Born From Ashes

Earth 06-21-2223

It was a big day, no a -huge- day. The war was still dragging on, of course, but none of that mattered anymore. The Essence was ready to launch, and several Mudkips were close to completion. Millions of NAU citizens literally lined up to sign away their lives as colonists of alien worlds, and not a moment too soon. Several of the World's top leaders were brought aboard first, naturally, but from there on only the most fit, the most able would be sent away. Of the several billion to sign up, only a small fraction of that ever left Earth.

Earth 11-17-2223

The sound was ubelievable, unreal almost, even from the safely of several hundred miles from the launch site, Richard Locke covered his ears. Like nothing he'd ever seen before, the massive several million ton NAUS Essence left this earth and all its inhabitants. Great bouts of flame and heat spouted from her boosters, visible from other continents. It was estimated that the force that she released in those fourty-five seconds was equivalent to three 100 megaton nuclear bombs going off in a row. This, of course, was the reason the launch site was in the ruins (if you can call a few scorch marks that) of Washington DC.

Mudkip "NAUS Pheonix 01(3)" 02-14-2224

Last I heard, the Korean Rupublic had been pushed back to China, but that does not bode well, still. Their orbital platforms had almost completely destroyed the Star War System and still had an impressive nuclear arsenal at their disposal. Of course, that is behind us now, as I have been stationed on Mudkip #1 out of three, all heading towards the Gamma Five system, and more importantly it's one inhabitable planet, Pheonix. I've heard reports that it is indeed a Class 10 system, which is nearly earth in climate and hospitality. I can only hope that Humanity can live and prosper from it.
-Cut From Journal of Richard Locke-

Pheonix 01-1-2225

"The Koreans have done it, they have destroyed the Star Wars System. At this very moment... (a very loud crash is heard) are thousands of war heads flying towards us, and towards them. This is surely the end of Humanity as we (few seconds of static)... have been ordered to destroy all research and information regarding the Pheonix Initiate and all information regarding (and explosion drowns out several seconds)... it. However we were able to evacuate several million people on a half completed Mudkip, but they are under supplied and may not make it. This is (static) Johnson signing off, the fate of humanity rests with Pheonix now, God Bless."

Richard Locke furrowed his brows and clicked off the veiwscreen. "And so it was done," he thought, "Humanity is nothing but 4 billion men and women barely surviving on an alien world light years away from home." He was right, of course, the second nuclear holocaust had destroyed nearly all life on Earth and, as such, would never play a part in the galaxy for many a millennia. However, in the here and now the Colony of Pheonix needed to expand, and this is exactly what Locke did. Once again the call to colonize was sent around and several million people signed up. And so it began, the great expansion of Pheonix.

good very good

Thanks, good to hear. I've got a good 15 or more pages written down, I just need to type them an edit, lol.

I've got some shots of a Mudkip Colony Ship.

As well as an update


The Essence 01-21-2225

Unlike the massive MUDKIPs, the crew abboard our very own NAUS Essence needed to be awake during her travels. Nothing had truely happened since her maiden launch, save for the discovery and colonization of Pheonix, and Captain Nathaniel Delvore was feeling the brunt of it. He had spent weeks traveling to the Florin System, only to discover that the system did not acually -have- any planets to even scan. Sadly, the Devoda system proved to be even less fruitfull, at least in the Flroin System we had several star ship wrecks to explore and bring abboard. There was much to be learned, but the materials would need to be sent back to the labs on Pheonix, considering the limited capabilities of the Essence. However, the main goal of launch right now is to find habitable planets to expand out borders, and the outcome was looking bleak.


The Essence 04-5-2225

There is was, several months of searching and probing and there she was. The Sivil System. Not only had we found a planet suitable for our civilizations, we found two. Finnaly, the reports from our sesors started pouring in. Practically paradice, Plymoth was a class 11 while Kelino was a class 9. This was the beggining of everthing.

Nathan Glanced over the reports and dissmissed the Ensign before entering the data into a Messenger Drone.

"Locke will like this" Nathan chuckled and promptly sent the drone on its way.



Pheonix 04-19-2225

Progress was moving smoothly when President Richard Locke ordered the second colonization of an alien world. The 500 million colonists had reluctently said their farewells to faimliy and friends before boarding. They had a long way, nearly 18 parsecs, which would take nearly two months, even with the new Improved Hyperdrive units attached to it.

Richard sighed and resumed looking over several reports. Morale was low, he noted, but that was to be expected. The colony of Pheonix was in a constant state of hardship, considering their orignal supplies were drawing thin, and farming was only just beggining to take hold.

"It will pass," He mumbled, before ordering the construction of a brand new MUDKIP M2. "It will pass."

I love this! :CONGRAT: 

Nice ship, too.

