. I could have retired happy from the money I would have made from Zeon alone. Charging even a single niode per view… hell, even crystal would have kept me happily in mechs, gear and weapons for years to come. And that’s only within the mecha community… think of the revenue that could be gotten for a vid like that from certain… um… connoisseurs. If that’s the right word for them.”

Kev didn’t catch on and looked blank, but Jay Dubya certainly went there in his head and regretted it instantly.

“Um, look, thanks for that” then added, “The info, not the mental image. Anything else you can add before I make that call?” But he had noticed the pilot had gone quiet and distant, seemingly off in a world of his own for some reason. “Mac? MAC!”

Mac started back to the present and took a few seconds to focus back on his surroundings. His eyes narrowed and he glanced around sharply, paying extra close attention to shadowed areas and corners.

“Something just occurred to me,” he murmured. Then, looking over at the senior pilot he asked, “Kev, can you do me a favor and keep watch outside? I promise, I’ll fill you in as soon as I can.”

Both the pilot and the C.O. looked questioningly at him but he remained silent, so Kev looked over to his commander for approval.

Jay Dubya tilted his head to one side, wondering what could be that important. He glanced at Kev and nodded, waiting silently for the former to take his station outside.

It was only once the door latch had given an audible click that Mac spoke again. “You might want to delay that call and send this by a niode gate drone… its more secure.”

Jay Dubya frowned. “What about the cost?” Gate drones were very rarely used except by big business, governments and the military. The niode expenditure for a self-contained package that small was prohibitive enough, let alone the gate transit costs.

Mac shrugged, his voice oddly devoid of expression. “Your call, sometimes it’s better to know you’ve paid for the added security. Decide after we’ve talked.”

The C.O. raised his eyebrows. This was definitely not characteristic behavior for Mac. “Ok, what’s on your mind.”

Mac voice was low and careful, as if his inflection was intended to ensure there was no confusion about what he had to say next. “It occurred to me it could be a long con… you know, the one where the profit is an advantage later on down the track, generally for a much bigger payoff?”

Jay Dubya shook his head. “Uh, no, not really following.”

Mac waved his hand as if to clear the air and start afresh. “Ok, a short scam is like cheating at cards or selling a fake. Short time span, relatively small return. It’s the kind of thing you do to make ends meet if you are living hand to mouth. The long scam takes longer to set up and is more elaborate, but the end payout is the kind that you can retire off, or at least live the high life for a few years. Things like Ponzi schemes, yes?”

“I’ll take your word for it, but I get the gist. Keep going,” motioned the C.O.

“So far I’d been looking at it from the point of view of a prankster… a chance to piss off Fuller, embarrass Toenjes, yes?” He searched his commander’s face to make sure he hadn’t lost him.

.”Go on...” Jay Dubya nodded

“Instead, let’s look at it if it had worked. The first one about the coffee. Fuller goes berserk and tries to retaliate against one of ‘my’ pranks, that much was predictable. He succeeds, nukes us, ends up behind bars or worse. As a by-product, you end up as radioactive ash. Now add in a seemingly unrelated incident of somebody putting the snatch on Dave Linton. What are you looking at?” He paused to allow the question to sink in, then carried on by answering himself.

“We’ve lost our chief, our next two most experienced clan leaders and over twenty percent of our forces,” he counted the points off on his fingers. “The Colonel would most likely be out of action trying to get Fuller out of the clink, leaving who in charge? Your replacement in H2, who’s been in that slot for less than a month.”

Jay Dubya’s eyes went wide at the implications of the picture Mac had painted. “Wheew…” he blew out. “Yeah, that would take us out of action. But I don’t get where this stuff with the Colonel would fit in?”

Mac tilted his head to the side slightly as he considered. “I said before it looked like an amateur? Let’s look at it from a point of view of being rushed instead, hmm? Their first plan didn’t work, so they’ve substituted this one. The net result is that Toenjes is in lock down and Fuller is doing full time damage control and PR. It’s a fast and dirty trick, but at the moment it’s still effectively neutralized our command team,” he stated.

Jay Dubya pursed his lips as he considered what he had heard. “Ok, I’ll buy that theory… I think Fuller will too, it looks too much like an attack on the Heroes to ignore it as a possibility. So what’s our next move?”

Mac shrugged and shook his head. “The honest answer is I don’t know. I need to test our security and find out how the hell they are getting in and out to do this stuff.” He gave a mirthless smirk. “I can take a few guesses in general about what their next moves could be though.”

Expecting Mac to carry on, the C.O. let the silence grow until he gave up and impatiently inquired, “And?”

The pilot looked at his commander square in the eyes. “They’ll make a move on you. You’re next in the command line. I don’t know how, but at least you know to watch your back.” Mac paused to allow that news to sink in, then carried on.  “Since they didn’t get Linton, they may try for Pit stop and take H2 out of the game… I don’t know…” He threw his hands up in frustration, then suggested, “Maybe get Big Col from the Heavy Brigade to take his mechs over there and do a ‘surprise inspection’. That would get them all on their toes and give them some experience and heavy support in place at the same time.” It wasn’t much, but at least it was the start of an action plan.

Jay Dubya sucked his teeth as he considered, then commented distastefully, “So what you’re saying is I get a big fat target on my back? Nice.”

Mac looked over in the direction of the door. “Bring Kev into the loop. You know he’s reliable.”

“Yeah,” the C.O. agreed, then inquired, “What about you?”

For the first time since they had been alone, Mac’s grin was back. “With all due respect Sir, I intend to be standing as far away from you as I possibly can.” He started to haul himself out of the chair and stopped short of letting go of the armrests. “I’ll get word back as and when I can.”

