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Hello community! Some of you may remember, the others don’t, but some years ago I actually ran a LEGO CUUSOO project that proposed to create a line of micro ships from your favorite game FTL: Faster Than Light. Despite having a huge following and even some articles on the media, and reaching the ultimate goal of 10.000 followers, the Lego Group did not pick the project for their LEGO Ideas set. I have promised myself that one day I will make the instructions available for the fans, and laid low for too long. But wait no more! I have put the PDF instructions for the micro ships from FTL: Faster Than Light on Gumroad! You heard that right, this is not a drill! The instructions are released in two forms: individually and in bundles! The three FTL Bundles cost 9$ and include a set of instructions for FTL ships plus a FREE instruction of game’s mascot ship The Kestrel! The one MEGA Bundle costs 22$ and includes all available FTL ship instructions AND A FREE instruction of The Kestrel! And finally, each PDF instruction is also sold separately for 5$. !Check out my Gumroad profile to see what’s available! But wait, there’s more! To provide an example of an instruction, and for the sake of self-advertisement, here’s an absolutely free of charge PDF Instruction with The Kestrel and a SUPER BONUS in form of an instruction of SSV Normandy from Mass Effect franchise: >>>CLICK HERE<<< Awesome! Now, a couple of disclaimers, just to be sure we’re on one page. 1. I do not own FTL Faster Than Light. It’s a game made by Subset Games aka Matthew Davis and Justin Ma, and y'all should know that, we're on their forums. The instructions are sold with their approval. 2. These are digital goods, which means there are no piece packages. Those are PDF files that show you how to assemble those micro ships with the pieces available, plus brick lists so you could easily buy what you need. 3. The choice of instructions included in the bundles is not random. With the help of Glen Bricker and polls he made during the CUUSOO campaign we’ve paired them up, so there’s that. Don’t request new bundles or ask to remake the existing ones. 4. Yes, the Kestrel is in every bundle. It’s free, so why not, right? 5. If you want me to make something that you like, go and check my Commissions info post. And now, shout-outs! Shout-out to Subset Games for making an awesome game that inspired me to make this all possible! Shout-out to Glen Bricker, who supported me through all the hardships of doing the CUUSOO project and beyond that. Go, check out and support his current project Brickyt! Shout-out to Stefan “Sastrei” Garcia for creating those amazing instructions! Go check out his Homeworld conversions! Shout-out to all of you who followed and supported LEGO FTL project on CUUSOO, and to those of you who over the years found me and told me that you are still waiting for the instructions to happen! Here’s to you, FTL and LEGO fans! And a little shout-out to my first customer artiestroke from Tumblr. You’re the MVP Roxy. :3
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Just a quick note to say that I finally beat FTL. I've put so much time into this game that it truly feels like a milestone in my life. I will now go on to more productive things. (protip: cloaking is OP. took me long enough to figure it out)
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“Charlie, Eoin, you need to get out of there!” The mantis cringed at the Captain’s voice screaming through his earpiece, which was more than a little too loud for his liking. He turned to his companion, a fearsome gray lanius who was taking quite a bit of satisfaction from destroying his surroundings. “But Captain,” Charlie gleefully chuckled as he ripped a control panel out of the wall, “Eoin and I are having so much fun! Such work is indeed its own reward.” “Speak for yourself, buddy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- you need a different hobby,” Eoin grumbled. The mantis lifted one of his green claws to the side of his head, adjusting his earpiece as he addressed the captain. “Prior, beam us back anytime. By anytime I mean now.” Back on The Stardust, Captain Leopold Prior let a small smile shine through, a rarity as of late. It was nice to have another crew member, albeit one who was not human like himself, who shared his wit on this starship, but the incredible responsibility of saving the entire United Federation had dulled his own sense of humor. His fingers flew across the HUD in front of him, pressing various floating buttons as he glanced back and forth between several displays of his ship’s adversary- the Rebel Flagship, an enormous monstrosity that was the cornerstone of the Rebel Fleet. “Teleporter’s still cooling down, but you’ll be out soon. Boyega, how are the weapons looking?” Major Thaddeus Boyega was similarly engaged in his own controls in the weapons room. “Burst laser and breach missile fully charged. Permission to fire?” “Let ‘er have it, try to hit their shield system and their piloting.” Boyega frowned, always logical and always solemn. “Prior, I don’t believe this is the best course of action at the moment. I’d suggest we eliminate their shields and their mind control system instead.” Before, Prior would have either dismissed Boyega’s advice with a humorous remark or angrily ignored it. However, the journey to the Federation Base and the current battle had changed his demeanor considerably. “Whatever you think is best. Just make sure to hit them hard.” Nodding, Boyega set the targets of the weapons on his computer and fired. Outside of the ship, The Stardust’s weaponry let loose. A huge rocket fired from a launcher attached to the hull, followed quickly by three short laser bursts. The rocket hit the Flagship with a spectacular soundless explosion, completely eliminating its remaining shields. One of the lasers missed its target, but the other two hit the part of the Flagship’s hull covering its mind control system, disabling it. A faint whoosh alerted Prior that Charlie and Eoin had been successfully beamed back from the Flagship. Unfortunately, this was the least of his concerns, as red letters flashed repeatedly on the screen in front of him as sirens accompanied by an automated voice sounded throughout the ship. WARNING: POWER SURGE DETECTED Prior hurriedly attempted to activate the ship’s cloaking function, but to no avail- the system was still cooling down from the last time he had used it. Cursing, he turned on