Backtracking

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Zeratul2k
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Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » April 22nd, 2010, 6:03 am

I have a very active imagination which means I'm thinking about new stuff all the time. And I mean ALL the time. Whether I'm on the bus staring out the window or in the middle of class not paying attention, my brain is always working with plots, characters and worlds. Universes, even. I have this whole "persistent" universe all thought up inside of my head, but no clear way to write everything down, since it's just way too much and, some times, way too random. So I decided to create this thread to post things about this universe, like important events that have happened and affected it's current state, the main characters, the worlds they visit and their interactions.

To begin, this universe is mostly science fiction with some magic and psychic stuff woven in for good measure. There exists FTL (faster than light) travel and instantaneous communications, in the form of Hyperspace Jump Drives (for travel) and Subspatial Energy Transmission (for communication). HJD can only be used by spaceships heavier than 5000 tons and with enough structural strength, due to huge amounts of "turbulence" that would rip apart any other thing. Almost all devices in this universe uses electricity for power, generated by compact cold fusion reactors. The smallest of these reactors is of enough size and weight to be able to be used in passenger vehicles like cars and propeller planes. Anything that needs a smaller power source uses batteries or some other way of energy production.

I'll try to post something about the main characters on the next post, just so you know.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » April 22nd, 2010, 6:05 am

I forgot to mention, I won't even try to make these one-post stories sequential, just in case you people are wondering. Now, let's introduce the main dude, shall we? (And yes, the Daniel Hellwind from 5 Minutes is loosely based on this one. The General's name was right out taken from there, though that's the only similarity)

----

General Parker took a good look at the man standing in front of his desk. He was tall, dark-skinned, with short black hair and dark brown eyes, wearing the Special Drop Troopers officer's uniform. Strangely enough, he had both the Special Drop Troopers Infantry badge (a vertical hammer over a drop pod) and the Death Riders Combat Pilot badge (metallic wings with one sword vertically through each side). Parker looked down to the papers he had been handed, the man's CV, which was thicker than usual for someone his age.

"Colonel Hellwind? Daniel Hellwind?" he started, still wary that they may have sent the wrong person but not wanting to spend more time than necessary on the matter at hand.

"Yes, sir. Nice to finally meet you." Answered Daniel without moving, but with his eyes wandering all over the place.

"Do you know why you have been summoned here?"

"Does it have anything to do with the SDT Zeroth Battalion?"

"That's exactly right, yes." Parker made a pause while taking a folder from under Daniel's CV. "You have been selected to command it." He handed Daniel the folder, leaned on his chair and crossed his arms. He felt a huge weight lift from him as Daniel took the folder. It was finally off his hands, that waste of resources.

"Ah, so it's official now. I've been waiting for the higher ups to sign it for quite some time." Daniel smiled and opened the folder, skipping through the pages with a satisfied look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"The Zeroth Battalion is to be an exploratory and research force. That's why they assigned us an Independence Class Cruiser and several Justice Class Frigates."

"I didn't hear any of this!" Parker exclaimed, realizing that, somehow, Daniel had managed to create an independent battalion without him knowing.

"Oh, of course you did. Remember the last budget report of the Air Force?" Daniel made a short pause while closing the folder. "Oh right, you only read the Army ones. Still, the fact that the higher ups were pulling around 1000 Special Drop Troopers, plus pilots from the Death Riders and maintenance personnel to a new battalion didn't sound odd to you?" Parker slumped on his chair, defeated. Daniel was right, he SHOULD have noticed. "Anyway, I gotta leave. Planets to visit and stuff to do without you stiffs holding us down."

"Why, you..." Parker clenched his fists and jumped up, ready to attack out of anger, but Daniel had already turned around and headed towards the door. He opened the door and took a step out, but turned towards Parker before closing the door.

"But think of it this way, General, I just took from you what you something that kept troubling you, so it's a win-win situation. No hard feelings, OK?" And without waiting for an answer, Daniel closed the door, smiling amply.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » April 22nd, 2010, 6:06 am

"Sir, are you OK?" Asked EVE while looking down to Daniel, who was lying on the ground, looking at the sky with his rifle over his chest.

"You only need to look at me to know my vitals, yet you ask me that every time." He answered without moving.

"It's about your state of mind that I ask about, sir." EVE tilted her head, as if to allow Daniel to keep looking at the sky, but still keep her in his visual range.

"What makes you think I'm unwell?"

"You have been laying here for fifty four minutes, thirty two seconds. That's unlike you, sir." EVE tilted her head again and her long black hair fell, obscuring her face, but she didn't make any effort to push it out of the way.

