#carrack cruiser

[swtechspecs]

Imperial Cloaking Device

Source: The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology (Del Rey, 1997)

[saphronethaleph]

Optimize your main batteries

Tigellinus folded his hands behind his back.

“All right, summarize the situation for me,” he said. “We’re nearly there, now tell me who we’re fighting.”

“Information is sparse, Grand Admiral,” his intelligence wonk said, apologetically. “According to the data burst we got from our informant, the shipyards on Cheres IV have been abnormally active for the last six months.”

“...and this concerns us?” the Grand Admiral asked.

“It does, Sir,” the intelligence officer replied… whatever his name was. Hernas, perhaps?

“While Cheres IV is primarily known as a freighter yard, they were involved in warship construction during the Clone Wars, and none of their manufacturing systems have been replaced. They have the smelters able to handle high powered weapons and the volume to produce capital ships.”

“A capital ship yard that we didn’t monitor?” Tignellius asked. “Who is supposed to be in charge of this Oversector, anyway? This is a clear and direct failure by someone. Make a note.”

“Yes, Admiral,” an aide said, tapping away at a datapad.

“As for this yard, hmm…” Tignellius frowned. “Why wasn’t it being monitored?”

“Every shipyard in the Empire could produce capital ships,” the intelligence officer pointed out. “Cheres IV is somewhat higher capacity than others, but it’s shown no hint of involvement until now. What actually raised my concern is not so much the report of high activity but that it’s dissonant with the other, pre-existing reports which were being sent by the management. Somebody is lying to us.”

He flicked to a new page. “According to our best estimates, the maximum possible construction volume they could have completed roughly amounts to a single Star Destroyer of the Imperial class, plus escorting cruisers in proportion. Rebel assets that could have been deployed to defend the yards might amount to as many as two of their capital ships, their Star Destroyer equivalents. Again, escorts in proportion.”

Tigellinus frowned, then nodded.

“It’s fortunate we have ten Star Destroyers in the core of our fleet, isn’t it?” he asked. “Still, we’d best not be too hasty… order to the fleet, all ships are to deploy their full complement of fighters as soon as we drop out of hyperspace. They are to form a screen; if the enemy launches a fighter strike, send out a combined interception force anchored on the Carracks to blunt it. I won’t take losses against a clearly inferior foe. We’ll offer them one chance to surrender to preserve the docks, then I’ll destroy whatever is there with turbolasers. Stormtroopers will convince the Cheresi board of directors of their folly.”

The ops personnel copied that down, converting it into orders, and Tigellinus looked up at the main viewscreen.

Not long now. And he’d show the rebel scum what the might of the Empire could do.

Starlines formed, then condensed into stars, and Tigellinus looked at the tactical display.

The whole formation was neat and ordered around his flagship, Praetor, and he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction.

“Report,” he snapped. “Get me targets!”

“Scanning now, Admiral!” someone called back. “Dropping the images on the plot!”

Markers appeared, and Tigellinus frowned – then relaxed.

A dozen fighters were out on a clear combat patrol, and even as he watched they reacted to his presence. There’d be more launching soon, but he could only see four of the Rebel light carriers – not enough to be a serious threat, not against the hundreds of TIEs his own force was sending into space, obedient to his orders and shaking out into combat formation.

But, more importantly, there were only two enemy heavy capital ships – not three. Both were consistent with Mon Cal designs, the damp aliens, though there were more light ships than he’d have expected.

“Have the Rebels really been building light ships here?” he asked, out loud. “Or have they been sending off what they build as soon as it’s complete… status on the Denier?”

“Interdiction cone coming online in sixty,” someone told him.

That, at least, was acceptable. He might lose the enemy cruisers, but the Mon Cal ships would be trapped before they could jump out and that was worth the entire trip.

“Admiral,” the intelligence officer said, appearing at his side. “I’ve been running the data streams, and there’s something wrong about the enemy combatants.”

“Then tell me what it is, Hernas,” Tigellinus said, shaking his head with a sigh. “Don’t play riddles with me. What are we facing?”

More fighters were appearing on the screen, and half his attention was on the body language of the two forces… would the Rebels try and launch a strike on Denier, hiding behind the body of his fleet? Run now with everything that could jump? Or try desperately to save the two Mon Cal Star Cruisers, opening themselves up to complete destruction?

“The cruisers don’t match anything that we recognize, but there’s at least a hundred of them,” Hernas said. “All built to the same design. And the Mon Cal cruisers have a different profile, it’s distorted along the dorsal and ventral lines.”