communications for the entire ship so that the entire crew could hear him. “Looks like we’re gonna have to tough this one out, guys. Brace! Diaz, get ready to dodge.” Jessica Diaz, the ship’s engineer, was too nervous to reply. Formerly a Federation linguist and expert of alien culture, she was beginning to have some regrets about joining the crew all those sectors ago. But she had been friends with Prior at the Federation Academy, and journeying across the stars certainly had been the experience of a lifetime. She had made numerous new friends and discovered bravery within herself she had never known existed. So she did what Prior said and braced. The captain could only watch as innumerable small cannons popped out of the Flagship’s hull, glowing bright with energy. At once, they fired, several green bolts flying towards The Stardust. Prior grasped at the manual controls of the ship. Some of the bolts hit harmlessly against the ship’s shields, while the captain managed to evade others. Two managed to find their way to the hull, rattling the entire ship and almost knocking Prior off of his feet. Adjusting himself, Prior glanced at the HUD and noticed with alarm that the shield operation room was on fire. Dr. Jones attempted to get up, barely managing to straighten himself against the wall. The dazed engi looked around at the destruction before him. Several fires blazed around the shield operation room, destroying machinery and slowly lowering the power of The Stardust’s shields. “Jones, put out those fires, now!” Jones, usually the cheery sort, found difficulty finding positivity in this situation. “Task impossible, resubmit request at a later time.” His optimism was soon restored as a door on the wall opened to reveal a zoltan woman carrying two fire extinguishers, one of which she tossed to Jones. He gratefully caught it and, despite not being able to smile, the engi’s voice brimmed with gratitude. “Envoy!” The zoltan known only as Envoy smiled, always happy to see the unassuming engi. However, as there were more pressing matters at hand, she turned back to the fire and began to spray the extinguishing agent it as Jones did the same, slowly but surely putting out the inferno. As the fires began to die down, Envoy glanced over at Jones to see that some of his mechanical plating was charred. Even then, the engi was still attempting to repair the damage done. “Jones, you’re being ridiculous. Get healed up.” “Negative. Adequate health to continue repairs.” “Get to the medbay or those burns won’t be the only thing hurting you.” Jones nervously looked up at the zoltan. “Meaning acknowledged,” was all he said before he sprinted to the medbay surprisingly quickly for someone who was injured as Envoy chuckled to herself. Once inside, Jones relaxed as the medbay’s healing nanomachines flooded through his body and repaired the damage done by the fire. Also present was fellow engi Starger, who had sustained damage from the second bolt of energy that had hit the ship. Starger was a bit more cynical than Dr. Jones. “Mission progress = satisfactory, agreed?” he muttered sarcastically. If engi were able to create facial expressions, Jones would have smiled. “Hope is valuable in such situations. Compensation for when ability is not adequate.” Back in the pilot’s room, Captain Prior glanced at the display that showed the various systems and subsystems of the Rebel Flagship. Just as in The Stardust’s shield room, fires blazed in the Flagship’s systems, but to a much greater extent. It had sustained quite a bit of damage, more damage than any ship should be able to. But if the readings before Prior were correct, the ship’s hull integrity was very low… He didn’t want to believe it until he saw the Flagship crumble with his own two eyes. “Boyega, give me some good news on the weapons!” “Lasers and missile almost fully charged. Give me the order and I’ll fire.” Prior knew that he should give the order now, but his old ego crept back and he took a moment to admire. Admire everything that had come before, all that his crew had accomplished. All brilliant, brave, and more than any captain could have asked for. He would certainly miss the adventures of The Stardust, and yet he knew that he would carry all that he had gained from their journey for the rest of his life. And so he spoke. “Let’s blow ‘em out of the water, Boyega. Open fire.” In reality, the missile was all that was truly needed. Regardless, both it and the laser bursts struck the hull of the Rebel Flagship until it could take no more. Fissures appeared throughout the enormous ship, numerous explosions bursting and almost immediately extinguishing themselves in the vacuum of space. Hunks of metal flew in random trajectories from the ship as it was consumed by the heavy damage it had sustained, until finally it shattered completely into several pieces. It was over. The Flagship was destroyed. The Federation was saved. There were a few seconds of silence. The crew of The Stardust stared at the screens in their rooms, dumbfounded at the spectacular scene of destruction before them. Then cheers resounded through the communications mixed with the laughter of those who had faced death and had done something truly great as a result. Listening to all of this, Prior simply leaned back in his captain’s chair and smiled. --- Thanks to the valiant effort of: The Stardust And her successful crew: Prior, Diaz, Boyega, Jones, Charlie, Eoin, Envoy and Starger The Rebel’s flagship was destroyed, throwing their fleet into chaos and ensuring a Federation victory --- A quick, hasty thing I wrote after my most recent return to FTL: Faster than Light. I had decided to return to it because I was bothered that none of my high scores were with the Kestrel Type A ship, which being the nerd that I am I consider to be the "canon" ship. So I decided to try again to create the playthrough that would be the definitive FTL game for myself. The Stardust succeeded pretty well, blowing my other high scores away at 5150 (playing on Normal)- 300+ more than my previous high score. In addition, one of my crew, Dr. Jones, claimed the spot of Most Repairs at 55. Also I managed to collect exactly 2300 scrap, somehow. More than that, I connected with the crew in a way I haven't in a while, which is something that really got my creative gears going and will hopefully help me with a more ambitious original writing project that you'll see some of soon. Now to destroy the Flagship with the three ship types with which I have yet to beat the game...