Pheonix 06-1-2225

It had been a hard two months, but good came of it. Mudkip Plymouth had reached her planet and set up camp with no complications, and the first Mudkip M2 had been finished, loaded, and set off to Plymouth's sister planet, Kelino.

As for Richard, he decided to take the rest of the day off and waste away the day in the hotsprings. It would take at least a month to get to Kelino, state-of-the-art Ion Drives, or not.



Kelino 07-7-2225

-The colonization of Kelino had gone smoothly, better than that, accually. Once we landed, we came upon several rural towns, villages, and even a mid-sized city. However, there was no one home, anywhere. Atmosphere scans indicated no airborn toxins, no recent geological disturbances. Kelino was still the paradise she had advertised over two months ago, but something was wrong, very very wrong. Once we investigated these "ancient runis" we were even more frightened. There was no evidence of death, no bodies, nothing. Even more baffling were the insides of the buildings (which were much to tall for an average Human, also disconcerning), the belongings of whatever civilization was here... was still here.

Dinner plates, and even some slightly rotten food, were still on the tables. The houses were clean, no dust, no filth, nothing we would expect of a long gone civilization. We looked outside. The fields were partially harvested, not overgrown; farm equipment lay strew across the fields. Whatever hit this planet hit them hard and fast, and there was no evidence of anything leaving. No starport, no mass departure (the boats were still at their dock) nothing.

After about a week of investigation and scanning, we deemed the planet safe to colonize and we moved in. Sure the houses were too big, and the furniture much to large to use comfortably, but it would do. Believe you me, we had it easy. It was going to be a good year.

-Excerpt from Governor Katherine Smith's Journal-





Kelino: Katherine Smith's Journal Entry 07-10-2225 01:29 Hrs.

God, oh god. How am I still alive? I shou.. (the rest of the recording is static)

Well that was supposed to be suspencefull, guess no one cares . Anyway, update.

Kelino 07-12-2225

Apparently we didn't count on the caves.

None of us expected it, how the hell could we have? We lived on this planet, what three days, and then it happened. It was the middle of the night, we had no sentries, why would we? They came fast, they came hard, and they took many of us. Personally, my entire "village" had been taken, I saw them.

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was, but I did know something was wrong. My hands, for example, were tied to a pole and I couldn't see a bloody thing. However I could hear it, several people near me were moaning, from pain or fear, I don't know. I was just starting to get my bearings when they turned on the lights. I had never seen anything like it. There they were, Half bear, half... something else. They stood at least nine Feet tall and their voices filled the part, loud and booming. I managed to glance around a moment before I felt a thud and fell into a darkness once again.

When I woke up again, my head was throbbing, apparently they hit me. Peachy. When my vision returned and finally my hearing (it took really only around two seconds, but felt like an eternity) I was gifted with the wonderful sights and sounds of a nine foot bear thing standing into front of my shouting his wonderful little brain out in some gutteral language I would never understand. I slowly looked around, ignoring the giant -thing- right in front of me, and saw nothing. I was in a room, alone, tied up. Great.

It was just about five minutes later I realized that I really should be paying attention to my wonderful captor, because about five seconds later he walked up to me and slammed something in my ear. It hurt like having my head ran over by a truck, and I fell into that sweet embrace of darkness again.

Too bad it didn't last longer, as I was slapped awake (well pawed awake really) about two minutes later. It was an odd sensation, buzzing in my ears and then silence. "Hell," I thought, "Now I'm deaf too" but I had just realized no one was saying anything. And then they did... and for what ever reason it was in clear English.

The Ak'nor (as they called themselves) didn't really like the fact that their planet had been "invaded by filthy pink Ya'kthar (don't ask)" and was just about to let me know personally right before his head exploded. I think it was just about then, that my brain registered the explosions and the rumbling. When the smoke cleared I was never as happy as that moment to see the blue-grey uniform of a Colonial Defense Force marine.

Excellent-great story telling my friend: just one small point: Your story is somewhat marred by spelling and syntax errors. Are you writing this with word before posting? If so run through the spell checker and then re-read the excerpt before you post. It will make a good story great

It's only a small point to improve things. Look forward to the next post  :CONGRAT: 

Excellent, Locke.  :CONGRAT: One thing I was wondering about in the backstory is how Korea became a major world power. A result of the first nuclear war maybe?

Sentient species taste better...

Yes I'm enjoying it too and usually I don't comment about misspelling but its Phoenix, not Pheonix and its driving me MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No serious, keep going.

Sorry about that I don't have word, and thus, I am stuck using a combo of Notepad, Google, and some Online Spell Checker that needs some work. Didn't know that about Phoenix, I ignored the spell checker yelling at me becuase I figured it wasn't too great with names. I fixed up my first post but can't edit anything else for whatever reason.  :NOTSURE:

Oh, and sorry for the delays in the story, got an acute case of writer's block and a busy week or two, i'll have another one up by the end of the weekend though. 