The big ships in question were neither turning to run nor turning to close the range, Tigellinus noted – or, at least, not by much. Instead they’d turned to fly left-to-right along his formation’s front. And the lighter cruisers were forming up into a clearly planned formation, with the Rebel fighters behind them on patrol.

What was going on?

“We’re in range of the cruisers, sir,” an ops officer said. “The Mon Cal ships are behind the enemy cruiser line, still.”

“Open fire on the cruisers,” Tigellinus replied. “Order the right wing to be ready to pursue those Star Cruisers – along with Denier. I want those prizes.”

“Yes, sir,” the ops officer replied, and the heavy turbolasers either side of his flagship’s main bridge turned, elevated – then fired. Nine other Star Destroyers fired in unison, spitting nearly a hundred and sixty coherent bolts of light out at the enemy cruiser line.

And about five hundred came back.

First Action, in the formation to the left of Praetor, staggered visibly as her shields took an intense hammer blow. Three of the enemy cruisers had taken multiple hits, one of them exploding as it was flattened in a single blow, but they were small targets and First Action was a massive target… one which had just taken so much concentrated energy that the shield systems were unable to fully contain it.

“What the kriff was that?” Tigellinus demanded.

“The cruisers!” Hernas warned. “Sir – they’re built around capital ship turrets!”

Turrets.

Turrets.

The produce of the damn shipyards hadn’t been sent away at all. It was right here. The heavy turbolaser turrets of an Imperial-class were a tiny fraction of the total volume, and the metal it took to build a single Star Destroyer could build hundreds of heavy turrets instead of the eight actually fitted to ships like his flagship.

First Action got hit by a second hammerblow of energy, crackling before a series of internal explosions began, and a moment later a priority alert came in from Interrex on the right wing of the formation.

The two Mon Cal Star Cruisers had been heavily refitted, Tigellinus realized in a sudden flash of insight. Their dorsal and ventral lines were nothing but turrets, with at least six times the heavy gun complement of a Star Destroyer – each – and that was if they hadn’t had heavy turrets added to the port and starboard sides, as well.

The Star Cruisers had his fleet outgunned. The enemy light cruisers, separately, had his fleet outgunned.

“Get us out of here!” he snapped. “Tell Denier to shut down her gravity well projectors!”

“They’ve only just come up, sir!” Hernas pointed out. “It’s going to take several minutes to-”

The entire ship rocked, as Rebel heavy turret fire marched down the formation, and Tignellius regretted his life choices.

Briefly.

[asklordcaptaincastronova]

Lord Captain. You may not have a fleet now, but that doesn't mean you won't have one.

So what sort of ships do you want? In terms of like, fleet roles?

Oh,

a light cruiser carrier for support, a pair of monitor cruisers with escorts for holdings patrol, multiple carracks and clippers for a trade fleet, the lost family flagship as... the flagship, and a couple more light cruisers with escorts for hypothetical dynasts.

[magnetarbeam]

Star Wars Technical Worldbuilding Notes 5

Considering the timescales of galactic history, I think in some cases it makes a certain amount of sense that the aliens look so much like humans because they literally evolved with attractiveness to humans as a natural selection factor. Nowhere near all cases, of course.

I've been thinking of headcanoning the XJ5 ChaseX as just an XJ that had the hyperdrive and some shielding yanked out to cut mass, giving a cheap stopgap design of a short-range patrol fighter and mediocre-at-best interceptor. This would have originally been to replace losses in the immediate aftermath of the Yuuzhan Vong War, but it was successful enough to still be seen as a patrol fighter in LotF and FotJ.

At the end of Abyss, in the chase scene that's also the only appearance of the Nargi-class pursuit frigate, Han expects the ChaseXs that are there to be carrying ion torpedoes, implying those are XJ5s' standard loadout.

YT-5100 Shrieks, I think, exist for similar reasons. Potential war against the GA was anticipated by CEC executives (who, for whatever it's worth, may or may not have known about Thrackan's assault fleet) and a bomber made from ubiquitous YT-series components would be very fast and cheap to produce and train pilots on. Theoretically, another advantage would be that they could easily be assembled in secret, but Wedge does say the GA knows of the YT-5100s' specs, so if they were trying to do that, they failed.

For better or for worse, the X-Wing books are one of my biggest influences in terms of how I interpret Star Wars. I don't buy for a second, of course, that it takes a week or more to make a squadron of X-Wings, but for post-FotJ Jedi stories with StealthXs, figures like that make somewhat more sense.

Particularly because there still can't be more than a thousand Jedi in the galaxy at that point (Approximately 700, is my headcanon) and finding skilled pilots would be at least as big of a deal as replacing the ships.

