[10.1.3] "EPN transfers Lock to Zion due to a now safe and secure battlefield" - Recursion - 4/23/08

 
Warriors,
 
Zion rejoices at the successful transfer of Commander Lock to our fleet. Machine, Merovingian, and Cypherite craft attempted to interrupt the operation, but thanks to the battle prowess of our captains--RedBindi, Neoteny, Fenshire, and Deffdog--as well as those of E Pluribus Neo--Steelle, Gerik, Lt0Brien, and ShiXinFeng--the Commander was moved safely from Captain Steelle's hovercraft, "The Hand of God," to Captain RedBindi's "The Titan," aboard which he is now on his way to New Zion.
 
We have received this brief update from the Commander himself:
 
\\~~~~~~~
 
Thank you all. I have never been more impressed with our captains and their crews than I was while they, together with Pluribus Neo, routed the combined forces of three enemy fleets simultaneously. I cannot adequately express my pride in your fighting spirit. I have yet to set foot on the dock of New Zion, but I feel already that this is a true homecoming.
 
Jason Lock
 
~~~~~~~\\
 
New Zion is in the midst of excited preparations for the arrival of the Commander and our victorious crews. Everyone who is not on critical duty is strongly encouraged to attend the welcoming ceremony at the dock.
 
Tyndall
Mission Control
Zion Command
 
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compiled transmissions from the captains in the final stages of the battle:

Three years ago, the Trust was formed as one of the first and only Zion factions that followed Lock instead of Morpheus.  Everyone made me real proud today, and I'm glad we could continue to serve Lock in this regard.

We were all honored to be chosen for this mission, and I'm glad we did not let you down.

Welcome home, Jason.

I hope Lock saves some dap for me when I get The Saltpillar back up into New Zion.

We are overjoyed that we were able to assure the Commander's safety, and would like to thank E Pluribus Neo not only for nursing him back to health, but for keeping him safe and dispatching a team of some of the finest hovercraft captains I have served by to help assure his safety.

To a lesser extend, I would like to thank the Merovingian operatives for withdrawing their ships frm the battlefield in accordance with a cease-fire. Really, you could've agreed to do this before shooting me down, though. Heh. I'm not complaining - we all came to a "profitable" conclusion here, you folks might say.

As for the Machinists and Cypherites? Well, it was a tough fight, but I can't say I didn't enjoy destroying that Cypherite fleet. It did bring a mixture of sorrow and rage into me to see the Machinists on the field attempting to abduct Lock, but, well, we did what needed to be done to assure his safety.

Congratulations also to Fenshire, Gerik, and Lt0Brien, who received promotions for their valient efforts in this battle.

But most of all,

It's good to have you back with us, Jason.

I was looking forward to hosting Lock in a prison he'd find surprisingly more delightful than he anticipated, maybe even more pleasant than what New Zion could offer, stocked with things I bet he never knew were availble in the Real, and to being able to tell my children about this occaision, when we hosted one of Zion's leaders the way Robin of Sherwood hosted a rich man he and his merrie men captured. Ah well, I'll have to reserve the guest house in Outpost Segur for someone just as important...

--Sieges, Nautonnier of the Quinotaur and Chatelaine of Outpost Segur

I hope Lock saves some dap for me when I get The Saltpillar back up into New Zion.

We are overjoyed that we were able to assure the Commander's safety, and would like to thank E Pluribus Neo not only for nursing him back to health, but for keeping him safe and dispatching a team of some of the finest hovercraft captains I have served by to help assure his safety.

To a lesser extend, I would like to thank the Merovingian operatives for withdrawing their ships frm the battlefield in accordance with a cease-fire. Really, you could've agreed to do this before shooting me down, though. Heh. I'm not complaining - we all came to a "profitable" conclusion here, you folks might say.

As for the Machinists and Cypherites? Well, it was a tough fight, but I can't say I didn't enjoy destroying that Cypherite fleet. It did bring a mixture of sorrow and rage into me to see the Machinists on the field attempting to abduct Lock, but, well, we did what needed to be done to assure his safety.

Congratulations also to Fenshire, Gerik, and Lt0Brien, who received promotions for their valient efforts in this battle.

But most of all,

It's good to have you back with us, Jason.

Many of the Machinist captains who were approached to engage in this battle refused as they didn't see Lock as a viable objective. Had they thought otherwise I'm sure that the battle would have been a very different animal although I will not speculate on outcomes that hardly matter at this time.

As I said, It's all practise for the next one where the prize might be worth something more than a few outdated command codes and information we cannot verify. A win would possibly have affected Zion's morale most of all but as it stands we are no worse off than we were before.