Seeing the pilot heading for the door, Jay Dubya called, “Send Kev in as you go out will you?” Then as an afterthought that pulled the pilot up short just as his hand was reaching for the doorknob, he asked, “Oh, and Mac? How do I know I can trust you?”

Mac glanced back over his shoulder and smirked.

“Your eleven days aren’t up yet.”










Submitted by David McCallum# 701548

Monday, April 27, 2015

CW Report By Andrew Pope#767307

It is with a heavy but still beating heart that I report , the last of a short tenner , is written and submitted. Smurf Camp leadership had fallen victim to something that could not be answered , the leadership and a couple of the crew had left on a mission to who knows where weeks before CW was posted , no-one could see the problem that was about to raise its ugly head .

They had been missing for weeks now , no communication , not a squeak or a squark , nothing the com's had been dead ... maybe , just maybe , they just weren't coming back !!!! Things had to be organized there was a scrap around the corner and the pilots needed their assignments, the garage needed straightening out, dead wood needed to be trimmed, wonder why that term get's used? Must be a throwback thing cause I havent seen a tree round these parts for years , well not one that was made of REAL wood anyways LOL.

If this was going to happen then wheels needed to be put in motion NOW , so that it could get organized in time. Com's went out and access code where changed , out with the old in with the new, and with this change came a renewed  sense of worth , I sense that things could be achieved , and so it began the process of reorganizing .

This first go around was going to be hard , a newly formed group that was still working out who and what fitted where , and how the pilots rolls would play out, and for the most part everything went to plan. Bronze isn't bad seeing as 2 weeks previous they had been sitting in different garages let alone different tables , but it formed a resolve to do better.

So their first real test as a coherent group was on the horizon, plans were formed, the ranks where bolstered and organized , there was a buzz about the garage that had been absent for too long, that feeling that victory is in the air.

And so it started round 1 went as planned , rumours had been heard that the exiles where having problems mobilizing their forces , mechanical issues or control problems , but either way it was not for Camp to worry on but there to be taken advantage of . The fight was fought and Camp came out the other side victorious, but for 1 small detail which had been in the back ground from the start, the highest grade pilot in the bunch had gone MIA , his mech set on auto def , he had still made a contribution but is push came to shove then this might come back to haunt the group.

Round 2 went much smoother , everyone was firing on all cylinders , except the big guy , why the no show? Def is better than nothing but camp would take activity over absence any day. By the time the sun was only just past its zenith things had played out round two was in the bag, save a miracle for the opposition, which was not to be. So round three was looming , com's where a buzz , we really could do this , going for gold was not just a veiled hope but it had substance , mechs where shuffled orders given , but still that nagging trouble of an absent pilot.

Round 3 was everything that it had pro-ported to be , both sides in it to win it! As the screens lit up with attacks and counter attacks the score went nowhere in any ones favour, in fact there was never more than a heart beat between them for the whole event the 105th had show'd up too and they ment business.

Ultimately the difference was the absent pilot , his def wins kept the team in it but his attacks would have pushed Camp over the top, it had been a valiant effort all round, so damn close. Silver it is, which was no shabby achievement, but that what if was going to be there till the next event.

The leadership was going to be handed over after this event, this had only been a stop gap gig for this pilot and others had been groomed, that were more sorted for the job. This pilot would stick around for the next event, make sure it went as good if not better than the last, but new blood needs to be brought in to keep the living breathing thing that is this fine fighting unit alive.

A couple days later ... "What up guys, you're looking at me like i missed something. "

Sigh













Submitted by Andrew Pope #767307

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Metal Mamba Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

This is a crystal based missile system for levels 101 and up. It will cost you 2,600 Ferrite, 1,700 Bioptics, and 73 Crystal for one, or bulk buy 5 for 292 Crystal, limit of 40. It deals 74 straight damage, has a speed of 100, and the ability of Splash at 11%.

So far it is the heaviest hitting for straight damage of the crystal missile systems, as well as the fastest. Its ability even beats out the Niode based Omen Barrel which only has a Splash of 9%, so thus far it has one of the highest percentages for its ability to date across both Crystal and Niode systems. It goes without saying these are recommended for missile boat style mecha, such as the Ballista, Anubis, and even the Magnus. Yes you of course can put them on smaller mechas but the build bonus at those levels may not be higher than their heavier cousins. So when all is said and done, decent price, heavy hitter, and a rather high percentage comparatively speaking to the other missiles out there.













Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Northern Gale Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

A new limited Ice weapon is out folks called the Northern Gale. It is for level 20 and up pilots, costing 490 Ferrite, 330 Bioptics, and 31 Niodes. Bulk buy is an option here with 5 for 124 Niodes. At the time of this writing there are 336 out of 350 left. It does 54 straight damage, has a speed of 100, and features the abilities of  Crit-kill of 3%, and Slow of (4).

The damage is a point higher than the crystal ice weapon White Knight which is available for level 62 and up. Speed is on par with the Winters Grasp weapon which is available for levels 101 and up. The abilities are a bit on the low end but still given the damage and speed on a low level ice weapon it is very workable. As usual mecha build stats,skill point allocation, and equipment load out will have an impact on your performance with this weapon. With all that said not a bad deal for the lower tiers really.









Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Some New Things We're Going for By Pat Willis#224534

Well folks yet another clan wars has come and gone, congrats to the winners, and better luck next time to the losers. Good luck to everyone in the current clone raid that is underway, and someone please capture and shoot Drake so he quits fouling up our galaxy with half wit clones. So what is new here at G.G.? Well obviously our comics section (many thanks to Steve Ross for his creations), as well as our niodes for quality comments promotion. For those not familiar with it, all you do is leave a comment of merit in the comments section under said posting as well as your player ID# and you can get a niode or two for it. (limit 20 per week) It has to be more than, "I like this post", "this post sucks" kind of thing. A few sentences saying what you do or do not like about it and viola we pay you once a week. (Should be noted this is set up for Face book users at present.)

