The life of a Split (Litcubes Universe)

[Crayons_Only]

This is the story of my current play-through. Twitch


"Forget it," I said. "Not going to keep some lily captains log." I was mad as a hatter. I could chew a bulkhead to chalk and write your obituary in perfect calligraphy with it. She wasn't having it. Said I need to keep a log of my events as my business is getting harder to maintain off my brain pan alone. The disrespect this woman could throw around was astounding. That's what caught my eye to start with.

I was in some low life dug out tavern on an equipment dock that smelled of oil and steal melted by expended spaceflie vents. I loved that smell. Split spaceflies made some of the worst smelling excretion you could imagine but it was in my blood. My father was a spaceflie collector. The smell that makes those Terrans empty their bowls is a nursery rhyme on my side of space.

I was down on my luck. My father was beaten out of his business in open combat. Challenged and defeated, as is the split way. I was left with a few scouts and a nice little fighter. I had been reduced to a scavenger. Scouts mapping the Verse and I had to monitor my satellites and jump in after a fight. After a fight! The disgrace and shame was insurmountable. Picking up junk in space after a fight to sell and praying there was a weak pilot bailed in space so I could sell him as a weak underling to the pirates and take his ship to sell for a proper payday.

Not everyday was a payday. I was making little creds and slowly saving to upgrade this fighter so I can start doing some assassination jobs. A real split life. I was so ashamed of my current state I poured myself into some of that weak Argon Spacefuel. I had to drink a hundred of those overpriced, two bit, "beverages" or whatever they call them, just to feel half up to the life of a scavenger.

As I sat at the bar staring at my fuel I heard a creep behind me. Braced for war at all times, the split way. Guns are not allowed in these Argon ports but I always had my knife handy. I had it griped tight and ready to murder this joker sneaking up on me. My exit was planned. Kill in two swipes and run at all haste to my ship dock and bail this system with my jumpdrive. All planned....all set. I heard the voice, shocking really, "You the scavanger?" I half realised it was a split woman after she spoke so bluntly. My only focus was to kill the mouth that spoke to me in that tone.

I erupted like a Terran tornado. Spun on my victim so fast with a flurry of my knife.... they where dead. At least in my mind. What really happened was the most shameful thing ever heard of by any split. I must of had enough spacefuel to rev up an M2 because my fancy, quick, tornado attack was more like a slip and fall flat on my face. I was unconscious in a second. My eyes couldn't follow my spin and I just fell into the blackness.

I awoke in some lavish room with a view at the shipyard across the sector. If I had any respect for the Argon I would of gone as far as to call it beautiful. Pale skinned freaks. I take it back. It was flat out ugly as a Goner wanting to dock at your HQ. I heard the voice again, "You fight well, Scavenger." My head had a hundred hammers in it and my vision was all stars. I could not defend myself nor attack this incredulous woman. She brought out a Split wash basin. A real split basin in an Argon sector! Split don't mention the wash basin to any other race but each split family has to have one.

A split woman will wash the feet of the split man she wishes to court. This is passed down from mother to daughter and taught in private. No Split man knows what to expect until it happens. Say what you will about it but it is the ultimate symbol of submission in our culture. We are warriors. We fight even at the highest level's of our government. If you can not fight you can not lead. It is the split way. If a Split male wishes to court a woman and she does not want to submit they must fight. If the woman wins the man is discarded never to breed. Branded, weak, for life. If the man wins the woman must be loyal for a time then she can challenge him again. Submission is very rare. A litter of Split may include one woman in fifty males. Again, fight and win or your line ends.

She filled the basin with a vile she produced from around a strap on her neck. The vile looked small but the liquid seemed to grow and grow in the basin. She then moved over to me on her knees and put my feet in the basin. Maybe it was my splitting headache or the spacefule still in my gullet but this woman was exquisite. Her face was square like a rigid block of bulkhead. She had no backside. A sign of a strong back. Square feet, small hands. A truly beautiful split woman. Like the side of a war ship. Solid.

