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Crunchyfrog
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 Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:09 pm Post subject: Best Decision Point |
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*PLEASE READ ALL EXCERPTS IN THIS THREAD BEFORE VOTING.*
Last edited by Crunchyfrog on Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:27 pm; edited 8 times in total
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Traveller
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| Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:35 am Post subject: |
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Hello my Ifian friends...I want to thank you first for remembering this SG as I have been gone for almost a year...but The Traveller is back and Journey's Witness will continue where it left off...Here is an excerpt from Chapter 4, leading into the DP...
(By the way, I have re-opened the poll for a few days in case anyone wants to get in on it while I rethink where our heroes are going!)
Journey's Witness is the story of a cat, the pet of a princess who wakes one morning to find her owner missing and the whole Kingdom in upheaval with her disappearance. With the help of her friends, a rat named Garreth with a speech impediment, and a Goat named Rufus with a southern Drawl, Jewel must discover the motives of the two myseterious men who seem to be up to something in time to rescue the princess.
Without further ado:
(From Chapter The Forth - Journey's Witness)
The next morning the dawn broke with no hint of the tempest of the night before. I woke to the distinct smell that comes after the rain and could hear my two companions just beginning to stir behind me. I peered out of the cave and down into the valley below me. We had climbed far higher that I had thought in the storm yesterday and took that as a promising sign. If we could make that kind of distance under those conditions, we should be at the other side of the river's loop in no time.
Garreth darted past me and out of the cave into the beaming sunlight beyond. He was squeaking in delight and doing a sort of dance he was so excited to have survived the vicious storm. I laughed as I watched him and blinked away tears that were forming. I heard a strange whooshing sound and when I looked again, my heart almost stopped. Garreth was gone.
I raced out of the cave with Rufus right behind me and looked around for any sign of my diminutive friend but could see no trace of him. Suddenly from above I heard my name squealed in fear and pain.
"Jeeeeeeewwwwweeeeelllllll!!!!"
I looked up to see Garreth being taken away, in ever climbing circles, by a large eagle.
The bird continued to climb in an ever expanding flight as Garreth continued to squirm and scream for his life. Rufus and I stood, still as the mountains around us, in complete shock, unable to think of anything we could do to rescue our friend.
Just when I began to believe that things couldn't get any worse for Garreth, another eagle, this one dwarfing the one that held Garreth, came circling into view. The two eagles began circling each other, like a dangerous dance, with Garreth for the prize. The larger eagle constantly getting closer and closer to the other who seemed to be trying to get away with his new found treat but to no avail.
Then, suddenly, the larger eagle charged his adversary and Rufus and I held our breath as the in flight dance became deadly.
They locked in combat, the smaller eagle still clinging to Rufus, but they were quickly losing altitude. The battle raged on, the two eagles darting this way and that trying to win dominance over the other. The two winged beasts suddenly collided in the air, just above the river and I clearly saw something small and black drop into the water, causing a small splash.
I stared at the water, the two birds lost to my eyes, looking for any sign that my little friend had survived. I could not see anything from this distance and collapsed on the ground where I stood.
"He sure was one brave rat, Jewel," Rufus tried to comfort me but his words washed over me without sinking in.
Was Garreth really gone. I had to be sure. He didn't deserve this fate. He came along on this adventure because he was my friend and now he may be...I couldn't bring myself to even think of that word yet. Not until I was sure.
Rufus looked at me expectantly, wondering what we were going to do next. I realized that I had no idea. I knew I should continue on the trail of the two men we had been pursuing but my heart wanted to race back to the river to answer the burning question in my heart. There was also a seething need for revenge on those two birds but I had no idea how to achieve that. The one thing I did know was I needed to make a decision now
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Crunchyfrog
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| Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:30 am Post subject: |
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Decision Point from Chapter 14, Galleons of the Stars, by Kalanna Rai
| Quote: | "They sail the stars forever....Dammit Radiant...why couldn't you have held on." Angelo's voice was soft, a single tear of his own tracing down his cheek. Then his hand shot out, steely fingers wrapping into the soft flesh of Ambrois's neck as he hauled his son into the air. There were no tears in his eyes when he finally raised his face, his free hand catching the crystal as Ambrois dropped it.