What we are looking at adding is Clan emblems to our pages. To submit such you would have to PM me your actual clan emblem (Not fantasy or made up for the hell of it.) on FB along with your user ID#, and name to get proper credit for the submission. Much like the comics section I will start a page strictly for the clan emblems, and emblems only to be proudly displayed here on the site along with all the others who submit such. The goal is to get all the clans included eventually so that all may have a visual representation on site. And there you go it's that simple. Please decide what your emblem will be if you remake it and who will submit it so we avoid double postings of the same clan. Also please specify which clan within a larger clan family said emblem is for to avoid any confusion. Thank you all for your time and happy hunting.










Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Friday, April 24, 2015

Y-31 Phaser Review By Pat Willis#224534

A new Niode based laser weapon for pilots level 8 and up, which will cost you 350 Ferrite, 350 Bioptics, and 17 Niodes for one. Bulk buy is an option here with 5 for 68 Niodes, but be warned at the time of this writing there are only 41 out of 350 left. It does 35 straight damage, with a speed of 101, and the abilities of 2X Damage at 3%, and Precision of (4).

So what we have here is a fast selling, low pilot level niode laser with decent abilities, and a hell of a good price tag. The speed is comparable to the Scion Beam which is a crystal based laser for levels 98 and up, and the damage is one point over the Veridian beam crystal laser which is for levels 36 and up. So right there in just standard speed and damage potential this weapon is well above and beyond its crystal cousins. As always make sure you are smart as to what mecha you equip it on, pay attention to build bonuses, skill point allocation, and equipment load out to get the best usage from this weapon.








Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

The Fall of Facility 7 By Joshua Bourne #702128

The year was 3295, Bismarck had just been driven back from this Universe once again and this time for good. The hand picked Mecha Pilots that gave their lives besieging the Palace made sure of that. Now all that remains is rubble and spare parts..... Blood and Ferrite everywhere.... Flags torn and burning around the final bastion. However, something didn't sit well with the Clan Leaders as the rest of their Comrades were celebrating a hard earned victory. The infamous Doctor Drake Novum had once again escaped their grasp. They were at a loss as to where he could be. Whether he was still on the planet or on the other side of the Galaxy. They didn't know of his location. Apart from one.....

Leader Silver Hawk knew the whereabouts of the Doctor and had made a deal with him... For the prevention of the Exiles becoming clones, he is granted Asylum. However, the Doctor has other plans for them......

The moment he was able to get away from his new found "Allies", he fled to a secret Production Facility in which the Bismarck mechs were created. These great, hulking brutes shook the ground beneath their very feet. Their weapons blowing holes through pure rock like it was just a piece of paper. Their height towering over any mech before it. From this hidden Facility, he was able to use all the resources to make enough to raid the nearby areas. The closest of these was one that is close to his heart indeed. This Facility was under the control of Yomi Reefs, a very powerful Pirate Leader. The most powerful in all the Galaxy. This Facility is one of the few that isn't in control of the Authorities, and capable of being able to construct the most devastating Projectile mech the Galaxy has ever seen. The Antithesis. Drake new that this mech was vital if he was to ever fight all the Clans in one force. This meant seizing the Facility before the Authorities found out where he was.

Under the cover of darkness, the shelling started. Bombardment after bombardment hit the outer grounds, detonating patrolling Mechas and Pirates alike. Within minutes, the outer walls were breached and the Facility was in the midst of being overrun by these new mechs. Yomi on the other hand, had different plans. whilst the carnage outside of the Facility kept them busy, he suited up, ready to fight off this new threat. He blasted his way through the wall and fired one shot from his Vadhar in the left Fist, crippling his target. Drake heard the sound. The sound of his own weapon.... his own mech!

Within moments, the onslaught had been stemmed. Stemmed by a single, skilled Mecha pilot, using the weapons of his own opponent against him. Although, there is one thing that Yomi didn't know about his mech. That Drake could activate its countermeasures and power it down. Power down his own mech and rendering it useless to retake it when the pirate scum had been ridden from the vicinity. Yomi climbed out of the hatch of the Antithesis and looked out at the Facility around him. What was a calm, organized Production site is now a smouldering wreck. Everywhere other than the Facility itself. The Facility remained near intact. He soon realized that this was what he came here for. Not to rid him from the sector, but to claim the Facility for his own.

Yomi looks down at his Navi-console, his men were scattered all over the area. Mechas brightening up the midnight sky with their burning wrecks. Fire spewing from Ignis' inferno and other manner of items. Support craft were on their way but they would be useless against such an attack. He realizes he needs to fall back, leaving the bounty of the Facility and all its secret materials behind.

As they draw closer, a light blinks on the map, slowly followed by another, then another, until there were multiple signatures on the map, all within the Facility at crucial points. Generators, hangers, weapon bays, ammunition stores. All of them having one of these signatures within them. He raises his communicator to his mouth and activates the system. "I need immediate extraction. Bravo Three, lock onto my signal." There was a slight pause then, "Affirmative Commander Reefs. E.T.A 30 seconds. Prepare for immediate pickup." Yomi breathes a sigh of relief as he prepares himself to move out. The time ticks away slowly, the creaking of metal, the burning of promethium and the crashing of buildings.