As she washed my feet she began to speak. "Scavenger, my name is Bell. I have been raised a warrior and spent years training in the ways of all the races but I am only a woman. I can kill any split man as easily as I can entertain a Boron Diplomat. My life will not be small. My mind is big. I have watched you for a long time now. Coming and going, constantly pushing forward even as a disgraced scavenger. You work hard but your mind is weak. You need to be trained to grow. I will teach you everything I know. You will never take advantage of me as a split man is allowed. Every breath you take will be to become stronger. Do you agree to these terms?"

I wanted to throw up. Not sure why but here was the most beautiful Split woman several times my station and offering a submission to me. What had I done? I knew one thing, if I wanted to be the most powerful Split I did have to learn. If she turned out to be false, I could just kill her.

"I accept."

[Crayons_Only]

Things changed after I met Bell. My next outing had me next to an abandoned M6. How does this happen? You bail out of an M6! Are you not a warrior. Given a piece of equipment like this and you bail on it! Just as mad as elated on the find I quickly repaired it, fixed it up and sold my fighter. I could finally be an assassin. Finally a split warrior. Bell was having none of it.

"You want to be an assassin,' she asked? "This is your highest dream?" "Well of course not," I said.

She then proceeded to tell me how being an assassin would bring enemies and there was other ways to fight. Station defense and patrols. Tons of fighting and I would get the reputation of a warrior. So, I started this life. A gun for hire but on different terms. I still did a few assassination missions on the side. Bell never said anything about it but I knew she didn't like it.

I killed everything. My reputation was growing and soon the enemy began to throw heavier targets at me. I soon realized this M6 would not take me far. I began saving for an M7. A beast of a ship. Again, Bell, had some advice for me. "Buy a TL," she said. Told me how I could do station building jobs and that my fighting had already established my Split name as a lawman for the main races. Again, I was guided well. I built station after station. Built Universal Traders and had them stock up the new stations we built. It was income on top of income.

It has been some time since those days. We now have our Headquarters in Y-Alpha with three Starliner docks and two Mckallum docks. Filled to the gills with Split Bombers, M7's, M6's and some specialty ships. I have a fuel ship, resupply ship, and a Reaper. I lost a couple reapers and decided to invest a little in this new one. It is over a hundred million dollar Split Tiger. It payed for itself ten fold already. Should think about giving that pilot a raise. Ha! What am I saying. He's lucky to work for us.

Also, we established a mining fleet. They even found a black crystal. This on top off all the other freight has payed for the whole operation several times over. We also have twenty-five dock agents, over fifty freighters over six docks.

On top of all this, I managed to capture a Zenon Z. Took all the marines I had and we had to keep sending them as the others died. Lost a lot of good boys and it took ages for the HQ to reverse engineer it. I have nine ready to be outfitted now and I am just waiting on Point Singularity Projectors. I will mash out some rep with the Terrans and finally get the SCH built. Just need rep.

The Phanon Corp is slowing bothering me. I have ended them four times now. They just keep coming. I have this fifth iteration and I will end their lives today. Sorry buggers. Don't even understand what is coming.

Soon....Soon, we come for you OCV.

[Triaxx2]

This a DiD?

[Crayons_Only]

Naaa, It's an LU play-through. I do not think there is a DiD start.

[Crayons_Only]

I swear on all that cahoona crap, Paranid holiness.......If I ever have to lick the boots of those ugly Terran's again, I'm going to kill every last one of them. My fleet can wipe any of the races out. Erase them from space and, yet, I still have to get permission to buy their Point Singularity Projector Forge. Bell had to remind me how important this forge was for our company. Several times I was tempted to just blow them up and steal their weaponry. I kept playing her words in my head like an ancient tape on repeat, "Kill and take the guns now or work for them and make all the guns you want."