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FTL Faster Than Light Hosted by Alex Humva, Co-Hosted by young sinatra The Setup It is 95 Standard Years since the discovery and application of FTL by humanity. Since then they've joined the greater stage of the galaxy, with their part of it dominated by five other races. The Engi, a cybernetic species, has formed a loose alliance with the humans to make the Federation. The Rockmen lay off to the outer regions of known space, a secretive and reclusive race. The Slugs live in thick nebulae and harsh worlds, slimey telepathic creatures pawning their services across the galaxy. The Mantis, an insectoid and warlike race, are well known as pirates and mercenaries in the disputes that trouble the galaxy. Finally, the Zoltan have appeared on the galactic scene, beings of pure energy with a strong legalistic way of thinking. But in the year 94 ALT, disaster has struck the humans. The Mantis, fearful of humanity's growing colonial influences and the threat the Federation poses to their unrivaled stance as the galaxy's warriors, has struck a decisive blow against the planet Earth itself. Millions of casualties in the Sol system and dozens of raids against Earth's colonies has traumatized the whole race. The Federation responded with total war, convincing the Zoltans to join in on the struggle. The Mantis have made friends of their own, swaying the reclusive Rockmen to their side. Now, the UFS Kestrel has been brought out of drydock, given a mission straight from High Command: to reach Zoltan space and deliver important data to the Zoltan Ministers. Any means necessary to do this have been authorized; Federation battlefield commissioning powers have been granted to the Colonel of the Kestrel. The information will make it through, lest yet another blow be brought to humanity. How The Game Works Player characters in this game are members of the UFS Kestrel, a newly commissioned cruiser designed to be small enough to evade detection but large enough to pack a punch. If your character has been pre-approved before the game starts, then you start on on the ship, right off the bat. If you approved afterwards, you can be picked up from a station, or, if you’d like to make a more flashy appearance, can be picked up after a plot event. Want to be an escaped slave? The Kestrel will run into a slaver and we’ll see how that goes. Your character can be just about any profession, so long as it makes some sort of sense for the setting, and can be one of the listed races. Custom races are, regrettably, not allowed for simplicity’s sake, you can however have a modified race, within reason and approval of course. That being said, any modified character should have a legitimate reason for why that character was modified. The World The game takes place in the universe of the indie game FTL, with some liberal fact extrapolation and content adding. While the game took place in the distant future, during a struggle within humanity, this game takes place a while before that, though still at an ambiguous point in the future. It has been 95 years since humanity perfected faster than light travel, during which time they have become a galactic force to be reckoned with. With over 20 solar systems to call their own and many more planets colonized, humanity has made itself a force to be reckoned with amongst the already-present alien species. Humanity continually finds itself held back by its internal divisions, however, and currently exists as two major powers; the Terran Confederacy, calling Sol and a few colonies their own, and the League of Independent Planets, colonies who have broken off and united together into an alliance. The technology of this era is futuristic, but not quite cyberpunk or anything of the sort. While humanity has progressed significantly since its earlier days, it is still distinctly recognizable. The primarily difference between our world and theirs is the full adoption of space travel and the invention of the titular FTL drive. This drive allows for instantaneous travel between solar bodies as well as planetary bodies, though only in specific circumstances. However, communication technology remains slower than light, and as such data must be transmitted physically. The weaponry of this period relies heavily on a mixture of kinetic, missile, and laser technology. Worth noting is that drone warfare is not yet popular amongst humanity, with poor AI holding it back significantly. Of course, there are also the other sapient species of this universe, detailed below. The Species The Engi: Humanity’s closest allies, these semi-robotic creatures are a curious species. Entirely dependent on their cybernetic enhancements to survive, the Engi are nonetheless an organic species. They are, at first glance, devoid of emotion, though prolonged exposure to the Engi is quick to tell that these robotic creatures can experience just as wide a range of emotions as a human. They are the most advanced species in the galaxy, as well as the only power that kept the Mantis in check before the arrival of humanity. Engi are trained from an young age to be master engineers, and are renowned through the galaxy for their ability to build and repair just about anything. The Zoltan: A very legalistic species, little is known about