Then, like an angel from the Heavens, Bravo Three flew down with its bay doors open, awaiting Yomi to move in. He makes no hesitation and runs straight in, continuing to run until he makes it to the cockpit. "Get us out of here Duke. This is not where we die." He simply replies with a nod and they are send straight up, the remaining survivors scrambling for their evac craft. Through the Vox systems around the Facility, he relays his voice. "Doctor Novum... You may have destroyed my force, but we can rebuild...." There is a short moment of silence before he continues with his statement. "How difficult is it to rebuild this..... Facility...." Within moments, the Facility goes up like a powder keg. The building detonating, sending pieces all over the surrounding area. the force knocking back mechs and remaining walls. Drake curses Yomi's name up to the sky but it is to no avail. He had escaped and destroyed one of the true wondrous Facility of this Age. Drake will just have to go to more desperate needs to fight his War..... The war.... Of the Ages!













Submitted by Joshua Bourne #702128

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Jack Myers #396694 Post Clanwar Interview With Brian Paternaude #351800

Welcome ladies and gentlemen and fans of mayhem and carnage.  Today I have with me Brian Patenaude, one of the members of the Black Star Lycan Rangers.  Thanks for speaking with us Brian.  could I get your player ID please?

Thank you Jack. I am honored to be here, and to represent my clan brothers and sisters of Black Star (Lycan Rangers My player  i.d. is 351800)

Congratulations on taking gold in division 5.  Must feel pretty good considering the AFF put together a clan with the sole intention of coming after you guys.

Yes. It is a great feeling. It was a team effort. We could not have done it without teamwork.  From an  unparalleled intelligence network, to the solid leadership, and hard work of our clan leader...to the diligence and dedication of all Rangers. Congrats to Silver Star AFF on a tough battle.

Over the past few months, specialty formations have become an integral part of the game.  It allows a lot of room for strategies, minimizing losses or maximizing defensive wins.  Do you have a favorite specialty formation that you like fighting with or against?

I always  had a passion for Triple Rainbow. It has a little more variety than unlimited, but still retains a strong kick of tonnage, and firepower. At first I did not like specialty formations. But now I have grown to enjoy them thoroughly. They bring more color, and dynamics to game-play and strategy.

I agree with that assessment.  What are your thoughts on the powers that be upgrading the winning prizes for division 4-7, mainly  the dreadnought as the prize mech over the smilodon?

Excellent. I saw some conversation over the topic. To expand mid division prizes. I am glad to see that much needed facet of the prize structure  come to fruition. I would like to see the same structure in KOTM as well.

Are there any other ideas or dreams that you would like to see implemented that could further expand the play of the game?

The one thing that has come to mind again, and again... from 1rst level almost two years ago, to level 86 present day...is a definitive "instruction manual" if the term pleases you. Stating basic rules for new players, to stats, and calculation formulas, ability limits, etc. for the advanced player.

that would make things a lot easier for the players that like to go solo, or prefer to learn the game alone rather than clanning it up.  What are your thoughts on increasing the minimum clan size for a clan war to 9 or 10 since clans can hold 16 now?

Honestly, that's a tough one. To be completely impartial, I would have to say on one hand I like the diversity of a 16 player limit. But on the flip side, it makes it harder for fledgling clans to gain a strong enough foothold. In order to gain the momentum needed to attract more players to said clan. Whether those players be beginners or veterans. I think I'll have to leave that one up to the house.

I was thinking more along the lines of with a 9 or 10 player minimum for clan wars, with 6 specs it would still leave a substantial role for unlimited lineups, but you are on point about making it tougher for newer clans to get and attract the players they need.

Once again, congratulations on your win this war and thank you for taking the time speak with us.  Will see you in the officers club shortly for a celebration.  First round is on me brother.

Very good sir! Thank you for your time as well. See you at the O.C. Boiler Makers all around.











Submitted by Jack Myers #396694 & Brian Paternaude #351800

To Victory By Joshua Bourne#702128

Hello everyone. I am here as members of my Clan believe that I have some way with words that they seem to like. What I will do, for my first post, is the post I submitted to my Comrades and see what you all think of it. Then I will take on the comments, criticisms and then write from there. I do hope that you all enjoy reading this

May I be the first to congratulate you all on achieving Bronze. We got some good loot out of this endeavor. Now we need to turn our attention to the new threat on the horizon. The mad Doctor has taken refuge in this System and has activated the old Factory systems. Every day, countless mechs roll out, piloted by.... "us".... This must stop. All the Clans have Banded together to defeat this threat and it is us Aces that lead the charge. FORWARD MEN! TO VICTORY!









Submitted by Joshua Bourne#702128

Jester's Dead By Steve Ross#162076











Submitted by Steve Ross#162076

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Jack Myers#396694 Post Round 2 Interview With RW Peugh#694692

Welcome ladies and gentlemen and fans of mayhem and carnage.  My name is Jack Myers and I am here with one of the combatants of the Black Star Lycan Rangers , RW Peugh.  Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.  To start with can I get your player ID?

Thanks for having me,  My player ID is 694692.

Congratulations on your round 2 victory over the brotherhood-black watch.  The Rangers have been, quite dominant this clan war. holding both their opponents so far to under 10 victories.  But with Round 3 looming on the horizon, and a clan put together with the intention of wiping out the Black Star Lycan Rangers,  how is the feeling around the Rangers camp knowing that the Silver Star Destroyers(aff) are coming after you?

The Lycan Rangers are feeling strong.  We have put in the time in the  hangers and on other battle fields to craft the most powerful team possible.

It is showing.  The Black Star Family has become a well respected coalition in mecha galaxy, and deservedly so.  You all have put a lot of time and effort into becoming a formidable fighting force.  Do you have a favorite specialty formation that you like using or facing?

I like to run a Red Ant formation, It is a blast watching the little guys run around the field.  Sadly everyone has a good Ant formation these days, so I have switched to a Triple Rain formation.  It has worked well for me.  Plays to my strength and stops the people that have huge formations of a single strong Mech.