"So, it's almost time now?" Daniel asked while putting the rifle aside and sitting up slowly. He then proceeded to dust himself off, taking his time while looking pleased with himself.

"Yes." It was the only answer EVE gave him as he finished standing up. She picked up the heavy looking weapon that Daniel had put aside and handed it to him. "So far, everything is as planned."

"Good to hear." Daniel took the rifle and took a few steps up the hill towards a crumbled wall, the only remains of what once was a house that sat on top of the hill. He put the rifle down carefully and assumed a shooting stance. EVE knelt next to him, looking in the same direction he had aimed. "I looked at you just a few minutes ago, and I could swear you looked like you were sleeping."

"I was, yes." She said without looking back to him. Daniel looked at her for a few seconds, thinking about what she had just said.

"Were you dreaming?" The question made EVE pause for a second, something unusual for her.

"I think so." She finally said. Daniel made another, longer pause, this time with a raised eyebrow. It was the first time he had a conversation like that with someone like EVE and was surprised to hear her answers.

"What do you dream about, EVE? I mean, what do Artificial Intelligences dream about?" He asked, still looking at her.

"We mostly reprocess our sensory inputs, looking for details we might have missed on primary processing, so it's more akin to remembering than to sleeping." She answered without moving, still looking down the mountain.

"You said 'mostly', that means you do something else." Again, EVE made a pause before answering. Daniel felt like he should stop the questions before he made her think too much.

"There are times when I see video sequences of events that aren't on my records. It's quite unsettling." She finally told him. For some reason, Daniel didn't feel as impressed as he thought he should feel, but he thought that could be easily explained by the fact that she looked like any other human female, from whom it wasn't weird to hear about having dreamed. But, for an AI... Suddenly, Daniel saw EVE blink twice in quick succession. "Target sighted, two thousand meters thirty five centimeters away, eighty three centimeters downward. Adjust for wind, eleven dot one kilometers per hour, forty degrees." Daniel flipped open the scope covers on his rifle and aimed, working the adjustment dials with his left hand until he could clearly see the person they were there for.

"Say, EVE." He said after chambering a round. "Tell me more about these dreams of yours."
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Elvin » April 23rd, 2010, 4:33 am

I have the whole "over imagination" thing too; before I noticed, I had 13 books worth of material in my head (maybe 12 now, since shutter island stole one of my ideas). It's then that I decided I wanted to become a writer :pif:

So I started taking one or two novel writing classes, and not only did they completely crush my confidence, they taught me how to read with a more critical eye as well (though it's always hardest to spot problems in your own work! It's your baby after all :sob: ). Seeing as how your normal classes don't hold your interest, you may want to consider a writing class if you're thinking about a career in universe creating D:

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Zeratul2k
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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » April 23rd, 2010, 4:42 am

Well, it's not that my classes don't interest me because I don't like what I'm studying. I mean, I LOVE what I'm studying. It's just that most of what we are being *taught* right now, I know already, so most of the time I'm just browsing the tubes, chatting or writing stuff, when the teacher asks me something thinking he caught me off-guard, just to have me answer in detail.

So, if I ever take a writing class, it'll be mostly as a hobby, not as a career.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Elvin » April 23rd, 2010, 5:50 am

In that case, it might be better if you don't, it might not be that fun anymore if you have your fun get taken apart by all of your classmates :omg:

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » May 17th, 2012, 7:54 am

Just got an idea (and time) for a short one. Hope you guys like it, since I spent quite a while trying to make it come out barely okay. I'm still not happy with the results, but it's much better than version 1.0.

----

Praetor Guluk stood in front of the Council, staring for a few seconds at the 74 alien representatives present. He had decided to come in person to talk about a very concerning event that had happened just 34 hours ago, special news of which had reached just him thanks to a mere coincidence. And he had come personally, all of himself, to place an emphasis on the gravity of the situation. He spoke softly and slowly, betraying his stature. The language he used had been developed specially for the Council, so that every single species of those present could understand each other without translators of any kind (the transcription provided herein is, therefore, the closest translation possible to one of the most popular languages of the Terran).

- Representatives from the 74 species that conform our great Alliance, I come to you to request the immediate cease of hostilities against the Terrans. -

Guluk made a calculated pause, knowing what his statement would stir. The Capitol erupted with voices of dissent, which were almost immediately silenced by the thundering voice of the Standing President.

- Silence! Silence I say! - Once everyone complied, the president looked down at Guluk, leaning over his desk with one of his four arms. - I suppose you have a very good reason to make this request, Praetor. I remind you that the Council's vote was 98% in favour of extinguishing them, as they were deemed unworthy. -

The president talked gravely, as if Guluk words where a crime against the Council. Guluk simply turned around, towering over the President despite the fact that he was standing in a lower platform.