Despite both hands wrapped around his Father's hand, fingers prying to break the hold, Ambrois made no headway. Instead he stared into those souless eyes, those silver pits of oblivion. "I suppose sorry isn't going to cut it is it?"
"I'm not going to bother asking where you got this. I know where I left it. I suppose the others know as well humm? No doubt the little wench spent all day in my cabin as a distraction, keeping me from nosing in on you. I should have guessed, I've been far too easy with you."
Ambrois could only shrink back as Angelo pulled them so close their noses touched. "Well do you know what I'm going to do now? I'm going to open those doors that had you so damn curious and I'm going to let you stare the past long and hard in the face." He threw Ambrois hard to the ground. As he slipped the memory crystal into his pocket, he withdrew a green stone.
Removing the medallion from around his neck and the third pendant from where it was tangled in his hair Angelo stared at it. Then he struck it hard with his nail, a ringing sound chiming from the tiny silver disk and whirling out into the air. A few minutes elapsed, then a few more. Not twenty minutes after striking the disk both Jasper and Jade appeared on the shore, Donovan and Saul not far behind. To the horror of all the orphans it was the pendants which were dragging the twins along, chains digging into their necks.
Casually Angelo reached out and caught hold of them, snapping the chains. He turned to Ambrois, cruel smile etching his features. "Opening those doors will cost you. It has cost you my trust...and it'll cost you even more dearly." He set the medallion flat on his palm and set the pendant from his hair on top of it, then he set Jasper and Jade's pendants ontop of that, with the green stone on top of them all. With a flash, they fuzed tight into a massive runed medallion. Jasper and Jade swayed on their feet and Angelo nodded to them. "It'll cost you one of their lives. The only question is...which one?"
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One of the Twins will live and one will die. Which is which is up to you. |
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Crunchyfrog
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| Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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Decision Points from Chapters 3 and 4 of Trade Windows, by Smee
| Quote: |
Chapter 3
Few things were more illegal in the Empire. Even getting caught with a shipment of unofficial Gallente slaves would see you with little more than a fine if you knew the system. But Crash! Targh wasn't sure even the Empress could get away with being found in possession of the foul substance. Well maybe the Empress could, he amended, but no one lower, and certainly not him. Targh swore again.
He needed to think. Methodically he laid out the situation to himself, using his connection to the computer to compare routes and directions, as well as work out calculations.
They were in Empire space, high security 0.8 level, but one jump away was a 0.4 system. CONCORD had no jurisdiction below 0.5 space, they would be safe from being arrested atleast. But to get there they'd have to run the gate from here. Custom agents were always at high sec gates, the slow Bestower would be warp-locked and webified in seconds, unless there was some kind of diversion perhaps! He'd need to refit his ship with some warp field stablisiers to help delay his own ship being warp-locked, maybe an afterburner for a quick boost of speed.
But where would that leave them. 0.4 sec space was lawless and dangerous. They were as vulnerable to pirates, as they were to CONCORD agents. Should he just dump the cargo and be done with it? But what about his hanger, his office. The third party held the deeds in collateral. He had no doubts the boss would take them if he didn't get payment. If he dumped the cargo they'd be left with nothing. Back to scratching out a living.
Maybe there was another plan escaping him right now.
Only seconds had passed, with the speed Targh's computer augmented thoughts were processed. But he had to make a decision quickly.
Hmmm.. sounds like a tricky situation. Even with all his Pod technology to help, I suspect Targh could do with your help to come up with a plan. There's lots of possibilities, I've only mentioned a few.
Some things to consider and add to your knowledge of the EvE galaxy:
- Until they undock, they are relatively safe. Targh can dock and make any changes to his ship he wants, including buying new equipment (called 'Modules' in this world) for his ship like an afterburner.