At this rate, I think I'm going to straight up retcon the Anakin Solo as a Galactic-class destroyer, because KDY still building Imperators at that point in the timeline makes no goddamn sense.

Sometimes I do wonder about exactly what organizations are responsible for manufacturing Imperial warships by the time the biggest shipyard they have is Yaga Minor.

In the kind of galactic scale paradigm that holds "star destroyer" and "star dreadnought" as comparable classification levels to what a destroyer and a battleship are in Earth navies of the last 50 years or so, the word "cruiser" being applied to ships like Dreadnaughts and Carracks, which are effectively frigates at best, is often explained as the result of those ships having been intended to be sold to smaller planetary/system forces where a Dreadnaught would have been on the mid/high end of the ships those navies could buy and operate.

Those examples in particular are pre-Clone Wars designs, from a time where most of the galaxy's overall military strength would have been tied up in those kinds of forces, since there wasn't a centralized military.

And if a 1e24-watt "cruiser" reeks of low-budget PDF marketing, the word "blastboat" absolutely oozes of that energy.

[thegrievousone]

The Republic's Navy Post-Christophsis (22 BBY)

The Battle of Christophsis was a game changer for the Republic as they not only saw a victory over Admiral Trench, but it also saw the debut of the Venator-Class Star Destroyer. Although the war was far from over, it showed that the Republic could fight back.

Now for the changes to the Navy.

1. The Consular-Class Cruiser got a retrofit called the Charger C70, allowing them to be much more widely used in the war.

2. The Anti-Starfighter variant of the Carrack-Class Light Crusier Became obsolete as the Venator came on the scene, leading to many standing by as reserves.

3. Ventaor-Class Star Destroyers: Gave the Republic a Capital Ship to rival the Providence. It also gave the Republic more Starfighters to use in combat.

4. BTL-B Y-Wing Starfighter: Became the go-to bomber for the Republic and was assuredly reliable.

Now on to the fleets:

1.Defence:

2.Quick Reaction:

3.Invasion:

4.Superiority:

5.Escort:

[commander-gree-week]

Headcanon - how did the gree go extinct?

😅 I can't tell if you want me to say "I don't know, how?" or link the Wikipedia article, but on looking through the article for the answer, I found out they're not! At the time of the Clone Wars, their culture is certainly endangered and they've lost a lot of knowledge and ability to work their ancient tech, but they're still alive. I did not know this, so thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Here's the link to the article and a copy of the relevant section:

In the final years of the Galactic Republic, the Gree were still best known as a species that had built a civilization that predated the Republic. As a result, the worlds of the Gree were considered a xenoarcheaologist's treasure trove that contained artifacts of exotic and advanced technology. These relics were guarded by a Gree culture which had degenerated to a point where they were no longer able to use much of their own technology. During the Rise of the Empire era, the glory days of the Gree were long over and their history and technological secrets mostly lost.

During the Separatist Crisis, Count Dooku formerly of the Jedi Order was sighted within the Gree Enclave where the Senate Bureau of Intelligence had reports of a man matching his description being on board the mobile Rokak'k Baran station. There were also claims of him utilizing a vessel with a particle-wake unlike any encountered before that led to Director Armand Isard commenting that contact was being made with Gree crafters to inquire if they knew anything about the technology employed. At this point in their history, the Gree still operated and built some unique items. Count Dooku's personal Geonosian solar sailer was fitted with an ancient, mysterious sail of Gree manufacture.

The Trident-class assault ships created by the Colicoid Creation Nest drew upon the ancient designs of the Gree Enclave. Midway through the Clone Wars, the Pollux Poi assassin droids were purchased by Count Dooku from the Gree and utilized on Jabiim. The Gree remained an obscure species, known only to specialists in alien cultures such as clone trooper commander CC-1004. CC-1004 adopted the name "Gree" to demonstrate his knowledge of galactic species, knowing that anyone who commented on his chosen name would share his interest in sentientology.

On the other hand, Gree were almost entirely unfamiliar with standard galactic technology. They were particularly contemptuous of droids, which were not a part of Gree technology. Modern Gree became reduced to mere caretakers of decaying wonders. First contact with the Gree by the Galactic Empire was made by Captain Marrix during a scouting expedition through their sector of space. He was apparently highly respected by the Gree to the point that he was allowed to visit their homeworld once. The Empire maintained a small consulate on Gree though there was no governor or garrison. The Imperial Consul-General maintained a small force under his command that included a Carrack-class light cruiser. Skalus served as the Imperial Consul-General on the Gree world of Asation.