- I wouldn't dare come in person with such an inflammatory request if i didn't have good reason, Standing President. - The President scoffed and leaned back on his chair.

- Let us hear it, then! - Said the president. Guluk simply gave an affirmative motion and turned towards the representatives again.

- It has been brought to my attention that after the Velian fleet successfully engaged a group of Terran vessels just outside of Terran space, a single vessel has managed to reach Halox 4, one of the outer Velian colonies. -

- How is this possible!? - Exclaimed one of the representatives, a frail looking being with completely black eyes.

- We underestimated them. The Velians affirmed the Terran vessels were warships, but after closer examination of the data we received, our experts believe they were little more than colony ships. - Guluk answered sharply. He then proceeded to lightly tap a corner of the stand, causing a screen to light up behind him, showing a spinning model of a Terran atmospheric fighter, labeled as "Sukhoi PAK FA" in both Terran and Council Common. - We engaged them using old intel and suppositions. Our intelligence officers assured us this was the most advanced atmospheric fighter the Terrans had to offer, and that they had no open space fighters as of yet. Seeing as how these intelligence reports where only 100 Terran orbits old, we deemed them still valid. In reality, however, the Terrans have developed, in this small time period, vessels that are far superior to even Souh designs. -

The representatives exploded again, and this time even the President couldn't make them keep quiet for a while. When order was restored, the President stared at Guluk once again.

- Enough of this, Praetor, show your proof! -

- I will, President. - Guluk pressed another "button" on his stand, and another model showed in the screen, showing two Terrans, one of them a dark skinned, muscular, male human, while the other was that of an athletic, brunette and lightly tanned female human. - The Terrans are a scary species, representatives. We have always known they breathe oxygen, which is one of the most poisonous of the known elements, that which makes fire and corrodes metal, - He placed emphasis in the words "fire" and "corrode" as he spoke - and as you would surely remember from the briefings we held before declaring them unworthy, they are considered below average in strength, agility and team work, with no widespread psychic abilities. The fact that their source planet is a class 3 Death World and that they still wage war between themselves confused many representatives as to how they are still alive. - He made a pause, looking at the report he had prepared and that was displayed on his stand for him only to see. - But this also means that they have a long history of surviving against opponents who are much stronger, agile, cunning and better suited to their surroundings. Because of this they have developed an incredibly effective martial heritage, and demonstrate a surprising amount of willpower. Also, they seem to lack any sort of self-preservation instinct, as the defenders of Halox 4 experienced when Terran troops jumped from orbit, encased in a metal shell just big enough for an individual, right through anti-starship fire and into the middle of enemy positions. One particular specimen, thought captured, was witnessed slamming his brain-case into a guard and beating him to death with his manipulator extremities before escaping. -

Guluk made a pause, while the screen went through the images of the attack on Halox 4. One of them showed a Terran soldier taking cover behind a pile of Tolurian Death Guard corpses, a species that was considered one of the most disciplined and effective warriors in the universe, as another Terran lied prone next to him, taking aim with his weapon. The Capitol was now in silence, the representatives staring in disbelief at the devastation. Of particular notice was how, despite the amount of damage to the displayed structures, there were never more than 4 Terrans together in a single image, which both hinted at diametrically different tactics to what the Council’s armies were used to, and seemed to contradict their earlier assessment of a lack of team work abilities.

- We have studied Terran history, and always reached the flawed conclusion that any species that's not civilized enough to not fight among themselves wouldn't ever be able to have any significant scientific progress. We were wrong. The Terrans have been honed by centuries of war into the perfect killing machines, ruthless beings whose foremost priority is to find the fastest, most brutal, most effective way to kill any possible enemy they can find. All great advancements in Terran technology started as a weapon of war, and those that didn't, were soon militarized. Right now, the Terran ships are close to the Paflex fleet in numbers, the smallest of the Council's fleets... and yet they outgun the Souh fleet, the most powerful, most extensive fleet of the Council, 5 to 1. -

Guluk let his words sink, looking from one side to the other of the Capitol. Some of the representatives where talking to their adjutants, seemingly requesting more info on the matter, while others where immersed in their personal screens, accessing the data themselves. Others still didn't believe Guluk, as they were visibly expressing their dismissal of his arguments. For all the technology they had, news from the border worlds still seemed to take too long to get to the Council. Guluk raised one of his arms, as if wanting to get everyone's attention again.

- What's more, 34 hours ago, a Terran envoy, the commanding officer of the Reconnaissance force that attacked Halox 4, contacted my office. - At this point, everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to Guluk again. – That’s right, representatives. Halox 4 was wiped out by a mere Recon force. And he gave me this message as "warning" to stop our attacks on them. - Guluk pressed yet another button, and Daniel's voice boomed across the Capitol.

