that sounds good
i would give a 8/10 (10 being the best)
just asking is Britonia going to be involed or are they goning to be netrual because it would be great if the brits can get there hands dirty.

_________________________
I don't suffer from insainty,I
enjoy every bit of it.
------------------------------------

Oh yeah. I want all out colony war here! The Brits will come into the picture in the 2nd Chapter or so.

Nice, an all out war. This is kind of like my RPG, Total War topic in FL discussion but oh well, no one joined it. But nice start though.

Okay, I'm convinced. I'll post up the first two chapters in a few minutes.
Thanks for the feedback!

Okay, here goes.

*clears throat*

Enjoy!

Victory At All Costs
The Story of William Black

A Freelancer Fan Fiction Story
By: Jake L. (ww2jacob)



Chapter 1- An Overview of the Battlefield

Commander William H. Black stood on the stage set up at the Naval base on Planet Los Angeles. He was halfway filled with pride, and halfway filled with nervousness, the sort of feeling that you can only get at an awards ceremony. He was sweating in the hot Los Angeles sun. He hoped this would end soon.
His Commanding Officer, Admiral Johnson, took the podium.
"To conclude this event, we have one last award to give. This is an award for a certain person who took on a certain dangerous mission, and came back with everyone he left with."
It was pretty obvious that, by this point, all the Liberty Navy officers knew who and what the Admiral was talking about.
"I am very pleased to welcome Commander William Black, and also to present him with two awards. First, I will give him the Navy Star of Honor for bravery and courage in battle."
The Admiral walked over to Commander Black, and pinned the star-shaped medal on his uniform.
"Next, I will present him with the rank of Captain in the Liberty Navy."
The Admiral pinned the new rank insignia on Black's uniform.
"Congratulations, Captain Black."

That was fifteen years ago. Captain Black sat in his chair thinking about why he had gotten the medal and promotion. When he had been a Commander, he was one of the Navy's best pilots. He was so good, in fact, that he had been given command of his own squadron of twelve Defender Heavy Fighters. The squadron had been on patrol, deep in the field know as the Badlands, when they stumbled across a large asteroid. It wasn't just an asteroid, though. It had docking ports and guns on it. It was a base! Judging by the amount of Liberty Rouge fighters around it, he had figured that it was a Rouge base. There had been rumors of a Rouge base in the Badlands, but no patrol had ever found it, and lived to make it back to West Point.
He called to his squadron, telling them to note the position. He then told them to engage the Rouges, but try to lead away from the base, in the direction of West Point. He wanted to avoid the base if at all possible, because the defense turrets could do some serious damage.
The squadron engaged the Rouges, downing two of them in a few seconds. Then, the squadron slipped back into the depths of the Badlands. They took out the three Rouges that followed them, and proceeded out of the Badlands.
The information that Black gave the Navy was invaluable. For over a hundred years, the Rouges had existed in the Badlands, and no naval patrol had ever found their secret base of operations. The very next week, a huge naval force moved through the Badlands and attacked the base. They pounded the base, and the Rouges fled. The fleet made sure that no one would be able to ever use the base again, and then left.