- It is quite possible for Targh to switch to a different ship if you wish, they are still in the Bestower's cargohold from before. Bigger ships have more space / power / computer cpu capacity for more / more powerful modules.
- Targh does have a few contacts, he could potentially try to sell his cargo to someone else, possibly even for considerably more ISK, but there's the same difficulty of getting to them.
- To clarify, if it wasn't coming through from the story... space security works on a sliding scale from 1.0 down to 0.0. From 1.0 to 0.5 is considered high security, and is protected by the equivalent of police, known as CONCORD. CONCORD isn't your typically justice though. They aren't there to protect, so much as to punish, often arriving too late to save the victim.
0.4 - 0.1 is considered Low security (Lowsec) where the only enforcement is sentry guns protecting jump gates and some space stations.
0.0 Is completely lawless, space is controlled by groups/alliances/confederations of pilots. Some are friendlier than others.
Typically, the further you get from the middle of the galaxy, the lower the security.
- Pod Pilots can negotiate space in just their pod, it is a fairly resilient structure that survives more often than not, when a ship is destroyed. It has no weapons or shields though. The only protection it has is being very small and hard to target, especially for larger ships. About the only thing it allows is a few seconds window to escape to a space station.
Discuss amongst yourselves - come up with a plan. Voting will be done based on which plan to follow.
Chapter 4
The buzz of his comm unit interrupted his shopping. It was the 'Boss', causing an instant wince from Targh as he realised.
"Aah, Mr D'yer. I can't help wondering why it is you haven't yet departed with the cargo? I'm sure you're aware that I don't get paid until you complete the delivery, and I'm not a man who likes to be kept waiting for his kredits."
If the man had been on edge at the end of their last conversation, he was all confidence again now.
"I'm surprised you hadn't noticed yourself actually, being just the other side of the docking port. The Bestower's exhaust manifold has backed up, and blown out. A dumb thing to overlook, but I've had a lot on my mind this last week. We're fixing it up now and expect to be on our way shortly."
Targh heard muttering on the other end, but could make out nothing from it.
"How unfortunate. Perhaps I can offer some assistance with repairs?"
"No, no need, we have it well in hand. Thanks for the offer. I'll contact you should we be in any need. Targh out."
He had babbled that last sentence, he knew it. But done was done. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Targh left the crowded marketplace and headed for a quiet corridor to contact Mart and update him.
"Yeah?"
"Hey Mart, it's me. How goes repairs?"
"We be good to go whenever, but I can continuing making convincing banging noises for about another hour at most."
"Another hour... good. My ship will be fitted shortly, I have a plan should we be forced to make a gate run. But for now I will use the time we have to try and boost our odds, or find an alternative."
"You going to talk to J'iony?"
"Yes, he owes me a favour or two. If he'll arrange us an escort, just a couple of other ships, we stand a much better chance."
"So you plan to complete the deal?"
Targh sighed. "As I see it, it's the only way we get out of this with anything. It stands to reason we've been setup to make this delivery, so whoever wanted those mining lasers, actually wants what we now have. We don't deliver, we don't get the Isk to pay for the 'lasers' which means we lose our collateral. I can't start from nothing again, Mart. It's too much."
Mart sighed too. "Ack, you be right. Do you know where to find J'iony?"
"Yeah, rumour had him up on deck 3, playin... eugh oomph"
"Targh! Targh?"
Hmmm... something's happened to Targh! So this DP will come from Mart, what is he going to do? |
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| Best Decision Point |
| Chapter 4, Journey's Witness, by Traveller |
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44% |
[ 4 ] |
| Chapter 14, Galleons of the Stars, by Kalanna Rai |
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22% |
[ 2 ] |
| Chapters 3 and 4 from Trade Windows, by Smee |
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33% |
[ 3 ] |
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| Total Votes : 9 |
| Who Voted: Chinaren, Crunchyfrog, Fats_Masterson, HalfEmptyHero, scissorkitty, Smee, The White Blacksmith, Thunderbird, Traveller |
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