(I would like to note that ancient Gree used foreign droids frequently to communicate with other cultures, as we see in Pat-aK (pot-ah-kay) and his cohort on Coruscant in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Pat-aK is in the Senate building and starts the planet story that's available to Republic classes. He and his cohort communicated almost exclusively in Gree color language, which was causing some difficulties the player character is able to solve.)

[alphamecha-mkii]

Star Wars: Starships of the Galaxy - Bothan Assault Cruiser and Carrack Light Cruisers by Matt Hatton

[cydonian-mystery]

Some screenies from Fall of the Republic Version 1.0. Shiny new models for the Dreadnaught heavy cruiser and Carrack light cruiser, and the new Dreadnaught carrier.

[bellotempestade-art]

Designing a carrack sailing ship for a fantasy-type situation. Not quite a merchantman, I imagine this ship as one of a fleet ran by some country’s government for regular crossings between important ports of call; sort of a Renaissance version of historical Packet Ships. A civilian’s ship, and therefore strictly immune politically from warfare. For a civilian role the sterncastle is enlarged, occupying over half the ship’s length, to allow room for passengers, as space was tight on these old vessels.

I forgot to include cannon in the ship’s complement until I was nearly finished drawing, so I stuck a couple in the main deck aft and then crammed the forecastle with culverins and sakers, which was kind of the point of the forecastle anyway. The ship is incredibly wide in the middle and is not built for speed, but it does give the benefit of both increased cargo space and keeping steadier in storms. (Have you ever been on open ocean? Boats rock HORRIBLY in rough weather!)

I have another, more militarized carrack version I want to do, sort of an armed cruiser (like a longer, more stable Mary Rose), but that’ll have to wait ‘til another day.

[alightinthelantern]

I’ll post this over on my art blog later, but I just finished this and want to share it on my main blog here for now. Designing a carrack sailing ship for a fantasy-type situation. Not quite a merchantman, I imagine this ship as one of a fleet run by some country’s government for regular crossings between ports of call, sort of a renaissance version of a Packet Ship. A civilian’s ship, and therefore strictly immune politically from warfare. I forgot to include cannon in the ship’s complement until I was nearly finished drawing, so I stuck a couple in the main deck aft and then crammed the forecastle with culverins and sakers, which was kind of the point of it anyway. The ship’s incredibly wide in the middle and is not built for speed, but it does have the benefits of both increased cargo space and keeping steadier in storms (have you ever been on open ocean? boats rock HORRIBLY in rough weather!).

I have another, more militarized carrack version I want to do, sort of an armed cruiser (like a longer, more stable Mary Rose), but that’ll wait ‘til another day.

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Twenty-Seven Steps, Chapter 17: This Isn’t Something I Can Explain [November 1979]

Series summary: Callahan is an American living and studying in London. When Freddie befriends her and brings her into Queen’s inner circle, she finally learns what it’s like to have a family. But love and loyalty aren’t always black and white, and Calla must navigate conflicting desires and obligations as she accompanies John, Roger, Brian, and Freddie through their interwoven lives.

Chapter summary: Brian spills a secret.  

Chapter warnings: Language, sexual content sorta, hella angst, I’m sorry plz forgive me.

Link to chapter list (and all my writing) HERE

Taglist: @the-borhap-boys @pinkmarvel @killer-queen-xo @killah-queenz @sincereleygmg  @calspixie @fire-and-blood-got @imgonnabeyourslave 

When he was a boy, the wallpaper that lined Roger’s bedroom had been speckled with ships. There were all kinds—schooners, destroyers, carracks, cruisers, yachts, clippers—crashing through parchment waves, sailing over a boundless imaginary ocean, pursuing adventure unconditionally. Even then, as a child staring up at the images with his hands interlaced behind his shaggy blond hair, Roger had loathed the thought of anchors. They were tethers to confine, to control; a ship could go anywhere, be anything, but an anchor was the great ender of possibilities. As he grew older, Roger learned that anchors were not just curves of iron to ground a ship. A nine-to-five job could be an anchor; so could drinking or university degrees or fear of the black, beckoning unknown. And marriage...marriage was the heaviest anchor in the world. It was useless, senseless: you could love someone without being married to them, and you could marry someone without loving them at all. It was an albatross that kept people together long after affections had fled, after their children heard them screaming in the night, after fists started flying. Since he was old enough to understand the word, Roger had wanted nothing at all do to with marriage. And yet, and yet...