Captain Black was now over forty years old. He had been in command of the Liberty Cruiser Reconciliation and Special Task Force 6 for fifteen of those years, and had amassed one of the finest records that the Navy had ever seen. He was a tactical genius, primarily due to his incredible knowledge of history. He tended to favor pre-journey history. That is, history that took place before humans boarded the sleeper ships. The time spent on Earth. History that was mostly forgotten. That was why he loved it; it was very challenging to find out about it. He knew a lot about it, though. He had learned of the man called Napoleon, of a lost culture that had been left in Sol. He knew of the World Wars, and the Greeks, and Romans, and all the great battles fought then. He found it hard to believe that this had all happened before the advent of space travel. These had all been fought on solid ground; these generals and commanders had led an entirely different kind of war. Yet, he found a lot that he could change to use in space. Many of these commanders had created battle styles and tactics that could be used in space, as well as solid ground. That was his secret of success.
He was flipping through an old book, when his CO, Admiral Johnson, walked in.
"I have your new deployment orders."
Black looked up. He had been waiting for this. While spacedock was nice, he ached for a new assignment.
"You have been ordered to the Shikoku system. You are to take up a position near Deshima Station, and make sure that nothing harms the Liberty transports that pass through there. Your Task Force will depart here at 0700 hours tomorrow. Is that clear?"
Captain Black could hardly hide his excitement. "Yes sir," he said.
"Excellent."
The Admiral left.
Black's task force was comprised of three Liberty Cruisers, the Reconciliation, the Providence, and the Intrepid. It also included one squadron of twelve Defender fighters. He called up his friend, Captain James Morrison of the Intrepid. He told him about the deployment. Morrison seemed pleased. Black then called up Lieutenant Roberts. He ordered his chief deck commander to get the Reconciliation ready to leave. Black then decided to rest, tomorrow seemed like it would be a busy day.
Before he went to sleep, the tele-screen burst to life. He must have left it on. Before he could shut it off, he realized what the announcer was talking about. "In urgent news, Rheinland Chancellor Schmidt has sent a fleet into Sigma-13 today. It corresponded perfectly with the expiration of the Boorman treaty yesterday. Now there is nothing stopping Rheinland from invading Kusari. The GMG ships and stations in the system were utterly destroyed, no word yet as to whether anything survived."
This was big. If Rheinland moved into Sigma, then Kusari would surely retaliate. This could lead to all out war. The colonies were still recovering from the devastating Nomad Invasion thirty years ago. It had looked like something like this might have happened. Since the Invasion, many leaders had changed. Rheinland's Schmidt was young, and headstrong. He loved fighting, and hated the Kusaris. Liberty had elected a new president, President Diana Wells. She was also young, and was likely to be influenced to join a war. Bretonia had a new ruler, King George. He was well respected, but knew little about foreign policy, and even less about warfare. Kusari had been struggling in the years after the Invasion. The Blood Dragons were becoming more and more a threat. However, Kusari had just gotten back on their feet, rebuilding their Naval Force and becoming more and more powerful.
He went to bed, hoping he would not wake up to find a war going on.
In the morning, he readied his men and ships, and set off for Shikoku.
They arrived and took up a position near Deshima. Captain Black hoped that he and his men would see some action soon, but nothing was guaranteed. By the time he went to bed, nothing had happened. It was just the boring process of scanning all the ships that they saw, and keeping an eye out for pirates, of which they saw none. He wished that they would see some action soon.


Edited by - ww2jacob on 8/28/2004 12:44:36 PM

Chapter 2- Battle Stations


His wish was granted. The next morning, Lieutenant Roberts shook him awake. Roberts told him that something had happened, and he was needed on the bridge immediately. Captain Black headed for the bridge.
When he arrived, he was told that he had an urgent message from fleet command. He opened it, and it read?

To: Captain Black, 6th SP Task Force
From: Admiral Johnson, Fleet Command
Flags: speedy, URGENT, confidential

Captain,
We have just had a new development. As you probably know, Rheinland moved into Sigma yesterday. However, something happened, and the message about the war that was sent to Tohoku was... tampered with. The people at the Battleship Matsumoto got a message saying that it was Liberty that had attacked them. They retaliated by attacking the DSE employees at the Chugoku Gate Site. Hundreds of them were killed. We responded by attacking some of their forces in Kepler. Now, we are officially at war with Kusari. We have made several other negotiations, and Rheinland, the Blood Dragons, and the GC are on our side. Those Kusari forces near you will probably find out soon, so be ready. You now have new orders, protect any and all surviving Liberty Corporation convoys that come by, and eliminate all Kusari forces that oppose you. I will let you know when all of the convoys have been accounted for, and will then give you permission to return to Liberty Space. Also, the Battleship Oklahoma will be dispatched to protect the Galileo Jump gate, send the convoys there.
Regards,
Admiral Johnson


Captain Black stared at the message for a second. It just didn?t make sense. All out war? How could it happen? Then, he jumped back to his senses.
"Battlestations! Prepare for action!"
Men began running around. He hit the button for the alarm. He wanted everyone ready. Over the comm channel, he told the captains and wing leaders to prepare for battle and enter formation with him. They were going to pay a visit to the Battleship Myoko.