That it does.  The AFF has been the largest coalition of clans for a long time and have had a lot of success.  They have been putting together clans and targeting single clans that have been winning consistently.  Seems this war they have targeted Zeon and the Black Star Lycan Rangers. Do you have a special game plan for them?

The game plan at Black Star has always been the same.  Do not play the opponents game make them play yours.  Work together as a team to discover weaknesses in each other, scout the opponents and take advantage of there faults, and keep a cool head.  Once the guns start blazing you have to stick to your game plan and trust your team mates to do the same.

It has been working well for you, that's for sure.  I thank you for your time RW and best of luck in your round 3 fight vs Death's Silver Star Destroyers

Thanks for talking to me today Jack.  Got to run, looks like I have a Dread on my 6!











Submitted by Jack Myers#396694 & RW Peugh#694692

Donald Alligood #201365 Post Round 2 Interview With Steve Ross #162076

Good day ladies, gents and fans of mayhem and madness. I'm Donald Alligood, here today with one of the fighter's in the ZEON battle lines. With me I have a Zeon combatant of some standing, Steve Ross. Steve, thanks for your time today.

Not a problem Don, happy to be on the interviewee end for a war.

Congratulations on your big victory over Slaughterhouse 5.  I know everyone wants to know, hows confidence in the Zeon camp knowing that brethren has come down from div 3 to battle you guys in div 4

Yeah, it was a welcome surprise to be honest. I think a lot of our guys were starting to get frustrated at the stagnant same old same old in our division; That's not to take anything away from our opponents. They have all given us a nose bleed. Heroes were a new step up and acquitted themselves beautifully. Death's Breth's are known to us from past encounters, so this is going to be an uphill scrap all the way, but if any one can drive home the nails in their regard I'd say we're the guns for the gunfight right here.

I agree with that.  Definitely a worthy challenge.  So do you have a favorite specialty formation that you like fighting against or with?

Heh! I have a squad to suit all spec cats, but I do like the 1100's or the main forms. I've invested quite a bit in the 10 tonners lately as they're showing up more and more, but I think as a class the 10's are a hide away for cowards once you get beyond level 60 or so.

Zeon has become a fan favorite,  How proud does that make you and the rest of the colony droppers?

Proud? That doesn't touch it for me. I daresay it's the same for us all. We do our best, put on a show, and lay on a buffet and beers for an encore. Zeon are as hard a bunch of mo' fo's as you'll find for our level and beyond. There has been no finer time to be in this game as my time here in ZEON. Great guys and selective recruitment. We're all close friends and live the life. Arguments, laughs, the whole shooting match.
Proud? That and much more.

I agree Sir.  I thank you for your time.  I will meet you in the officers quarters soon so we can get a special colony ready to drop on Brethren.  Best of luck to you and the rest of the Zeon Clan in round 3.  one more thing, I need your player ID

Is that it? Okey dokey dude. Keep your pecker hard and your powder dry bro. I'll get first round in. Play it smart and play it cool. This will be our toughest yet. Good luck to all in the war, and a big salute to our boss T.J. who had his birthday recently. Player i.d. is: 162076. Vice Admiral Ross out!










Submitted by Donald Alligood #201365& Steve Ross #162076

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Blast And Brew By Clay Anderson #697896

It's the final fight of the latest  war and here at the Blast and Brew the vids screens scream with the flash of lasers and the rending of metal tearing and melting. All in a days work for the jocks in those massive metal forms. But as exciting as the heavies are there's something about watching the pilots of those 10 ton wads of tinfoil dance, those machines knowing they don't have the luxury of tons of armor to protect them that the next hit or the first hit could be the last hit. But they seem to be a dying breed as everyone clamors for more firepower the skilled warriors quietly fade into the past.

So we here at the Blast and Brew in an effort to keep the interest in them alive come on in and rent some vid time and the brews on us, if it's to watch a lighter match not only is the Brew on us but we will throw in a freshly grilled Snav Steak. So come on down get blasted while watching The last Fight of the war see how your bets are doing, you watch the fight we will watch your creds.














Submitted by Clay Anderson  697896

An Opinion Piece By Ron Frye#879655

WARNING DISCLAIMER: This post contains language that may be offensive

SGT RON'S OPINION

Over the past few days I have seen an awful lot of complaining, back stabbing, (and pardon my language here, but) too much bitching and moaning about problems with the game and with the comments others are making about it. I sat here and watched and read all this crap. I absorbed the information behind the issues. In other words, I took it like a man.
Now, I realize there are problems with the game.

1. The prize ratios in the wars are out of whack.
2. Skill point rewards are not equal to the effort made to get them.
3. Leveling is not an incentive, because it is easier to turtle up and farm.
4. And a hundred other small issues.

I have a few questions though.

1. Did you write this game, any other game, or do you have the skills to do so?
2. Have you come up with a way to fix the problems you have?
3. Do you just complain about the issue and then log off with no resolution?
4. Have you ever written a well worded message to Chef asking about the problem, or do you just post here in the forums and watch everyone else whine about it with you?

Some folks are going to call me a brown nosing kiss ass for saying what I am about to say, but honestly, I couldn't give a shit. I live in a wheel chair and spend my existence online in a digital world. What the hell are you going to do, beat me up and put me in a wheel chair? If you don't like what I am about to say, piss off.

Chef hasn't done the best job with some of these issues, but it is HIS fracking game. If there are issues that go unresolved then the dev's and Chef will go head on about it I am sure. If you have a problem with the game and you sincerely feel that Chef isn't doing anything about it, then stop playing and go join some other game that kisses your butt and changes your panties for you when they get into a knot. NOW, with that being said, if you have a problem you want resolved, try writing a well worded message to Chef with the complaint and a suggested SOLUTION to the problem, instead of just bitching about it.