- This is Colonel Daniel Hellwind of the Terran Alliance, Recon Division, Zeroth Batallion, and this is a message to the people that attacked our colonists. Cute, but please don't try again. You are messing with a species that poisons their own air and water to weed out the weak. We set off nuclear fusion bombs inside our own biospheres. We smoke, drink and inject poison into our bloodstream just to get a kick of the effects. We beat each other close to death just for fun and show. Believe me when I say, you don't want to FUCK with us humans. -
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » June 15th, 2012, 7:32 am

And here's a little follow up. Daniel knows his Sun Tzu, all right.

----

Daniel tapped his index finger on his knee at the rhythm of the music that was playing softly in the background, while President Parvana Zahra served herself something to drink. She sat down in front of Daniel, smiling slightly. She had good reason to be happy. In fact, every human had a good reason to be happy on that day.

- So tell me, how was it that you pulled it off? -

Daniel, smiled in return. The presidency of the Alliance was largely ceremonial, but Parvana was still a member of the Alliance Council, the executive heads of the Alliance.

- Have you read The Art Of War, President Zahra? -

- Please, Daniel, no formalities. And yes, I've read it. - She answered, taking a sip from her glass.

- Okay then, Parvana. - He said, leaning back into the club chair he was seating in. - Certainly you remember that he said victory lies in knowing yourself and your enemy. -

- Sure, but that can't be it. The Council is still far superior to us in almost every aspect. -

- You're right, of course, but it played a big part in it. - He looked around before explaining, despite knowing the president's office was safe from bugs or other spying devices. - You see, we have spies in the Council. - He smiled as he said this, wider than before. Getting those spies hadn't been easy, and judging by the president's approving nod and expression, she knew that as well. - We know the defenses each of their border planets have, and where their fleets are positioned. We just picked a weak planet far from any reinforcement. We scouted the planet before hand as well, so we knew where they were entrenched, where their sensible infrastructure was... in short, everything we needed to know. -

The president took another sip from her glass and placed it down in the table next to her chair. She had read Daniel's file when she first heard he was creating an independent battalion, but re-read it and asked the opinion of experts after the whole deal with the Council.

- That's all well and good, Daniel, but you still haven't explained how you managed to stop the Council's aggression with your small battalion. -

- Ah, that. - He moved forward, intertwining his fingers as if to point at something with both hands. - My "small battalion" is simply the most powerful fighting force in the known universe, there's no doubt of it. Specially after last week's display. - He said, smiling again. - Each and every member of it is handpicked, they are the top 0.001% of the Alliance military. And our equipment is top notch, as well, the bleeding edge. So you see, Guluk wasn't lying when he said we have vessels that are superior to their top designs. - He made a pause, reaching for a glass of water that was next to him, untouched so far, and took some of it before talking again. What he didn't mention, but that the two of them knew, is that the "superior vessels" Daniel was referring to could be counted on their entirety with both hands, and still have free fingers. - After our attack came the liberal application of another of Sun Tzu's teachings. -

- Deception. - Offered the president, thinking it logical.

- Exactly. The fact that my battalion is part of the Reconnaissance Division served to confuse them a bit, but we also fed them bad intel, suggesting the vessels back home were even more advanced than the ones that had attacked their planet. We used old shock and awe tactics to break down their will to fight. Our hackers broke into their systems and manipulated data about the battle to make us appear stronger than we really were. - He made another pause, leaning back again. - Granted, the results were far better than anyone anticipated. We figured they would only pull back and regroup their forces, giving us enough time to set up a proper defense, or come up with another plan. - The president stood up and stretched her arms, walking to her desk. It had all been so much simpler than they had thought. She would be disappointed, even, if it weren't for the results. - There is another fact that helped us get the Council off our backs. - Daniel added, making the president turn around.

- What is it? - She asked after he kept quiet. He took another glass of water while standing up, heading to the door.

- There's another thing the Council got wrong about us humans. We do have psychics, remember? And Guluk has been under our control for approximately two weeks. - He smiled, bowing slightly and turning around to leave.
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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Re: Backtracking

Post by Sakura » June 19th, 2012, 10:23 am

Now lets figure out together which anime series fits your universe best :gg:
What do you call a dinosaur with an extended vocabulary? A thesaurus.

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Zeratul2k
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Re: Backtracking

Post by Zeratul2k » June 30th, 2012, 10:30 pm

Good luck with that, it's mostly a mix of videogames :meh:

I'm trying to write more lately, but I have something of a writer's block...
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is DUMB!

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