the Zoltan. They are constructed entirely of contained energy, glowing an unearthly green and totally unaffected by such things as lack of air to breath. Thanks to their visology, the Zoltan are capable of exuding significant amounts of energy, enough to power significant portions of starships. Other than these qualities, however, not much else is clear about the Zoltans. Even the Engi are unsure of the Zoltan, saying they arrived to the galactic scene shortly after humanity did, though in that time the Zoltan have aggressively expanded across worlds uninhabitable to other species. The Rockmen: Creatures of living stone, the Rockmen are an exceedingly reclusive race. Few outsiders are allowed past their border worlds, though pirates make frequent excursions outside of Rock space. Despite their reclusive nature, though, small fleets are often seen traveling through the galaxy, owing to the nomadic nature of many of the Rock. Due to their vastly different biology, Rockmen are capable of surviving a variety of different environments, though oddly enough they still require oxygen to breath. The Slugs: Slimey creatures that have made their homes in the dense nebulae of the galaxy, the slugs are merchants at heart. Born with an urge to gather things, most slugs have turned to capitalism, while others take the more direct route of piracy. Still more simply outsource themselves, as slugs are also born with telepathy. A good slug can detect a sapient thought at nearly two light years away, and are more than capable of serving as lie detectors for negotiations. The Mantis: A terrifying insectoid race, the Mantis have been at war with themselves or the galaxy as long as anyone can remember. Looking similar to their Earth namesake, Mantis are born to litters numbering in the thousands, and must eat their brethren to survive infancy. From this system emerges tough creatures with exceedingly short tempers, though remarkably intelligent for a species of their sort, and long lived. A typical Mantis can, if it survives, live until the ripe old age of 85. Most do not, though, as Mantis fight and die on a daily basis. The Glossary The Federation: An interstellar organization, currently made up of humans, Engi, and Zoltan. It sets general policy and serves as a military alliance. Its primary mission statement is to ensure the safety and well-being of the galaxy. FTL: Faster Than Light, used to describe the main mode of transportation in this universe. FTL travel is facilitated by special FTL crystals, which expend the massive amounts of energy required to travel so quickly. These crystals are burnt up when used though, and only last long enough to travel to a nearby star system. Used crystals and poorer quality crystals still have residual energy however, even if they aren’t enough to swing a ship across the galaxy, and are often used to power energy weapons. The Kestrel The Kestrel is a three tiered blockade runner, the first of its kind, designed to hold a considerable crew but not be so large as to draw attention. Extremely modular in design, it is capable of being upgraded significantly, and indeed, hot-swapping weapons at supply ports is one of its main features. The layout of the Kestrel is simple enough; this image gives its general body type and color scheme. Its bottom deck is devoted to cargo and supplies, as well as the storage of a small land-rover for transporting said supplies. Its middle deck is where the battle stations and bridge can be found, as well as the central engine control area. The bridge itself is out on the forward end of the ship, with battlestations along the sides. On the top is a small bunk area and the mess hall, where the crew can sleep and eat. The Crew Current list of positions aboard the Kestrel. You’re welcome to make up your own position, subject to approval by the staff of course. The old list has been decommissioned, in light of a new and improved list in the discussion topic. Please refer to it for all things characters and profiles. The Rules Follow all BZPower rules. Common sense, common sense, common sense. Use it please. No autohitting without prior plotting or excuses as to why you’re going to hit your opponent. Death is a fact of life in the void; players could conceivably kill other players in the cramped quarters of the spaceship, though one assumes the rest of the crew wouldn’t like that too much. In addition, away missions can turn really bad, and your character could die there from a bad decision. Life happens, death happens. No godmodding, this includes metagaming. Death may come easy, but you still can’t eradicate the whole crew in one go. Listen to the staff; if you have a problem with a decision, do so in a respectful manner. You are limited to two characters (at a time), unless otherwise given permission. This is to keep the ship from suffering overpopulation. Have fun. The Profile Name: (Self-explanatory) Gender: (Yep) Age: (How old are you?) Species: (There’s six available) Profession: (What do you do aboard the Kestrel?) Skills: (We all have some; keep it to three please.) Items: (Any particular weapons or sentiments or tech that came with you?) Appearance: (Even aliens differ.) Personality: (Why does your character do what they do? What makes them tick?) Biography: (What’s your life story?)