His palms pressed against the hallway walls as he dragged himself towards his suite, weighed down with rum and exhaustion. It was three in the morning. Queen were in Barcelona. At home in London, Calla would be curled up under a pile of blankets and sound asleep; Roger thought a lot about what she was doing while they were on tour. He thought about that more than he wanted to.

A door opened a few rooms down, and a blonde woman stepped out into the hallway. She was wearing a G-string, a sequined bra, heels, and nothing else. She smiled shyly at Roger and skittered like a gazelle towards the stairwell. Roger watched her go, appreciating the supple lines of her body, the way her full tits and ass quivered as she walked. And then, from the same room, a man appeared.

Roger’s pale eyes started at his boots—hastily yanked on, still untied—then over the slim black jeans and the hands fumbling to buckle his belt. Next was his shirt, deep violet, half-unbuttoned. And finally: leanly-muscled shoulders, disheveled hair, dark eyes like the mouth of a well. It was John.

The words came out before Roger knew he was going to say them, vengeful, seething: “How fucking dare you.”

He had known that John was in a perilous place emotionally, was drinking too much, was getting more handsy with the girls than usual. But this...this had always seemed impossible. Roger supposed what he should have felt was relief, was vindication. John Deacon, the incorruptible moral compass, the stable husband, the doting father; John Deacon, the sole faithful member of Queen, finally reduced to just another rock star fucking groupies and strippers in whatever room they found themselves in, lathered in guilt and sweat, snarled together like sailors’ knots. Instead, all Roger felt was rage.

John saw him and recoiled, stunned, stumbling backwards. He hadn’t known anyone would be there, hadn’t wanted anyone to see him, and the shame on his face was fresh; maybe this was the first time. Maybe it was the hundredth. Maybe it was the first time he’d been caught. He blinked, blearily; he was so drunk, maybe even blackout. It occurred to Roger that perhaps John had to be drunk to do this, had to be numb to everything deeper than the flesh. Then his features swam from shock to indignance. “Oh, have you suddenly undertaken a vow of celibacy on this tour?” John slurred. “I’ll let Dominique know, she’ll be overjoyed.”

“We’re not married.”

“I’m sure that’s a comfort to her.” He pushed by Roger and staggered down the hallway towards the elevator. Roger wanted to say something else, wanted to scream at him, wanted to snap him in half, wanted to make it so this night had never happened. He couldn’t wrangle his thoughts into words, couldn’t take a single step. John slipped inside the elevator and the doors closed behind him.

Calla.

Roger’s paralysis sloughed off like a second skin and he bolted to his suite. He slammed the door behind him, gasping, blood rushing like the ocean in his ears. He grabbed the nearest thing to him—the television—and pitched it to the floor, goring it with his boot. He wrenched the mirror off the vanity and hurled it against the wall. The glass flew in every direction, one shard burying itself in his calf. Roger didn’t notice. He tore the curtains off the windows. He kicked the wooden desk chair to splinters. Then, shrieking, he ripped the paintings off the wall; all but one, which stopped Roger dead in his tracks, which stared ominously at him from its place above the bed, dreary and grey and hopeless.

There, in textured whirls of oil paint, was a sinking ship.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi, Bri! How are you? How’s Spain? Fabulously warm? I’m quaking with envy, you know.” Calla smiled into the phone, imagining the glaring sun of the Mediterranean, the sea salt in the breeze.

“Calla dear, it’s lovely to hear from you. We’re doing wonderfully. Did you get my biyearly contribution for our covert little project?”

Every six months Freddie sent Calla a check for ten percent of his earnings, a return on her investment made in 1972. For years, she had tried to refuse to take the money; once that proved futile, she searched for something worthwhile to spend it on. She had recently started a foundation to help fund orphanages in India and provide the children with education and vocational training, and she convinced Brian to go in with her as a fifty-fifty partner. The only other people who knew about it were John, who handled the taxes, and Chrissie.

“I did, thank you kindly. Chrissie passed it along. I promise I’ll see that it’s put to good use.”

“I trust you entirely, you know that. How are the kids? Is Kendra May walking yet?” Calla marveled at how they had each claimed one of her children: Carlisle was John’s through and through, Little Fred was a whirlwind who connected completely and inexplicably with his namesake, Brian was utterly enamored with Kendra. Calla realized then that Roger didn’t have one, that he never would. It had never felt right to name one of the others after him; they were all dark-haired, dark-eyed, so much like John. Now it was too late.

Calla laughed. “She certainly thinks she is. It’s more like drunken lurching at this stage, but she’ll get the hang of it eventually. Bri, have you seen John?”

A pause; always a pause. “Ah...I don’t think he’s around at the moment.”