You just keep em coming in your own time Locke-this is already shaping up to be a cracker!!   

Phoenix 07-16-2225


President Richard Locke sighed and clicked off the recorder. Today was not going to be a pleasant one, he noted, and proceeded to file his orders to "Put the prisoners into labor camps". You see, news of Kelino's alien contact had spread far and wide, messenger drones had been sent immediately with the news and the few colonies we -did- have would get them in only a few weeks, tops. Richard was the first (well second really, the Drone Decoders had read into it first, of course, but you get the picture) man to read the Kelino attacks, and his peers soon followed. According to the colony, some odd 500 thousand Ak'nor had been rounded up and detained.

"Aliens or not, they must be taught a lesson," Richard exclaimed to the press that was literally at his doorstep.

"Yes, of course they will be treated humanly. What? No of course not."

After several exhausting hours, Richard was finally able to get away, and shuttle off to his private villa.



Amber I 08-09-2225

There was a slight hiss as the landing hydraulics took the full load of the Mudkip, and then it was done. After a good couple of months, they had finally made it to Amber I. Being the fourth planet colonized is under a year, most of the people aboard already knew the drill. Get off the ship, start building some temporary shelter, scout out the planet for food or anything that might threaten the population. Ho-Hum, same old, same old.

George awoke from cryo with the all too familiar stiffness he had grown to hate. After a quick bite to eat and a short debriefing, he , and several thousand others, made for the planet's surface to start the process of colonisation.


Amber I 08-12-2225

"Oh wonderful," George sighed as he was handed a small stack of papers, "Scouting duty again."

It wasn't the most glamorous job, and certainly not the safest, but it was better than being stuck in cryo for the next month while the colony matured enough to support the 500 million people aboard. However, it's hard to match the adrenaline rush you get when you pilot a small, two-man F29 Scout Vessel hundred on knots over the alien lands. It would be a good time, just as long as he didn't get stuck with Jonas, good lord that man never stops talking. He glanced over the papers and swore silently. None other than Jonas Seiger as his sensor officer.


Amber I 08-14-2225

Turns out he was stuck with him the entire week. He hadn't found anything terribly interesting, though there were several patches of land that had high quality building mineral buried deep in them, and even a small plain filled with several well preserved fossils of some civilization long gone.

George glanced behind him, trying to ignore Jonas droning on about this and that. He mumbled and did a three second nose dive. He chuckled under his breath, Jonas hated that. He was just about to turn around and head home when Jonas tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the sensor screen. There was something interesting on a small island about a mile out, and it was our job to check it out.

It wasn't long before we had touched down on the island, and right there in front of us it stood. A huge field of pod-like plants, stretching for miles on end. The scans indicated that these plants were, in fact, sentient and capable of communication. They didn't seem like much, but perhaps out of curiosity, Jonas went up to one and laid a hand on it. I should have stopped him, I knew I should have, but I didn't. Next thing I knew, he was laying on the ground convulsing and screaming bloody murder. Like him or not, I knew I had to get him to our medical center, and dragged him into the ship before racing home.


Amber I 08-15-2225

It had been three days, Jonas was dead by now, but the medical staff was baffled. While he had sustained no physical damage he was in unrelentless pain and misery, medicine did nothing. Turns out the pod had formed some sort of "bond" with his mind. While he had a heightened cognitive ability, it did him no good dead.

About a week later, orders came in to burn the field to the ground. We did, happily.

Keep it coming Locke!

Sentient species taste better...

 :CONGRAT: This story is getting better and better Locky-superb!! Love the way you have incorporated a planetary event here lol

Well thanks a million. The funny thing is that the Human Race is now leaning heavily towards evil (darn that choice to use the inhabitants as slaves, lol). As for the story, I've progressed about halfway into next year, and have the basics written up on notebook paper. The hard part is really taking what I've allready written and making it presentable.

Though, I am sort of regretting that I forgot to set the tech rate to slow. Oh well. Next update should be good, "First Contact" heh.

"The funny thing is that the Human Race is now leaning heavily towards evil."

Well, sice they're survivors of a global nulear holocaust, a somewhat vicious "me first" sentiment makes perfecr sense.

1st contact eh? Can't wait mr! :LOL: 

Depending on your view of humanity, that might not be too surprising.

Sentient species taste better...

Sorry, been busy lately. Extra long update as compensation


Talos IV 09-25-2225

At long last, a planet we colonized that didn't have something that wanted us all dead. Talos IV was pleasant enough, being a class 12 planet, but had a small infestation of small worm-like plants. It only took a few days to get rid of them all. After that, it was smooth sailing, the abundance of minerals would make for a great source of building materials, we just needed to build those pesky factories.

However, the removal of the previous owners (which many believe were the worm-like plants) as well as the enslavement of the Ak'nor disconcerns me. Have we learned nothing from our plights from Earth?