I had to kill hundreds of ships. On one particular patrol we had to patrol over three sectors, two of them not even in Terran space. I was mad as a spaceflie. From Oort Cloud to Bright Profit. Did the Terrans go through the Kuiper Belt? NOPE, they scuttled away and ran while sending me through the Unknown Sector Delta. Guess what was waiting there? An entire Zenon fleet. Who was there to help me? Nobody. Did anyone get to see my feats and report my epic crusade through the desolate sector to the lowly Terrans? NO! Hundreds of ships killed, millions spent in missiles alone and all for nothing!

I manage to pick up some attention along way and boosted my standings with the Teladi. For some reason I don't hate them as much. Maybe it's because they are small or maybe I like how they just squeeze every credit out of anything to make a profit. Little buggers don't care about anyone or anything but credits. I can appreciate that.

I must of spent two full days working with the Terrans. Patrolling sectors like a piece of their weak military. Finally caught a break though. It was a simple patrol mission. We knew there would be Zenon destroyers and maybe a carrier or two. Those kinds of ships are accompanied by there own little frigates and what not. Window cleaner is all they are. We had to patrol from Heretics End to The Moon. I'd be a Goner Priest before I was going to finish this whole patrol. Five sectors? Out of their minds they think I'm on board for that. I decided to show them some power. I was tired of the monotony. Time to wreck this whole sector with true split power.

In the Zenon's came, I was sitting center sector in my flagship the M7 Acinonyx. It was a wonderful sight to behold. The Zenon jumped in from the upper side of the sector with a Carrier and two Z's. This was it. My time to shine. I turned right for them burning all my spaceflies like fish food for the Boron. Going out as fast as it came in. I managed to get the attention of the carrier and to my amazement the Z's had fighters on board also..........I called in my Bombers. The sole purpose of my bombers is to hit every fighter with a Flail. Overkill? Ya, maybe, but it's a heck of a show.

My bombers where in the fight in ten seconds and instantly raining down pain. Flail after Flail. They say in space nobody can hear you scream. Well, over the radio you can hear the Terrans breaking comms to pinch themselves at the sight of true power.

The enemy fighters almost eliminated before I could issue my second order. I called in my M7's. Nine Acinonyx. The Terrans' have watched me in just one take out fleets of ships and here we have nine heading right into the mouth of Zenon capital ships. Truly a sight to behold. No sooner had the capitals focused on my brutes then in came my last order. The last order ever needed in any fight. Call in the Assassins. Forty Appollox M6's with more missiles than Argon got problems.

The rain of pain came down like a sweet kick to the pride of the Terran's. Unable to bring to bare a force of this magnitude and seeing pure destruction without a single loss had to inspire them. In rang the call I've been wanting to hear, "You are being promoted." HA! I'd like to think it was the Terrans seeing my fleet and thinking we better not poke this monster anymore. Give him what he wants.

Now that I had what I wanted. I made a two hundred and ninety-five SCH of PSP's. While waiting on the SCH to make the capital guns I added to my mining fleet. Then I went to have some fun. I went and jumped right into the center of Sanctuary of Darkness and blew everything I could look at into nothingness. Ended those sorry, good for nothing, Phanon Corp cronies again.

Soon as the PSP's where done, so where the Z's. The last piece of the puzzle complete. Installed some MLCC software on the Z Dock and wallah, a set of nine Z's ready for destruction. We are ready to start our assault on the OCV. I could care less about the other races. I don't care if they make it or not. But, I've watched the OCV push through many sectors now. Just deleting the major races. I am the strongest living person in all of known space. If I can't fight them, we are doomed.

I prepped my fleet for war. A hard war. Then I get this message:



Crayons_Only,

Stay clear of our ships. The Megax Corporation's grant of 980 million Cr has no time to waste on the likes of your company. This is a warning.

Xag Khurmagaun.



My fleet is literally prepped for war, I'm always angry, and you have the testiculousness to send me a warning?!

[Triaxx2]

DiD start is unnecessary. You can play with the DiD ruleset without the enforced start. But saying no is sufficient. Nice story so far.