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Hello, folks. As you probably guessed, this is the review topic for the FTL prequel story "Red Skies", Discussion of the story itself should be done here, rather than cluttering the game topic. As an author's note; As you've probably guessed if you're reading this, this story is the prequel to the RPG currently running. It details the story of the Invasion of Terra, as told largely from the viewpoint of then-Captain Daniels, along with cameo appearances of other characters from the RPG. All of the broad events and details in this story have been provided by the ever-patient Humva, and he has fact-checked anything I have come up with. There will likely be eight installments, each one at least as long as the first. Cameo appearances will start a little later, and if you want one for a character, let me know and I'll try to slip it in. Enjoy. Story Topic
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The First Day "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." -Nautical proverb Year 94 ALT (After Light Travel) Earth Orbit, Sol System 19:34 Hours Laughter filtered through the air of the Officer’s Lounge, emanating largely from the cluster of men and women seated around a small card’s table. Those that hadn’t been laughing gave exaggerated sighs, and in a few cases, muttered, awestruck profanity. A dark-haired woman in her late twenties, rank insignia identifying her as a Captain, drew a mound of poker chips from the center towards her, grinning widely. “And that, friends, is why you never, ever bet against me.” “Geez, Izumi, remind us all why you’re here, and not at some poker championship somewhere?” The speaker, himself a Captain, was a dirty blonde man with a wry grin, looking to be in his early thirties. He shook his head, looking across the table at another of the officers. “Stein, you’re a commanding officer; Aren’t you supposed to be inscrutable or something?” “Talk to me when I’m not on my third drink, Layton.” The other man quipped, raising his glass as if in salute only to take a long sip from it. Izumi, meanwhile, just grinned smugly at the other Captain, taking a sip from her own drink. “Besides, I don’t think it’d do me any good. This crowd, you’re all luckier than God, and I don’t understand it.” “I’ll personally settle for being as lucky as God.” A brown-haired man remarked from the seat to Layton’s immediate left, chin in his hand. “I swear, if I were any less careful you’d play me for all I had.” “Wouldn’t be hard!” Stein remarked, prompting another round of laughter. The brown-haired man rolled his eyes, turning around to signal for a drink. “That said, Daniels, I hear your movie collection’s probably worth more than my entire salary, and I outrank you.” “That might be a bit of an exaggeration. How much do you make?” “Ssh, sssh, Will, don’t remind him; He works on a cruiser, it’s a touchy subject for him.” Layton commented mischievously, only laughing when the Lieutenant Colonel, in the midst of taking a drink, simply glared at him over the rim of his glass. Izumi chuckled under her breath, attention momentarily diverted from the stacks of chips she’d been in the process of organizing. “Don’t get too smug, Captain. You’re not likely to get lucky enough to stay on a ship like this when you get to where I am. If I get the chance, I’ll see to it that you get assigned to the smallest ship in the fleet!” Layton gave a look of mock fright, before returning to his grin and shaking his head. “I don’t know, sir. You heard the shipboard whisperings?” “About the Colonel?” Izumi asked, looking up from her cards, eyes fixing on her colleague curiously. “I’ve heard a few of those. Reid tells me that he’s had more transmissions from Munich than usual lately.” “Yeah, about the Colonel.” Layton confirmed, leaning back in his seat. “People’ve been thinking that he might be getting promoted. Can’t say it’d surprise me, either. He’s practically a legend, and he’s been at his rank about the right time.” “I don’t think he’d leave the Archangel.” Will commented, sipping at his drink thoughtfully. “He’s been serving on this ship what, almost forty years? He’s never been away from it long. It’s more home for him than Earth, I’d be willing to bet. Besides, does anyone here really see Bryant as a General? He’d hate the bureaucracy.” “Well, regardless, ladies and gentlemen,” The Lieutenant Colonel began, setting his glass down and his cards with it. “It’s been a blast, but Colonel O’Reilly will be expecting me back on the Defiant soon. And I’m on duty in the morning, and she’ll skin me if I have a hangover.” As he stood to depart, the dark haired woman stood with him, pushing in her chair. No one was particularly surprised; She was the Security Chief, it was her job to see that visiting officers were escorted wherever they were headed. The Lt. Colonel paused long enough to gather his things and nod to his fellows before walking to the door, flanked by the Captain. William sighed, setting his own cards down and gathering them up, while Layton gathered the various glasses from around the table. “Hey, Mark,” The Captain said, getting his friend’s attention while he shuffled the cards idly. “Do you think the Colonel’s going to get promoted?” “I don’t see how he won’t.” The other officer replied, organizing the glasses on a tray and tossing the assorted bits of trash into a nearby receptacle. “He’s been in the Forces for forty, fifty years, right? Records show he did more than a few tours out in the colonies, and some rough ones at that. A clear pick, if I ever saw one.” Will tapped the cards against the table, the sound easily audible in the now quiet lounge. He looked thoughtful, sliding the deck back into its sleeve without really looking at it. After a few moments he shrugged, slipping the cards into a pocket. “Well, I suppose we’ll find out after the main fleet gets back.” “Yeah. How long’s that going to be, anyway? They’ve been gone over a week.” “About another week, most likely.” The Captain responded, sliding his chair out to stand, and glancing about to make sure that a mess hadn’t been left behind. “The trip to the Engi homeworld takes quite a while. Til then, we’re one of the thirty ships left guarding Earth.” “And isn’t that the most boring job ever.” His counterpart commented, rolling his eyes. The duo moved for the door after raising a hand in farewell to the staff of the