I have had several small issues in game, and each time I wrote the powers that be and each time they responded. The response wasn't always what I was hoping for BUT they took it seriously and they gave a sincere explanation of the whys and why not's. So, in closing, instead of just posting a bitch session in the making, or responding to a post with insults, curses and foul names, do something constructive or just save us the aggravation of the post and go punch a tree or something.

I apologize if this post is insulting to some of you, but it was necessary. And as a side note, Joel Parras, I like your posts, they don't just complain about a problem they give the way to fix it as well.

Signed,
Sgt Ron Frye,
US Army, Medically Retired for injuries sustained in combat
Iraq theater, Operation Iraqi Freedom
July 17th, 2003










Submitted by Ron Frye#879655

Monday, April 20, 2015

Clan Wars Jack Myers#396694 Post Round 1 Interview With Mark Wiseman#12304

Good day ladies and gents.  This is Jack Myers and I am here with one of the Black Star Lycan Rangers, Mark Wiseman.  How is everything going today Mark and congratulations on your big win in round 1

Who's this, "Mark," person? I'm SPAAACE-GHOOOST!

lol, Same question Spaaace-Ghooost.  lol

Today, everything is right in the universe: Batman's back in the Asylum, Brak's out harvesting crystals, Zorak and Moltar are in the studio working on the next radio show, and I'm out floating through space, thinking deep thoughts.

Yeah, we won. The other team didn't even show up to fight. I scored two points for them - so I was their best player.

So tell me Space Ghost, the AFF, arguably the largest, by far, family of clans in the mecha galaxy has put together a clan with the sole intention on beating your black star lycan rangers.  What are your thoughts on that?

Last time I watched the movies, the Empire lost: Star Destroyers were dropping like flies. 'Course, there was death and destruction all around, but I've already "crossed over" to the other side, so-to-speak. So, it's not really much of a concern for me, at this point. I mean, try keeping Zorak out of the coffee sugar in the break-room, then you'll have something to worry about.

lol,  I see your brimming with confidence.  Always good to see.

Well, not exactly. You see, I can't beat anyone on Death's Silver Star Destroyers - I don't think. But, I'm guessing about half of them won't be able to beat my 35-ton Specialist line-up either. I'm not a heavy hitter on the Lycan Rangers - just doing my part to "hold the line," wherever possible.

So what are your thoughts on specialist formations and betting?

Specialist formations are great! It adds a lot of variety to the game. Of course, I'm not the mastermind behind the scenes who has to plan and account for how all of these match-ups may or may not turn out, so that's easy enough for me to say. But, if it spreads out the prizes, I'm all for it. The last thing anyone likes is to run into a clan which you know is totally unbeatable, because they've won every prize out there for the last year. At least it seems to increase some aspects of the competitions, in certain areas.

Are you concerned that the AFF may try to break Batman out of the asylum just to throw a wrench into the plans?

That's ALWAYS a concern. Just before round 1 started, they were able to sneak Batman out of his cage. We only discovered it because my 35-ton Spec. was thrown out of the line-up, after everything was locked-in. Only Batman has the technical expertise to be able to pull of something like that. We were barely able to flag down BCDC in time to get it fixed before the round started. It was a close call.

Thank you for your time Spaaace Ghooost.  In wrapping this up, is there any changes or ideas that you have that could enhance the game play and make it more enjoyable?

There's just one thing people in Mecha Galaxy need to keep in mind these days, with all of these clones running around:

Wherever you go, there you are.

And your clone may or may not be there as well.

lol.  Thanks again brother.  Will see you in the officers quarters soon

Or, will it be my clone?










Submitted by Jack Myers# 396694 & Mark Wiseman#12304

Clan Wars 3295 Interview By Donald Alligood#201365 With David Guipre#45052

Good day ladies and gents.  I'm Donald Alligood , here today with one of the warriors in Zeon's lineup, David Guipre.  Thanks for your time today David

Thank you Donald

It's great to be here

I have been surprised by how many good battles we are going to have in this clan war.  especially divisions 4-6.  After all the cakewalks the past few wars what are your feelings about having a tough battle again this war

Looking forward to it, we need to stay sharp. This is a war we wanted especially against AFF.

Indeed.  It keeps the game fun.  How do you like the specialist aspects of the clan wars?

Its a needed change of pace can be frustrating, at times because of people can lock it up so tight you can't catch up. However that's fair its' like the crystal /niode difference.

Very true.  What do you think of the betting aspects of the game?

Hey we all need a shot at the Lotto with odds that are better lol.

Yea, it makes you more aware of possible future recruits or competition also.

Well I am In the middle of moving so I don't get to look that close at it.

Good thing we share and discuss things in the corp quarters all the time.  Well David, it has been a pleasure and so to wrap up, Is there anything new you can think of that could make the game better and more enjoyable for us all?

Yes a screen that warned us when we were about to erase a whole lineup, it would help silly mistakes, that I just made lol!! Have a good one, and AFF it will be fun.

lol.  True that brother.  Thank you for your time and I will see you in the officers club shortly

I'm buying.











Submitted by Donald Alligood #201365 interviewing David Guipre# 45052

Wonky Shocklite By Steve Ross#162076














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Submitted by Steve Ross#162076

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Tales From The Barracks Part 1, 50 Ways To Annoy Your Boss By David McCallum# 701548

Jay Dubya lent back in his chair, feet crossed and propped up on the desk. He regarded one of the two pilots standing In front of him with a distinctly cold appraisal.