As for the 'peace talks' Vaico speaks of, the talks of soldiers on the battlefield are inconsequential to an outcome of war unless their leaders are pressured into those talks. I do not see Zion's leadership talking to the Machinist leadership and vis versa so in my opinion peace talks have not yet happened and are yet to begin.

Many of the Machinist captains who were approached to engage in this battle refused as they didn't see Lock as a viable objective. Had they thought otherwise I'm sure that the battle would have been a very different animal although I will not speculate on outcomes that hardly matter at this time.

As I said, It's all practise for the next one where the prize might be worth something more than a few outdated command codes and information we cannot verify. A win would possibly have affected Zion's morale most of all but as it stands we are no worse off than we were before.

   Hmm.  It doesn't seem to mention the mysterious black hovercraft of unknown configuration, which appeared towards the beginning of the battle, moved around extraordinarily fast, and took off ...

   Anyone have a picture of the board when the mysterious hovercraft was on it?

Aside from the 4 wrecked ships.

Othinn1 wrote:

   Hmm.  It doesn't seem to mention the mysterious black hovercraft of unknown configuration, which appeared towards the beginning of the battle, moved around extraordinarily fast, and took off ...

   Anyone have a picture of the board when the mysterious hovercraft was on it?

Carylne I'd imagine. He was the one with the fast ship.

((Sadly I don't, Othinn. I could draw it from memory, though. We had been describing it amongst ourselves as looking much like an X-wing, but with shorter wings width-wise.))

Vinia - Machinists that attacked Lock will not be permitted to the peace talks. However, this does not mean that we are not willing to discuss peace with those who are actually seeking it. Judging by who we've pushed away here and the people behind them, though, I think we'll see just how easily this all falls apart.

As for whose ship it was... I wouldn't count it out as Halborn's. We were told that Cypherites had passed him a set of coordinates and told him that it was where Carlyne's craft was, while it really held the coordinates of the vessel transporting Commander Lock (Steelle's The Hand of God). Certainly, the ship was fast in comparison to our own, but we wouldn't know how quickly it moves in comparison to ships of a similar build. This ship could easily be far slower than what Carlyne's sporting.

Of course, this is backed up by the fact that he took no action and simply withdrew from the battlefield as soon as possible. If it were Halborn, he probably would have recognized that none of the hovercraft on the field were of unibody construction, realized that he had been duped, and left.

 Congrats to the Zion and EPN captains who were able to save Commander Lock's bacon and return him to New Zion safely.

 If that mysterious ship was Carlyne's ship, I would like a ship like that

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Records hardly reflect the embellishments of tired old men with nothing better to do than cast stones from their glass houses, dear.

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Records hardly reflect the embellishments of tired old men with nothing better to do than cast stones from their glass houses, dear.

I didn't see you fighting. So does that make you an old woman?

Haigen wrote:

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Records hardly reflect the embellishments of tired old men with nothing better to do than cast stones from their glass houses, dear.

I didn't see you fighting. So does that make you an old woman?

Cypherites attacked the crew of the Crescendo and obtained a transfer record for Lock from Zion to New Zion, which they promptly delivered to Halborn; allowing him to believe it was Carlyne's location. This was shortly before this battle took place, so the most likely explanation for the strange craft seen on the monitors is Halborn, as some have already surmised.

Zion is indebted to you, Captains. I'd expect to be overwhelmed by swarms of citizens full of cheers and adoration once you land those ships back home.

To E Pluribus Neo--thank you. I'm glad we're able to set aside any differences when it comes to protecting what we both care about--human life and freedom. It was an honor to see the captains operate.

...but I do have exceptionally comfortable quarters aboard my ship.

Frustrating, but we did our best. Our luck was out at the end of the day in more ways than one but the Zion and EPN captains fought admirably and were deserving of their victory, my congratulations to them.

I almost hope something like this occurs again. Who knows next time, we might be on the same side.

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Records hardly reflect the embellishments of tired old men with nothing better to do than cast stones from their glass houses, dear.