lounge, never ceasing their conversation. “I mean really. Thirty ships doesn’t seem like much, but nothing ever gets through to Earth. I hate patrolling so close to home, it’s just too easy. Not what a ship like this should be doing, either. I want to be back out in the colonies, near the edge of our turf. Back out where the pirates are, where all the universe’s odd-” “No, you want to be a hero.” The brown-haired man interrupted in amusement, raising an eyebrow at his friend’s look of mock indignation. “Don’t give me that look, Mark. You and I both know it’s true. You want to climb the ladder, want to make a difference. And maybe get into the history books while you’re at it. You never shut up about it back at the Academy.” “Alright, fine, you win.” The Navigations Officer replied good-naturedly, slipping his hands into his pockets casually. “Besides, everyone wants to do something cool. Climbing the ranks is just a bonus. A bonus with a bigger paycheck, admittedly.” Will chuckled, shaking his head in amusement as their path took them to an intersection in the hallway. Both men turned left, greeting familiar faces as they passed. The hallways weren’t very crowded, not at this time of night, but they were made to accommodate plenty of movement. Their footsteps made little sound as they turned the corner, continuing on their way without breaking stride. The ship’s hallways were a maze to those not familiar with them, but for the ship’s crew, they were almost like home. A very large home, admittedly, but home for the crew of five thousand. That said, most of the crew never really went through the passages the two officers currently walked; The officer’s lounge was off the beaten path, and with only ten percent of the crew at most composed of officers, there wasn’t much of a point for them to be traveled. “Besides, Will,” Mark began again, looking over at his friend as he broke the silence. “Don’t you want to move up in the world? Maybe even be a hero?” “Never really been a concern for me.” The Weapons Officer replied, shrugging slightly. “I mean, I wouldn’t turn down a promotion. But I’m the primary Weapons Officer on board a Dominion-class battleship, already a Captain, and I’m barely thirty. Not too bad, all things considered, and my paycheck’s pretty nice as is.” “Well, to each their own, I suppose. Hey, you’re still supplying the movies for tomorrow night, right?” The event in question was a well known one, among the crew members of the Archangel at least. Organized by the officers of the ship, there was a night once a month where the ship’s crew could gather to watch a movie on a larger screen, or take part in any number of related activities. The event ran a full twenty four hour day to ensure that everyone would have a chance to attend, regardless of shift, and it was custom for the crew members to supply films from their own collections. Daniels was a frequent participant, hence why so many of the features tended to be of the science fiction genre. Not that the crew tended to mind; Old science fiction tended to be more like reality for them, what with how technology had advanced. “A few of them, yeah. “ “Science fiction again?” “... Perhaps.” The Weapons Officer said evasively, though judging by his friend’s laughter, it wasn’t in the slightest bit convincing. Daniels rolled his eyes, glancing at his watch. “Oh, be quiet. I think I’m going to get some water and turn in earlier. We’ve got the first shift in the morning.” “Probably wise. I’ll stop by Reid’s quarters, see if she needs anything for tomorrow. I’ll come back after that and get some sleep.” The pair paused at the next intersection, Daniels nodding to the Navigation Officer and raising a hand in goodbye, before taking the right hand corridor. The walk wasn’t as long as one would have expected; Despite the battleship’s large size, it was set up with practicality and purpose. The officers’ quarters were situated not far from the Officers’ Lounge, and neither one was set very far from the ship’s bridge. The quarters for the enlisted were further away, closer to the maintenance rooms and the armory, allowing them to reach the rooms related to their duties more easily. There wasn’t much of a difference between the two types of rooms, bar location and accommodations. As William keyed the access code to his quarters, he took a moment to look about, taking in the familiar sights. His quarters were divided to accommodate two occupants, whereas the enlisted rooms held more. In this case, the occupants were himself and Captain Layton, and it was easy to see which side of the room was which. Where Daniel’s side was tidy and well-organized, Layton’s had more surface clutter. Their personal effects were an easy indicator, as well; Where William had cases for data drives labeled with the list of fiction contained within and printouts of the public copies of new weapons research, his roommate had games and the evidence of his pastimes, including a deck of cards perched precariously on his desk. A battered and off-used coffee maker sat next to the personal computer, the catalyst for significant productivity. Not that the Weapons Officer paid these things much mind; He took only the time to change out of his uniform, check for announcements on the ship’s main network, and then sink into his bunk. The past few days had been boring as far as duties went, but the crew had used the easy assignments to make time for more recreation than usual. Time at the pool, games in the recreation room, movies, and of course, cards in the Lounge. Between it all, he was more than ready to sleep. His thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were of plans for enjoyment, lists of the duties he would attend to in the morning, and little more than his daily routine. Blissfully unaware that nothing would ever be routine again. *************************** Outer Lunar Sensory Array 22:17 Hours In the space, even so close to the Moon, nothing ever happened. Little moved outside of scheduled flights or military patrols. The latter were particularly thin; Though the colonies maintained their own defenses, the vast majority of the Confederate fleet had been gone for quite some time on their trip to the Engi homeworld. The sensor station’s duties were simple, and monotonous. It watched for FTL travel, and kept a watchful eye for any threats. Raiders, usually, raiders and pirates. There hadn’t been many