“Well now,” he drawled, “Fuller and Toejnes finally got sick of your bull and kicked you out of Heroes Prime. And you Kev,” he stated, taking in the other pilot, “you managed to get yourself led astray by this ass wipe and earned the boot too, huh?”

The first pilot was drawing in breath to speak when Jay Dubya headed him off at the pass with a raised finger. “Don’t bother Mac,” he hissed. “Just don’t. I had enough the last time I was your C.O., and I do not need you pissing on my leg then trying to convince me it’s raining. Clear?”

Mac kept his face neutral, his eyes locked on his commander’s and paused. He nodded once.

The C.O. held his gaze a moment longer, then exhaled in exasperation. He could already feel a migraine coming on, and these two had only been on planet for fifteen minutes. He rubbed his temple in an effort to alleviate the nagging pain.

“Look guys, I seriously don’t need this. It’s a new battle group, we have less than a week to shake down and I’m already having to field complaints.” His tone was far more weary and resigned than angry, but he continued, just to make sure he had made his point. “Look, whoever came up with the bright idea to bake ex-lax into peanut cookies and leave them where Skoob could find them was bad enough, but tampering with the door controls on his Dilophus so it couldn’t be opened from the inside? That was just nasty.”

He shook his head and carried on. “And as for the bright idea of replacing all the coffee supplies at Prime base with decaf? It took three of them to pull Fuller away from the master fire control console and another two to sedate him… he was going to nuke us from orbit, just to make sure, and to hell with ‘friendly fire’ incident reports.”

He rubbed his face in his hands wearily. “I’ve brought up some pilots from H2. Those guys have done good work. They’ve earned their slot in this force. Kev? You’re supposed to be top dog now, so smarten the hell up and try and set some kind of example.” He turned his gaze back to Mac. “And you? Just stay the hell out of my sight. Dismissed.”

Kev threw a sharp salute and was already turning for the door when he realized that Mac was still staring down their commanding officer. With a warning look, he tried to tug his counterpart on the sleeve to pull him away, but Mac shrugged him off.

“No,” he whispered.

Jay Dubya swung his feet off the desk and sat bolt upright, his eyes drilling into those of the pilot in front of him. “I beg your pardon?” he growled dangerously.

“I said ‘no’, as in I’m not dismissed,” replied Mac quietly. “You’ve had your say, now I get to respond.”

The C.O’s eyes narrowed murderously, but Mac kept has gaze neutral as he spoke. “The next time you come at me with allegations of wrongdoing, especially when you haven’t a shred of evidence to back it up, you should bear in mind that there isn’t a pilot’s tribunal in the galaxy that wouldn’t back me up in calling you onto the honor field. Sir.”

Kev went white. Jay Dubya’s face went crimson and he leaned forward with his knuckles on the desk as he spat out, “Is that some kind of threat?”

Mac shook his head almost imperceptibly and carried on in low careful tones. “No, it’s my honest tactical appraisal of the outcome of a hypothetical course of action.” He held the C.O.’s gaze for about five seconds longer, then snorted. “Look Jay Dubya, I‘ve admired you since I joined H2. Neither Kev nor I would be the mech jocks we are if it wasn’t for your guidance. But for Pete’s sake, toilet humor and laxatives? Really? Seriously?” Mac shook his head in disgust.

Jay Dubya was still mad, but at least he had the good sense to reconsider things in light of that statement. “OK,” he conceded, “maybe the stunt with Skoob wasn’t up to your usual standards. But are you honestly going to try and tell me you knew nothing about the coffee switch?”

“No, I’m not,” replied Mac levelly. “I had a fair idea it was going down, which is why I took the precaution of safeguarding our collective behinds.”

He reached into his pocket and withdrew an ornate key attached to a length of chain, then flicked it across onto the commanders desk. “Fuller’s master fire control key. The real one, not the fake I left him with. He may need it back at some stage.”

Jay Dubya regarded the key for a moment, then glanced back up at the pilot. “You mentioned evidence just before,” he said gesturing to the object in question. “What would you call this then?”

Mac flashed a wintry smile. “I’d call it a sign of good faith. And I’d say it has enough purchasing power to buy some use of common sense on your part.” He snorted again and carried on. “Look, yes, it’s a stunt I had been looking at for a while. The problem with it was the way whoever it was executed it. Wasteful and amateurish. Far better to do it on the morning of a Gold medal battle… the only detail I hadn’t quite worked out was how to convince a caffeine starved addict in a berserker rage that the opposition were the ones that had stolen the real coffee.”

He allowed a few moments of quiet for the information to sink in and for the C.O. to consider it, then summed up the situation. “Look, I’m not going to say that you should trust me. That’s stretching the truth so far even I couldn’t pull it off convincingly. What I will say is that same as last time, you’re the boss and I’m on your side, OK?” then he paused and concluded, “Think it over.”

Jay Dubya obviously wasn’t happy, but he reached for the key and held it up by the chain, thinking through the options. “Fuller’s going to expect you to name names,” he stated. “Especially when it comes to important crap like his coffee supplies getting tampered with.”

Mac shook his head. “Can’t,” then he corrected himself, “sorry, won’t.” He held up a hand to forestall the incoming objection. “Same rules apply… just because I know something is going down doesn’t mean I have concrete proof of who’s responsible.”

With that he turned and headed for the door, ushering Kev out in front of him. They were out into the corridor and at least twenty foot away from the closing door before Kev whispered intensely, “Seriously, I do not want to get involved in this kind of crap. Especially not when you damn near call the Boss out for a duel!”

“Relax Kev,” smiled Mac. “It’s not like either of us were going to let that happen. The Boss is too much of a professional to let either of us get killed or hospitalized this close to a war.”