Emphasis mine. I'd hardly call us aimless, when the Merovingian ship Quinotaur succeeded in taking out the Zion ship Salt Pillar in three shots.

-- Sieges,
Rank 1 captain of the Quinotaur

Procurator wrote:

...but I do have exceptionally comfortable quarters aboard my ship.

Is that an invitation, Procurator?  I knew you were fond of me, but I had no idea!

Oh my!  Now I'm really blushing.

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Records hardly reflect the embellishments of tired old men with nothing better to do than cast stones from their glass houses, dear.

Thank you Fenshire, RedBindi, Neoteny and Deffdog for doing such an outstanding job! Your names will be remembered in New Zion for years to come. You gave the Cypherites a quick trouncing, which makes this victory even sweeter.

A heartfelt thanks to the EPN captains too for doing an equally outstanding job.

-Trep

First of all, Congratulations to the entire EPN and Zion fleet. I have never seen better coordination in a battle before, and we should all be very proud of ourselves.

To Gerik, LtObrien, and ShiXinFeng, it was a pleasure to act as your commander for this battle as it always is. You boys haven't let me down yet. Congrats to LT and Shix on the promotion, helping to make EPN one of the more decorated factions. And a special congrats to Shix for getting that final ram in on Yas to put this thing to a close. We all softened him up but you gave final blow. Cheers to you.

I can't say I'm surprised at our victory. We were the best ships out there and you could tell from the start. I'm glad the transfer went well and we wish Lock the best of luck in New Zion. As for the mystery ship, whoever it was, it seems they bolted the second they saw the EPN fleet sweeping across the map. I guess thats understandable.

Again, great work EPN and Zion. I'm proud of us. No matter who says that this was or wasn't important to them, the truth is that they were there and they were willing to fight for it. And as for when it "does matter", don't you worry, we'll be there.

-Capt. Steelle, HvCFT Hand of God-

I'd like to congratulate Zion and EPN on their victory and promotions.I know all those back in Zion and New Zion are grateful to you.You have mode us all proud.Thank you, Captains.

Furthermore I'd thank Tranque for agreeing with the cease-fire in a fight that wasn't theirs. I will also mention that both the Machine and Merovingian captains have put up a good fight all along.In my point of view , it was an epic battle, a clash of the titans so to speak (excluding the cyphs) which lasted for 5 and a half hours.

NeoExcidious

 ((Please direct all flaming to /dev /null))

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

[[Hey, let's see you go to battle with a full squad of rank 0's vs a full squad of rank 1's AND have yourself deployed to the exact opposite side you intended due to poor coordination by the "game master". *shake fist*]]

NightTrace wrote:

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

[[Hey, let's see you go to battle with a full squad of rank 0's vs a full squad of rank 1's AND have yourself deployed to the exact opposite side you intended due to poor coordination by the "game master". *shake fist*]]

Why did you field a squad of rank 0's?

Vinia wrote:

NightTrace wrote:

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

[[Hey, let's see you go to battle with a full squad of rank 0's vs a full squad of rank 1's AND have yourself deployed to the exact opposite side you intended due to poor coordination by the "game master". *shake fist*]]

Why did you field a squad of rank 0's?

Because they expected us to do their share of real-world work for them.

kou_urake wrote:

Vinia wrote:

NightTrace wrote:

Procurator wrote:

The Cypherites proved themselves to be useless, and the Merovingians aimless. Hopefully more people will come to see that now that we have it on record.

[[Hey, let's see you go to battle with a full squad of rank 0's vs a full squad of rank 1's AND have yourself deployed to the exact opposite side you intended due to poor coordination by the "game master". *shake fist*]]

Why did you field a squad of rank 0's?

Because they expected us to do their share of real-world work for them.

Perhaps then this outcome will inspire the Cyphs to get more experience in case of any future battles...

[Cause I transfered and it put me at 0 rank points right away? Because not everyone has been intrested from the start? Because even if I had been Cyph and been in as many matches as before Zion/mervs already had rank 1 ships before I started? /shrug.]
 At least we didn't leave the stuck up mechs by themselves by turning around and leaving the area to track down the mystery ship. Would have been more useful then sticking around to watch you flounder after letting us get pinned between Zion and EPN.

Do you really think that was Halborn?

Actually, the only ones who should be embarrassed here are the armchair captains who were not even involved yet are now here filling the airwaves with the sound of their tears. Next time get involved in the battle my good man, then you'll have a leg to stand on if you want to start bawling.