Edited by - ww2jacob on 8/28/2004 12:52:49 PM

That's what I've got so far. Please let me know if you have questions or comments. Anything at all. I will be glad to clear thing up, and I love to hear what people think of my stories. Thanks!

Here we are, the next chapter. (In my opinion it is the best so far! )

Chapter 3- Test of Skill

Captain Black watched the computer intently. He waited, waited, then, they were in range!
"Fire the main gun!" Black called to his weapons officer.
The ship shook for a second. Black kept his eyes glued to the computer screen. He had fired, and the other cruisers had fired.
"Incoming communication from the Myoko!" cried Black?s comm officer.
"Transfer it to my station."
Then, a Kusari male wearing a crisp Naval Forces uniform popped up on the screen.
"What is the meaning of this? Why are you shooting at us?"
"Haven't you heard? We are at war with you captain! Brace for impact!"
Black laughed. It was right at that moment when the shots from the cruisers' main guns impacted on the hull of the Myoko.
"Damage report! Man all stations! Launch fighters!" cried the Kusari captain. "You'll pay for this!" he added, then clicked off the screen.
Black then called to his fighter squadron. He informed them of the situation, then told them to engage the Myoko and its fighters. Black then checked the damage he had done to the Kusari battleship. Not a lot, but he did hit what he was aiming for; the battleship's reactor room. The reactor hadn't exploded, he wasn't that good, but it had put the battleship's engines offline, which meant he had the ability to attack a standing target. That would improve his odds greatly.
"Sir, we have an incoming wing of Kusari torpedo bombers!"
Black called to his fighters, and told them to destroy the bombers.
"Sir, main gun is ready for firing!" cried his weapons officer.
"Very good. Fire at will."
Another shaking. Black watched the computer as it showed the shot moving through space and finally hitting the Myoko's hull. He was getting closer to destroying the enemy ship. The other cruisers fired. Their shots hit their marks. One more volley should complete the job.
Then, another shaking, this time it was violent.
"Report!"
"Torpedoes sir. One of the flak turrets has been lost, and hull integrity is failing."
"See what you can do to fix it."
"Aye-aye sir."
He heard the screams of one of his pilots. The battle out there was not going too well. Defenders were no match for the Kusari heavy fighters.
"Sir, another wing of Naval Forces fighters just came through the trade lane!"
They were not going to survive much longer.
"Any convoys?"
"Yes sir, three have gone safely through to the gate."
Good, they were getting closer to accomplishing their mission.
"Sir, main gun is charged!"
Those were the words he was wanting to hear.
"Fire main gun!" he cried.
The other ships fired right after his.
Two seconds later, the shots connected with the hull of the Myoko. A huge explosion came out of the ship. The once great battleship broke up into a few pieces, then, one by one, those pieces were destroyed. A huge cheer resounded throughout the bridge.
"Calm down, there will be time for partying back in Liberty. Right now, we've got a job to finish."
Everyone got back to work.


There you have it. The next chapter will be up shortly.


Edited by - ww2jacob on 9/2/2004 5:33:10 PM

Next chap. This one is pretty sweet as well!