- Excerpt from "Talos IV: Colony Report Gamma" Howard Jackson, Governor-



Phoenix 09-08-2225

"My God, do you know what this means?" Richard exclaimed as he filtered through the several reports all coming in at once.
"Not only are we not alone, but there are at least four alien races, right on our doorstep"
Turns out the Altarians, the Yor, the Korx, and the Iconians all found us all at once. It was too much to handle, the press was buzzing around his villa, and the citizens weren't very quiet, either.

Over the past few months, Phoenix had been busy pumping out several "Explorer" class survey ships to investigate the huge amount of space debris that was scattered around us. According to the reports, our very own NUAS Essence met two of the races, personally, and the NUAS Helio and NUAS Jupiter found two separately.

"Of the four, the Yor disconcerns us most," Richard spoke into the mike.
"A vast hive of sentient robots, and they apparently aren't the most diplomatic. They are more technically advanced, as well as militarily superior to ourselves, and they made sure we knew."

"What of the others, President Locke?", a young reporter asked, quickly.

"The Alterians are rather suave and persuasive, it's no secret that we have already begun trading technological secrets with them, as well as the Iconians. Turns out, in fact, that the Iconians are a ancient enemy of the Yor, though why, they haven't told us."

Richard pointed to another, though older, reported and waited for the question.

"Sir, what of the Korx, rumors abound that they are faceless?"

"Indeed" Richard mumbled into the mike, "Though that is no reason to fear, or dislike them. The Korx pride themselves as economic masters, as well as mercenaries. We will have to keep an eye on them, especially if we find a race that does not like us. I doubt there is much they won't do for money."

It went on for hours, but finally Richard was able to return home and get some rest, though not before canceling all research into artificial intelligence. Best not to make the same mistake as the Iconians, at least.



NUAS Essence 09-06-2225 (two days prior)

When we came upon the Iconians, we weren't sure what to think. The crew was calm and collected, this is what we trained for after all, but we were all bubbling with an almost giddiness after meeting with them. All in all is was a good experience, since thankfully, we were able to glean "Universal Translators" off of the Ak'nor and could actually speak with them. It was odd, however, since the iconians weren't as outlandish as we would have though. Aliens, after all, had been on our mind since the 1900s. They almost seemed to represent some old oriental beings, dragons and the like.

Either way, we were able to trade several technologies with them, and start a good friendship. No point having enemies, hmm? It was a cause for celebration, and the crew welcomed that. Syth-beer for everyone, and food aplenty.


NUAS Essence 09-07-2225

"Why are you in our space, Flshling?" the image on the screen boomed.

The Yor, god they sent shivers down my spine. Not only were they robots, but they apparently didn't like organics all that much, and we had trespassed on their space, it would seem. They weren't happy.

Nathan cleared his throat and responded "We are just explorers, investigating ruins and scouting for habitable planets"

"You are not welcome here, leave before our hunter-killers are released" and with that, the captain clicked of its veiwer.

We were escorted to the Yor borders and off we went, hoping to never cross paths with them again.



Phoenix 12-24-2225

The last months had been relatively uneventful, thankfully. However, we did make contact with two more races, The Dregin Empire and the Arcean Empire. While the Dregins were a rather hostile, war-like race. Rather the opposite, the Arceans were calm and collective. Of course, we took initiate and traded as much technology as we could, as in return gained knowledge on vast improvements to our life support systems. Since then, we had begun research into galactic weaponry and had recently perfected the Stinger class of missiles.

Nearly a month ago, we constructed our first free floating space station. We discovered a rare mineral deep in an asteroid field that would help stabilise our failing economy, and began mining at once. As well, we have built and sent several "Leviathan" class freightors on their way towards our closer friends, in hopes of trade agreements.

Last week was slightly more interesting, since we built and deployed our first combat vessel. The "Katana" class frigate has the latest in Missile weapons and impulse drives. The 50 meter long ship houses 25 crew members and will be remembered as our first step into a dangerous universe.

And pictures of the ships in play so far. The Leviathan is supposed to be huge, upwards of a KM long and such. The katana is a light frigate, and small compared to medium or large ships, only 50 meters long, which would include crew quarters, engine rooms, munitions, ect.


Katana and Leviathan respectivly, with the explorer on the bottom.

Lovely Locke: question though: You have built frigates as your 1st Combat ships? Are they the medium or small class hulls?

Smalls, I normally go with:

Hull Class
Tiny Fighter
Small Frigate
Medium Cruiser
Large Battleship
Huge Dreadnaught

As for using smalls as my first, tiny ships don't really do well with missles, which is what I chose as the weapon system to use. Also, the tiny ships either come up as Orbital Defence Platforms (defenders, basicly, but cooler to look at :D) or support ships for fleets.