“Is he...has he...” Calla wasn’t sure what she was trying to ask. How is he doing? Is he drinking too much? Has he forgotten about me? Is he okay?

“He’s very discrete, Calla,” Brian said softly; like it was a comfort, like it was a gift.

“What?” She gripped the phone tightly, standing. “What was that?”

“Oh...oh fuck, Calla, I’m sorry—”

“No, it’s just, I don’t know what you mean.” He’s discrete...?

“I didn’t...I thought...”

And then it hit her, hit her like lightening, hit her like a bullet. John was being discrete, and that was a good thing. It was a good thing because he was fucking other people. Not discrete enough that Brian doesn’t know about it. That everyone on the tour with them doesn’t know about it.

Brian would never have said that to one of the band’s significant others. But Calla wasn’t just a wife, wasn’t just a lover. She was a friend. She was family.

Calla’s knees buckled. The floor rushed up to meet her. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. And in that moment she didn’t understand how this could be real.

That’s it. That’s how this ends.  

He really is like all the others.

He really has forgotten about me.

And impulsively, illogically, she thought: If I was going to get fucked around on anyway I could have just married Roger.

Where did that come from?

“Oh my god, I’m, I’m so sorry, Calla,” Brian stammered. “I thought you knew, I thought that’s what you were asking me, I’m...I’m so fucking sorry, I didn’t...please don’t...oh bloody fucking hell...”

“How?” That was all she could say. In her mind like a movie reel: meeting John in some dodgy music shop in London, falling in love with him, feeling safe with him, his palms against her face, his arms around her, their wedding, their children, their home, their promises to each other, the songs he wrote for her, the love he swore he’d always have for her. Gone, gone, gone, all of it gone.

’Whatever this world can give to me, it's you, you're all I see...’

Yeah fucking right.

“This isn’t something I can explain,” Brian said miserably. “Calla, I can’t...I’m not...I’m not the person you should be talking to. I’m so sorry—”

“That’s odd.” Her words were suddenly cutting. “I really thought this was your area of expertise, Brian.”

“Calla—!”