insurgencies for quite some time, though rebellious colonists had been a significant issue a few years back. Nevertheless, it rarely had need to perform any duties beyond simple monitoring of its sector of space. The stillness was rarely broken, the drudgery of idle work seldom disturbed. Perhaps that is why, when the station did detect something and sent the data back, the initial reaction was disbelief. Operators, unsure of what they were seeing, checked their equipment for malfunctions. That was the most likely explanation, after all; No matter how hardily built their devices were, unmanned stations would inevitably suffer from errors. In this case, it simply had to be an error. There was no way it could be correct. Nervous operators nevertheless passed the information on through the chain of command, all the way to the commander of the forces in orbit around Earth. They worked quickly, analysts woken and brought to their stations to verify what the sensory array was reporting. Precious minutes passed until, after the reports had been analyzed and the array’s systems checked for malfunction, the operators were forced to accept that their readings were correct. The knowledge set off a frenzy of motion and activity, weariness instantly forgotten. General Pauls, stationed at Proxima Base, received word nine minutes after the sensor’s initial notification, and the commanding crews of the ships in orbit around Earth received word seven minutes after. The ships guarding the colonies had less warning; Word reached them a few minutes after the others, depending on where they were stationed. The information was spread as fast as it could be, but as the estimated arrival time carried with it indicated, their warning came only just before the storm. ******************** TCV Archangel Earth Orbit 22:24 Hours The blissful rest of sleep was interrupted by the clamor of alarms, piercing sounds that tore their way into the consciousness of even the deepest sleeper. Daniels woke almost instantly, the significance of the alarms registering mere seconds after he awoke. The Weapons Officer all but leaped out of his bunk, pulling on his uniform in seconds even as his roommate did the same. Few words were exchanged, and their initial communication consisted of only a glance to ensure that the other was awake. The Captains rushed out of their quarters accompanied by the sounds of hundreds of pairs of boots rushing through the halls, hurrying towards their ready stations. Any grogginess had vanished instantly, pushed from their minds and muscles by a rush of adrenaline. Their senses were crisp and sharp as the officers took a hard left from the quarters, all but running towards the bridge. “Layton, what the helI is going on?” William said to his colleague, glancing over at him briefly. That glance alone was enough to know that the Navigations Officer had no more idea than he did, though he hadn’t really expected him to. The alarm wasn’t scheduled, nor was the next drill due for a few weeks. Something had happened, something that could raise the alarm in Earth’s orbit. The thought left a sinking feeling in his stomach, a tight knot of worry that he forced himself to push aside. Neither officer spoke another word in the time that it took them to reach the bridge. As the doors opened to allow them entrance, they noted that most of the command staff was already present. The brunette-haired woman at the far right, pulling a headset on over her head and adjusting the microphone, was Lieutenant Reid, the ship’s Sensory and Communications Officer. The men to either side of the bridge’s entrance were present in the event either of forced entry to the room, or in the event that one of the bridge crew was injured and needed to be brought to medbay. And sitting in the center seat, a row back from the control panels that wrapped around the room, was their commanding officer. Colonel Bryant was a tall man, even seated, with steel gray hair kept at maximum regulation length and a carefully trimmed beard of the same. Piercing, analytical blue eyes were fixed on the tactical readouts flowing across his screens, taking only the briefest of moments to note the entry of his crew. The Colonel was pushing his late fifties, a veteran of the conflicts on the frontier, and he radiated experience, as befit one of his almost legendary status. Few officers had commanded a battleship as long as him. Daniels and Layton slipped into their seats with practiced ease, adjusting the comm units in their ears and bringing their respective stations to active status with a few presses of the keys. Reports rang through the commlines as personnel reported in from across the ship, signifying their readiness for action. “Daniels, bring weapons to standby. Lieutenant Reid, get the battlegroup on the comm.” Bryant’s voice rang through the air, firm and clear. A few key presses, and he had opened a line to the fighter bays. “Toselli, are our fighters ready?” “Aye, sir.” A lightly accented voice replied promptly, carrying the characteristic tones of a native Italian speaker. “Lt. Colonel Rosaria Toselli reporting. All pilots accounted for, on standby status in their craft. We can launch on a moment’s notice.” “Good. Reid, open a shipwide communication.” The woman nodded, fingers flying across her keyboard. An acknowledgement light winked on the arm of the Colonel’s chair, and a moment later, he cleared his throat and spoke. “This is Colonel Bryant. Eleven minutes ago, the Outer Lunar Sensory Array reported incoming FTL signatures of unknown origin. They are estimated to arrive on the frontier in three minutes, and here, in Earth orbit, in six. Their numbers are unknown; Their numbers are too high for the array to estimate. We are now on red alert.” In the moment following the Colonel’s words, silence reigned. Significant looks were exchanged across the bridge, Layton’s eyes uncharacterictically wide, and Reid’d face draining of color in moments. Daniels pivoted in his seat to stare at the Colonel, expression one of unmitigated shock. The announcement was ended by a gesture from Bryant, just in time for several faces to appear on the main viewscreen, audible over the command comm line. “Archangel battlegroup reporting in. Colonel O’Reilly, of the cruiser Defiant, representing.” The speaker, a woman roughly the same age as Bryant with fading red hair, was visibly accompanied by her second, Lt. Colonel Stein, who