Chapter 4- Honor, Glory, and the Road Ahead

Captain Black sank into his chair in his new office at Navy Headquarters on Planet Manhattan. It felt very good to be back in Liberty. He had been very close to becoming space dust at times, but he had come through.
After the Myoko had been destroyed, his radar operator picked up over two dozen new ships coming into the system from New Tokyo. It was a whole Kusari fleet! His ships managed to fight off the rest of the Myoko's fighters, and then, just as they were about to leave, another group of convoys came out of the trade lane! They said that the Kusari fleet was right on their heels, and that they were the last living convoys still in Kusari. He told them to take the trade lane to the Galileo gate. They moved through slowly and meticulously. As the last Startracker cleared the ring, the Kusari fleet came out of the other trade lane ring!
"Fighters, get out of here! Warn the Oklahoma! Cruisers, cover them!"
His cruiser slowly turned to face the huge Kusari fleet. There were two battleships, three cruisers, eight gunboats, and over two dozen fighters! All at once, they opened up with a wall of fire on the three cruisers guarding the gate, and the crews prepared for battle.
The first volley from the fleet did enormous damage to the Liberty cruisers, but they held together.
"Sir, all fighters are through the ring."
"Order the Providence through next! Fire the main gun!"
Black watched on his screen as the Providence moved toward the ring.
"Intrepid, get out of here!" he called over the comm.
"NO! I will stay here while you go. I won't let you do this! You'll die for sure!" cried Captain Morrison.
"Look, you will go, or I will fire on you!" "Get out of here, that is a direct order!"
Black watched as the Intrepid moved towards the ring. The Providence had just gone through.
Another huge shaking. The ship was barely holding together! He didn't want a report, he was afraid of what he'd hear. The Intrepid made it through the ring! He ordered his pilot to guide the ship into the trade lane ring.
So, they had made it out of Kusari alive. When he returned to the Norfolk Shipyards, the technicians had said that the damage was the most extensive they had ever seen! The whole operation became very famous in a short time; mostly due to the Liberty media calling it, 'The first major victory for our side in this war.' Captain Black had become famous as well.
Today, he was going to another ceremony, yet this one was only for him. He would receive a promotion, probably to the rank of Commodore. He was also told that he might receive a medal.
A few hours later, Black was standing on the stage in the gym of the Liberty Training Academy on Manhattan, the very same one he had gotten a degree from. Admiral Johnson walked up to the podium before a crowd of over a hundred high-ranking Liberty officials and media correspondents.
"And now, the real reason that we are all here, I will present a few awards to Captain William Black, who is the hero of the Shikoku campaign."
The Admiral then gave a brief summary of Black's actions in Shikoku.
"Now I present, to Captain Black, the rank of Rear Admiral in the Liberty Navy."
Wow! Rear Admiral? He had just skipped two ranks! This was incredible! As Adm. Johnson pinned the ensignia to his uniform, Black smiled the biggest smile that he had ever smiled.
"Now, I will give Admiral Black his next award. I present to you, Admiral William Black, the Liberty Cross. His courage, bravery, and dedication in battle is incredible, and that is why he deserves this medal."
At that moment, when Johnson pinned the medal on his uniform, Admiral William Black was then happiest man in the galaxy.


Edited by - ww2jacob on 9/2/2004 5:41:41 PM

i like it alot keep it up

Hey were are the new chapters jacob? i know you still go o the forums

Edited by - DSQrn on 9/11/2004 10:39:14 AM

Sorry, I've been busy w/ school. Plus i had to finish off the other stories. Don't worry though, its not dead!

____________________________________
Some questions I have...
If you throw a cat out a car window does it become kitty liter?
If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Why do people who know the least know it the loudest?

Here we go, the next chapter, FINALLY!

Chapter Five- A New Place

Rear Admiral William Black walked through the corridors of the LNS Jefferson. The ship was brand new, and the sparkling clean halls and rooms were a testament to that fact. He made his way to the bridge. The bridge was huge, and filled with all sorts of new equipment. He walked around and looked at all of the different scanners, weapon stations, and viewscreens. It was an incredible ship, top of the line.
Black then made his way up to the command post. It was at the very top of the ship. This was the part of the ship where the admiral would sit. He would watch the ship, and his fleet, and make decisions. This would be his place.
Black exited the lift and walked into the room. There were big viewports all the way around, and towards the center of the room, there was a huge chair. He walked over, and sat down in it. On the sides, there were a variety of screens. The chair faced a massive viewport. He looked out at the prow of a Liberty battleship. The Jefferson was the newest ship in the Liberty fleet, and it was the top of its class.
He looked down at the screens on the chair. One had a schematic diagram of the ship, and gave damage reports. Another told him how much power was currently available to the ship. Another told him about the weapons. They were the best part. Four huge, slow firing guns were mounted on the ship's bow. They were for fighting other capital ships. There were also a variety of missile turrets, flak turrets, and secondary turrets.
"You haven't even seen the best part, sir." Said Captain Fox.
Captain Fox was the Captain of the Jefferson. He would manage the command of the ship, while Black would manage the whole fleet. In his task force, he had the Jefferson, his old three cruisers, and a new cruiser-- (the Glory)--four fighter wings for the cruisers, and three more wings on the Jefferson. The whole group was named Task Force 3. They were yet to receive deployment orders.
"What would that be?" Black asked.
"Let me show you."
Fox walked over to the chair that Black was in. He looked at the damage screen. He hit a few buttons on the screen. The schematic on the screen began to pulsate a blue color. 'Shields Online', came up on the screen.
"This thing has shields?"
"Yes sir, it does indeed. However, they drain our energy, so only activate them in battle."
"Sounds good."
This ship was truly top of the line.