She hung up the phone. She tried to pull herself up off the floor. Her legs wouldn’t listen; her arms were useless. Calla gave in, laid across the cold colorless tiles, and stared up through the kitchen windows, trying to count the stars.

~~~~~~~~~~

Outside the moon was full and brilliant. Winter was rolling in like high tide, rustling the trees, bringing shorter days and nights that lasted forever.

“If I didn’t think it would be insensitive, I’d say welcome to the club.” Chrissie sat opposite of Calla at the kitchen table. She held a lit cigarette between her fingers, the smoke rising lazily through the room. She swiped her forehead with the back of her shaking hand. Her eyes were red, glistening, sore. “Brian cheated on me. Freddie cheated on Mary before he came out. And Roger...I don’t even know how to put into words what Roger does.”

Calla shook her head. She didn’t know why she couldn’t cry, couldn’t break down sobbing like any normal person would, like Chrissie had on her behalf. Calla didn’t feel like crying. She felt nothing at all. “I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Don’t say anything. There’s no point. Are you going to leave him? No, of course you aren’t. Are you going to demand he stops, give him some ultimatum? No, because he wouldn’t listen.”

Calla gazed blankly at her, broken.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Chrissie sighed. “That if he was ordinary, just like any other husband, an electrical engineer or accountant, some nine-to-five office man...that if he was just John Deacon then this would never have happened to you. And you’re probably right. But he’s not just John Deacon. He’s Queen, he’s a rock star, he’s a legend, just like Brian and Fred and Rog. And there has to be some price to pay for all of that, doesn’t there? We get the children and the houses and the fortune...we get a better life than most people could ever dream of. Because of who our men are, because of what they’ve accomplished. But we will never have all of them.”

Calla stared at her open palms. They were empty, except for one ring on each hand: amethyst on the left, a pink stone on the right.

“And anyway, if you aren’t willing to pay that price then there are probably a million other women who would be, so don’t think you have any leverage here.”

“I don’t understand why he had to do this,” Calla said quietly. “I don’t understand what changed. I don’t understand what I did.”

“Honey, no.” Chrissie seized her hands fiercely. “You didn’t do anything. He did it. John did it. He has his choices. You can’t control them. You have your own to make.” Calla didn’t respond. “You once told me that even if Brian was unfaithful, it didn’t have to mean that he didn’t love me. Maybe that’s true. Maybe it’s just something they do. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all.”

Calla met her eyes. “I think that’s easier advice to give than to receive.”

Chrissie smiled, tiredly, pained. “Now you understand.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m not going on stage with him.”

“Darling, what are you fretting about?!” Freddie pounded on the door with his fists. “It’s time to go, Rog! Jesus christ, they say I’m always late, they say I’m the dramatic one...”

Roger opened the door, and Freddie took off his sunglasses. His eyes went wide and darted everywhere as he took in the room, littered with glass and in utter disarray.

“Oh my,” he breathed. He closed the door behind him cautiously. “So...”

“He did it. The bastard finally did it.” Roger paced to Freddie, to the wall, back to Fred.

“Who, Rog?”

“John fucking Deacon.”

“Deaky...? What did he...?” Freddie was trying to understand, he really was.

Roger stared at Fred, hands on his waist.

“Oh,” Freddie said. “Oh.” He blinked, letting it sink through him. “Oh god, Calla.”

“I want to murder him, I want to stop him, I want to tell him exactly—”

“It’s not your place, Roger. And you’d be a hypocrite. You are far from the Virgin Mary.”

“That’s different,” he said weakly.

“Yes, it is different, isn’t it? And I know why it’s different. But John doesn’t, and I don’t think you want him to know. You don’t want him to know until you’ve decided what to do about it.”

“Whose fucking side are you on?! Who are you rooting for, Fred, tell me, I’d love to know.”

“I’m on Queen’s side. You should be too. This anger you have towards John, this bitterness—”

“Because he was supposed to be the good one!” Roger roared. “Because it was supposed to be okay that she married him, that she ended up with him, that he got the ring and the kids and fucking everything else because he was the good one.”

Freddie shrugged. “Maybe none of us are the good ones. Maybe we all are. Maybe life is more grey than black and white.”

Roger glared at him in disbelief. “Do you not care about her at all?”

Freddie raged across the room, jabbing his finger into Roger’s heaving chest. “Are you fucking insane? I would kill for that girl. I would gut lions and tigers with my bare hands for that girl. But meddling in her marriage is not my place, just like it isn’t yours. And I’m sure as hell not going to be the one to tell her and break her heart. Are you, Roger?”

Roger, hands in his pockets, studied the floor like it was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and said nothing. Of course he wouldn’t tell her. “She’s going to know. Even if it doesn’t end up in the tabloids. She’s not naïve. She can read people.” He covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head. “She can read everyone but me, apparently.”

“She knows everything about you, Rog. She just can’t bring herself to believe it.”

Roger looked up at Freddie, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Darling,” Freddie said impatiently, as if it was obvious. “Part of her is always going to be that scared little orphan girl from Chicago who doesn’t think anyone could love her.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Roger replied, wounded.

Freddie nodded wisely. “And yet our demons persist.” He pointed around the room, to the disemboweled television, the shattered mirror, the paintings torn off the walls. “You’ll have to pay for all this. Get cleaned up. We should have been on stage five minutes ago.”

“I’m not going,” Roger said, but even he sounded uncertain now.

“Of course you are, darling. It’s what we do. It’s all we know how to do. Go out there and get high on the crowd and play until you can’t feel anything, until even your bones feel like they belong to someone else. And then live to see another day.”

“Okay. Okay, Fred.” Roger pulled on a fresh shirt, picked a jacket out of his suitcase, combed his hair. Then he turned back to Freddie, his hands open, empty. “I don’t know what to do,” he said helplessly.