Kev looked dubious. “That doesn’t mean you have to provoke him though. And I mean, c’mon, tampering with Fuller’s coffee. That’s crazy even by your twisted standards.”

Mac glanced sideways at his companion and tutted. “You wound me Kev. Like I said, that wasn’t me. Think to yourself, ‘who is likely to wind people up for no material gain?’, hmm?”

Kev had half opened his mouth before his brain caught up and the possibility had dawned on him that his fellow pilot was actually telling the truth. Which admittedly was a stretch because the sure sign that Mac was taking somebody for a ride was that his lips were moving.

“Leg-Humper Eric?” Kev queried and Mac nodded in acknowledgement.

“Yup,” he confirmed. “I simply took advantage of the situation he created. I needed a reason to have that key so I could return it to Jay Dubya and validate my innocent credentials.”

Kev was starting to look confused. “So what about the stuff with Skoob and the laxatives?”

Mac shrugged. “Yeah, that was me. I needed to be called into the office so I had the opportunity to hand the key back.”

Kev looked aghast. “That was just mean! And you lied to Jay Dubya! You said it wasn’t you!”

“Point of order old chap,” Mac put in, wagging a finger in his companions direction as they walked. “I did not force feed those biscuits to Skoob, he gutsed them down of his own volition. And secondly, if you recall I did not at any stage outright deny that I had made said biscuits, nor that I had tampered with the door controls.”

Kev looked at his companion in disbelief and shook his head. “So let me get this straight… You let leg-humper mess with Fuller’s coffee and risk us getting nuked, just so you could steal the key so you could hand it to Jay Dubya to prove that you hadn’t done anything, including the shit that you actually did do deliberately to get called into his office so you could hand back the key to prove you were innocent?”

Mac beamed at him and patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Exactly!” he exclaimed, “You’re getting good at this!”

“WHY!” Kev wailed, almost in tears of exasperation.

Mac looked at him blankly as if the answer was obvious. “So I had a legitimate reason to be in his office of course.” Seeing Kev’s jaw drop, he continued by way of explanation. “How else was I supposed to get the opportunity to scope the place out so I can hack into the command channels on his terminal? You should have heard the news coming in from the tap I have in Fuller’s office before we shipped out…. Bounties on clones, rogue A.I.s, pilots getting accosted in the street and forcibly harvested of genetic material… there’s far too much going on in this Mecha Galaxy for me to be out of the loop.”

“Did it never occur to you to just ask Jay Dubya for a meeting?”

Mac waggled his eyebrows impishly. “Of course it did,” he replied. “But my way is more fun…”














Submitted by David McCallum # 701548

An Idea By Clay Anderson#697896

Just an Idea I have stated this numerous times before. We get all sorts of new gear mechs and weapons, Which don't get me wrong I love, love, love new toys. But Sometimes I feel this is at the expense of the new or lower leveled players who seem to get a few weapons here or there crumbs from ur larger cakes so to speak. What about every here and there throw in a new lighter mech.Maybe even a new 10 or 15 tonner something the newcomer can afford . Maybe even some new gear aimed at the lighter to middle tonnages . This just an idea  it may help keep some of those mid range people who get frustrated at not being able to afford the big toys . 













Submitted by Clay Anderson 697896

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Sgt. Rons Reviews By Pat Willis#224534 And Ron Frye#879655

Good morning Mecha fans everywhere, lately we have stared a program here on Galaxy Gathering where you can submit reviews on the works contained in our pages and get a few Niodes for the review you leave. Well as long as you leave your player ID# in the review and have more to say than, "Hey cool story." Well one of our writers here at Galaxy Gathering decided to provide us with in depth reviews on what he has read, and we here at G.G. thought we would feature him in his own review section here.So without further adieu I leave you in the very capable hands of Mr. Review himself, Ron Frye! Take it away Ron...

Sgt Ron's Story Reviews

Another Day at the Circuit Fights By Nick Quesadilla 871854

Nick Quesadilla is one of galaxy gathering's newest up and coming authors. He shows great promise and his stories are both entertaining and fast paced. His second story on the site is called Another Day at the Circuit Fights, and it gives us a glimpse of what it would be like to pilot a mecha in the circuits. In his usual style of mixing first person, diary entry style description, and real time action events, the presentation is a unique one and entirely his own. The finished product is a bit hard to follow at times and requires some rereading, and the dialogue is a bit stiff and blunt, but these are small obstacles that all authors encounter and must overcome as they polish their art and learn. Overall I found it to be a fun and enlightening read, and I recommend it to all. On the Sgt Ron scale of one to five stars, I give this a three with the hopes that we see some five star work from this author over the coming months.

Another new author to the site is Stuart Myshrall, and his first work is quite good for first go as well. Good work for a first try! I like it. One thing that I really like, is the fact that you made it a stand alone story that can be enjoyed without having to back track to find all the previous installments or waiting a week for the sequel. I am guilty of doing that, and I am just now moving into a mode where I can write stand alones without having to jump from scenario to scenario. The current tense is interesting, but a little stiff. You might want to try loosening up a bit. Hope the critique was helpful mate. I like the story.


Review of Nick Quesadilla's "My first mission",a good stand alone read, Nick Quesadilla's first work on the site is excellent for a first go. Nice stuff Nick! I like the combination of a sort of diary narration with the first person real time events occurring. Interesting style. It's a bit hard to read at points though. Maybe a little more detail to space it out would help. Hope my critique helps you mate. I like it, give us more!

Thank you Ron for those insightful looks at our new writers here at G.G. we do hope you continue to read as well as write for us for a long time to come!










Submitted by Pat Willis#224534 And Ron Frye#879655