A few days later, Admiral Black was sitting in his office, when a mail message popped up on his screen. The message contained orders for him to go and escort a Liberty diplomat to Waterloo Station in orbit around Planet New London. His trip would take him first to San Diego, where he would pick up the diplomat, then on to Bretonia through Magellan. His entire task force was ordered to leave the next day. He told an aide to have all of his ships prepped for departure.
He had a feeling about what this mission was for. Tensions with Bretonia had been escalating, and this diplomat was probably being sent to smooth things over with the Bretonians. Assassinations were a possibility, because Kusari could hire a variety of criminal groups in Magellan, or in Bretonia itself to attempt to kill this ambassador, so the High Command must have considered this moderate-risk task a good one for Black's first job as an Admiral.

The next day, Admiral Black was sitting in the command post of the LNS Jefferson. He watched as the ship pulled away from the shipyard. Waiting for them were the other ships in the task force. The force made their way to the California system after the Jefferson had met up with them. Black was impressed, Captain Fox was doing an excellent job of running the ship. They encountered no problems on the way to San Diego.
When they arrived at the San Diego, Black boarded a small, armored transport to dock with the station. On board, the ambassador was waiting for him.
"Admiral Black?"
"Yes, that would be me. And you are?"
"Diplomat Charles Hapgood."
"Nice to meet you. Now, we have no time to lose, we need to back on board my ship."
"Of course Admiral."
During the trip to Magellan, Hapgood stayed at the command post. He claimed that it was because he wanted to see everything, but Black knew that was not it. Hapgood was watching Black, he wanted to make sure Black didn't make any mistakes. Black talked to Hapgood as they traveled through the jump. Hapgood was an aging gentleman, who had a very commanding presence. Black learned that he had been Liberty's finest diplomat for over twenty years, and had been a diplomat of some kind for over thirty. Apparently he was being sent to Bretonia to attempt to 'work things out' with the Bretonian government.
They arrived in Magellan and went to Freeport 4. The trip in the trade lane was uneventful. Freeport 4 reported of no hostile activity in the area, so they continued to the Manchester Jump Gate. Halfway there, Black noticed a large, dark cloud up ahead. He had been to Magellan before, and he hadn't recalled ever seeing such a cloud before. He asked Hapgood about it and he said that he had no idea either. The task force proceeded into the cloud.
Partway through, Black could make out the next trade ring. However, it was bent out of shape, as if it had taken incredible damage. The ships flew through the damaged ring. They stopped.
"Why have we stopped Captain?" Black asked over the intercom.
"The trade ring has been damaged, sir. Looks like a pirate attack. It happened pretty recently too, sir."
Black had a hunch.
"Scan this field, tell me what it is made of.
"One moment, sir. It appears to be made of fuel and engine parts, plus some radiation."
"Take us towards the source of it all."
"Okay, but that will take us away from the trade lane."
"Just do it Captain."
The ship turned. They moved deeper into the field. Black could begin to make out shapes. Then, he could see it all. All the carnage. Scattered throughout the field were wrecks. Dozens of them. He saw the bow of a battleship, half a cruiser, a scorched Defender. The strangest thing, however, was that they were all Liberty wrecks. It had to have been a full battlegroup, and there were no dead enemies. It was impossible. No full Liberty battlegroup could be destroyed that easily. In fact, he had no knowledge of any battlegroup ever being fully decimated like this. Nothing like this had ever happened before.


Edited by - ww2jacob on 9/30/2004 9:08:21 PM

Sorry about the lack of updates recently.
I started a new fanfic, mostly because of a lack of intrest in this one. If you want more of this one, then for the love of writing, please tell me!
I have another chapter on paper, so I might type it up this weekend.

I like it!

Chris Bates
SSM-TC Modeler