[Crayons_Only]

Ahhh, I understand what you are saying. You know, I may have to try the DiD play-through on my next run. I tried it several times on the vanilla campains and frankly it was the worst thing in the world dying to the gates or running into a station while SETA docking. I'll give it a go in LU.

[Crayons_Only]

I decided to go and destroy every piece of their little start up business. Again, Bell was having none of it. "Just jump into Sanctuary of Darkness and blow the HQ to debris. No reason to chase them all over when you can send two ships to stomp them out," she said.

I did this but I added my own flair. Instead of two ships, I brought the whole Armada. Instead of just blowing the HQ to "debris" as she said, I took that no good letter writer and had him tied to my bow as a reminder to Phanon.

Now, this is where I needed to move on to the real enemy. The OCV. These AI robot super Xenon had taken too much for too long. I could finally do something about it. I had my force, they had an expiration date.

The OCV where sitting in Cerberus Alpha and making headway into Bluish Snout. I jumped into Cerberus Alpha and brought my whole force to bear. We fought and fought but didn't wipe them out in one go. Had major repairs on several ships and a missile refit on all of them. I instantly saw the chink in my armor. Not enough missiles and not enough resources to keep this fight up for very long.

Second assault on Cerberus Alpha got em'. All OCV eliminated. I lost three ships and was teetering on the edge of a missile crisis. I had to make major changes. I ordered my builder to break down and sell my Tornado Missile Plex. Then we auctioned the station and upgraded to a four hundred. I also needed more resources to repair my fleet. We lost three ships in the assault and I wanted to be sure that we had enough for the future. The easiest way to do this was to double my mining fleet. I now have fifty miners running around the clock. I am running out of Asteroids in the known sectors. I may have just enough to either upgrade a station or make a small new one. I think I will hold tight for now and see how the next few fights go.

I did not like how I lost three ships. Those boys have been in my fleet since the start. I decided the best course of action was to replace those three plus twenty. Bringing my total fleet strength to:

60 Appallox Assassins
9 Cobra Bombers
9 Ascinoyx Capitals
9 Xenon Z's.

My bombers focus fighters till the last. Flail missiles do the trick. The Ascinoyx just make a huge mess of things. Something else for the enemy to shoot at with little worry of an actual loss. They are slow and strong and do medium damage. The Z's are my crushers. They float in at a snails pace and kill every last thing to a man. My Appollox are by far the most effective. Fast and loaded to the gills. They hit like comets with their complement of Tornado's and burn down the opposition with their Thunderbolts. Each missile is assigned a different target. Nothing stands a chance.

I decided to make the next jump into Pike Beta. It's a small sector and was very difficult to get a good start on the AI scum residing there. I chose to let my decision stand. I just jumped in with everything and hit them with all I had. It was a cluster frak from the start. My M2's couldn't make it in time, the M7's where doing their job to the letter, and the Assassins where all alone doing work. I thought we wouldn't be successful due to the lack of the Z's support but to my surprise we wiped them out in one swoop.

Lost another three ships in that one and several wounded. This time we had the resources to repair/refit and push again. Our next push will take back Cobra Gamma. Another small sector.

This time I am more seasoned and have a plan......

[Crayons_Only]

So much for plans. The stupid OCV are turning out to be a real problem. Things that worked in one sector don't work in others. I am constantly reminded of my lack of resources and am going to have to do a full overhaul on my factories if I want to have any real push potential.

I'm going to have to kick out the money making SCH's and break down and replace my resource ones. I may not have to do them all but at least three, for sure. I will have to break down six SCH's for the asteroid yields alone. It seems I'm running out of asteroids, no joke, in all of the known sectors.

I currently have two 400 XXL Saturn Complex Hubs of Jump Cores and I still seem to always be out. Crunching numbers is starting to hurt my brain.

I think I'll take a short hiatus and go with Bell somewhere nice for a bit. Th OCV will keep pushing and I'll be a Goner Priest before I die without having a little fun.

I'm off for a few days. When I get back from wherever I'm going, we'll blow em' to dust.