was hunched over his own console. “Bryant, are you getting the same reports I am?” “I am.” “Then you’re fully aware that we don’t have the numbers to deal with this. There are thirty ships currently in Earth orbit, and only fifty in the system. Even with the Tokyo, we’re outgunned.” “Acknowledged.” Was the only reply, as the Colonel nodded almost imperceptibly. “You all know the tactics. We’ve done this before; This is no different.” A wave of acknowledgements rippled forth from the commanders of the other ships in the battlegroup, their communications going silent as they issued orders to their own crews. As was standard procedure, the vessles took their places around the Archangel. Several Heinlein-class missile destroyers were the closest to the larger battleship; Arranged around it, they provided support while making use of the ship’s superior firepower to act as a defense. Just beyond them were the cruisers, mostly Constellation-class, were stationed to guard against incoming threats. Their duty was to protect the inner ships, intercepting threats that would otherwise strike through towards the destroyers, meant for blanket fire, and the battleships, which were too large a target to defend against all attackers. All around the planet other battlegroups did likewise, forming up around the five battleships in orbit. Over the Northwest hemisphere was the Seraph battlegroup, centered around the other Dominion-class ship in orbit, while the Southeast was defended by a pair of State-class battleships. High over the Southwestern hemisphere was the Tokyo battlegroup, arranged around one of only two Capital-class battleships in the solar system. The space forces, thirty strong, waited in silence, weapons ready. Across the viewscreens of the fleet a synchronized timer counted down, bridge crews watching with tense anticipation. By the time all of the preparations were done, only forty seconds remained. On board the Archangel, those seconds seemed like an eternity. Daniels checked and rechecked the ship’s armament while Layton checked their bearings, and Reid orchestrated communications between the ships. Bryant stared in stoic silence. Though he couldn’t tell for sure who it was, the Weapons Officer was sure that he could hear quiet prayer from somewhere on the bridge. As the timer passed the ten second mark, the world seemed to hold its breath. Nothing moved, nothing stirred, and everything was still. The silence was almost oppressive, pressing against their chests like a thing alive, aggravating the tension in the air. The timer ticked inexorably downwards, each second seeming longer than the last, until finally, with an understated beep, it struck zero. The silence continued a moment longer. Then the world went mad. As one, the contacts appeared. A horde of vessels appeared like a plague of locusts, choking the sky with their sheer numbers. The ships were all alien in design; Crudely insectile, with jutting protrusions and harsh, predatory angles, they descended as one. They were innumerable, untold in scope and scale, a vastly superior force arrayed against a mere thirty ships. The nearer ships were smaller; They appeared to be equivalent to the Confederacy’s cruisers and destroyers, but looming behind them were much, much larger vessels. Their battlships numbered in the dozens, and by a look alone, their other ships in the hundreds. Their make was unmistakable; The Mantis had come, and they had come in all their might. “Sir,” Reid spoke up, voice cutting through the air, even as quiet as it was. “Sensors are unable to estimate their number. Best guess is several hundred in total.” Almost as if waiting for that cue, the ships opened up, spewing veritable armies of fighters, craft small and nimble that surged towards the Confederate forces, their larger compatriots hot on their tails. Seconds after their arrival, with not a word spoken in warning or explanation, they opened fire, beams and lasers cutting through the reaches of space to impact with shields. The Confederate ships returned fire, spewing hot metal that lanced outwards, bypassing shields to slam into hulls. The routine had become the chaotic, the monotonous the cataclysmic, and the easy, normalcy of life the harrowing, unknown of war. It had been fifteen minutes, from warning to battle, and those minutes had ensured that nothing would ever be the same again. Review Topic
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So, finally, sophomore year is out of the way. Probably one of the most stressful years I've been through, but probably one of the most precious and generally happy years I've ever had. It had its ups and downs and was pretty eventful overall, both in terms of interactions with other people and self-discovery. I'm a different person than I was at the beginning of the year and I'm better off for it. More importantly, it means I can put my FTL: Faster Than Light VICTORY RUN into full gear. Meaning I'm going to try to beat the game on Normal difficulty with every ship in the game. So far, I've beaten it with: Kestrel Cruiser: Type A and B Engi Cruiser: Type A and B Federation Cruiser: Type A and B Zoltan Cruiser: Type A Stealth Cruiser: Type A and B Rock Cruiser: Type A and B Slug Cruiser: Type A Mantis Cruiser: Type A and B Crystal Cruiser: Type A and B I'm saving Type C's and the Lanius Cruisers until last because I have no idea how to play with that darned clone bay. I have too much time on my hands.
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SO MUCH YES YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS This thing looks like it'll be awesome. (meanwhile, terraria)
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So I got FTL last weekend (right after I saw Into Darkness, which sort of makes sense). Pretty good game; I'm loving it so far. However, I'm finding getting the hang of it quite difficult, as I always come up short of supplies in one area or another when it counts. Also, I always get too emotionally attached to my crew. D: Anyways, my allergies kicked in recently. It's horrible. I can barely stay 5 minutes outside without suffering a huge sneeze attack. And all of this just happens to coincide with Finals Week. Which is really not great. :|
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And here I am, in my default Engi cruiser, with half my arsenal being the starting weapons. I'm suddenly really glad I got max shields.