“What is she to you, Rog?”

What kind of a question was that? Not a wife, not a girlfriend, not a sister, not a lover. Nothing. Everything. The opposite of an anchor. At last he answered: “She’s my best friend.”

Freddie smiled. He’d already known. “Then act like it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The children had fallen asleep on the living room couch as Calla read them a bedtime story, the fire crackling in the woodstove, the light dim and auburn and flickering. She carried them upstairs one by one, clutching their tiny bodies to her chest, breathing them in. They looked so peaceful, so content. They didn’t know anything about the world yet, and she was glad.

The phone rang every few hours. Calla didn’t know who it was, Brian or Chrissie or John—not John, never John, he’s not thinking about you—or someone else entirely, it didn’t matter. She never answered. She had nothing to say. She felt gutted, hollow, bloodless. She felt like the world was nothing but winter.

As she paced around the kitchen, the phone rang again. Calla glared at it for a moment. Then something told her to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Roger said breathlessly. “I’ve been trying to reach you. Gotta start picking up the phone, Yankee. Are you okay?”

“Hi.” And there it was all at once: tears stinging in her eyes, trembling hands, a searing like embers in her throat. She pressed her knuckles to her lips, willing herself to stay silent.

“Do you need someone to talk to?”

“Yeah,” Calla whispered, and broke down completely, like a ship blasted into wreckage.

[swtechspecs]

Damorian Manufacturing Corporation Carrack-Class Light Cruiser

Source: The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Del Rey, 1996)

[padawanlost]

On the Republic/Hutts issue it is true that by the time EP I comes around the Hutts are more like an informal cartel which relies much on mercenary and pirate forces as well as bounty hunters (TCW shows us how dangerous those are). Still, in terms of military assets the Hutts should have nothing bigger than frigates in space supported by some corvettes, armed freighters and fighter squadrons, perhaps also some odd Bulk Cruisers but that's it. The Republic however not only has vastly more 1/3

2/3 more resources, the Judicial forces also aren’t as weak as they’re always painted to be. Besides armed Consular Cruisers the Judicials have also access to Carrack Cruisers, Corellian Gunships (DP20 Frigate), Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruisers (600m long powerful cruisers) and the millennium-old but reliable 2011m long Invincible-class Dreadnoughts. On top of that come the “private” sector fleets of powerful sectors like Corellia, Kuat, Humbarine or Coruscant itself. Some of these even 3/3            

3/3 had kilometers long outright battlecruisers/-ships (Mandator I-class, Praetor-class) at their disposal although with limited hyperdrives. So in a true case of war between Hutts and the Republic it would be one sided once the Republic gets their war machine running. So the Republic has all needed assets, they’re just not wielded correctly. Most of the Judicial ships got bogged down in the Colonies and Inner Rim and the Senate’s inability to get any plan done is what prevents any success.            

You’reright, the Republic had more resources but was terrible at allocating themcorrectly. However, in a situation where the Senate decides to do somethingabout the Hutt Cartel things would be different. Once the Senate decided actionshould be taken and assigned the proper responsibilities it would be up to the peoplein charge to act. The first step would be contacting the Jedi Council and askthem for advice on a more peaceful solution. One the Hutts will reject, of course.Once they do, it would be up to the committee/task force to handle thesituation. Since we are talking about open war, all the war’ strategies wouldnot be up for debate on the senate. This committee and its leaders would havethe freedom to operate as they see fit (within the limits of the law, ofcourse) so the inefficacy of the Senate wouldn’t hinder their work enough togive the Hutts a real edge.

The clonewars was such a catastrophe for the Republic because the Chancellor was playingboth sides. In a world where Palpatine is not leaking information andmanipulating both sides, the war  wouldhave ended much faster. And that means a lot considering the wealthiest corporationsin the galaxy were on Separatist side. The Hutts wouldn’t even have that.

Another pointagainst the Hutt is the composition of their army. An army made of people loyalonly to themselves is not the best idea, especially when your enemy has morecredits and resources. The criminals “fighting for” the Hutts only supportedthem because there was profit involved. The moment siding with the Hutts becamea liability you can bet a lot of their “allies” would ditch them. The convictionin what you are fighting for plays a big role in the outcome of any conflict. Doyou really see bounty hunters and mercenaries sacrificing their owns lives soJabba can keep his slaves?

Also, if itthe Senate didn’t unite ALL of its resources against the Hutts, the Hutts wouldstill lose. I mean, to put things in perspective, look at the real lifecartels and the threat they would face if all the world governmentsdecided to unite and allocate more resources to fight them. It wouldn’t evenmatter all that much if some of these governments are corrupt or inefficient. Thesheer scale of the conflict would overwhelm the cartels. As powerful as theHutts may be and as corrupt the Senate was, in the end it was one cartel versusa galaxy-wide government. TheRepublic doesn’t even have to focus everything on them to be able to overpower them.

[asklordcaptaincastronova]

Flagships of the Castronova Dynasty

*Memory of Infinity - Unknown class of grand cruiser, ??? -  Late M31  Lost after sucked into a  warp rift, astropathic distress beacon from the Far Halo Stars received M33

*Jove’s Hammer- Exorcist class grand cruiser Late M31- M32 Lost in the War of the Beast

*Voss’s Gift - Conquest Star Galleon M32 self-destructed during a mutiny

*Sapphire Fist - Lunar class cruiser M32-M34 vortex torpedo storage hit by Eldar Corsair lance

*Sword of Castonova Lunar class cruiser M34 confiscated by the Ecclisarchy, renamed Pious gift lost jumping to warp in the Storm of the Emperor’s wrath

*Loyal Servant - Carrack class transport M34-35, flag transferred, destroyed by Eldar corsairs

*Emerald Prince - Lunar class cruiser M35-36 - Destroyed by Vandire loyalists

*Recompense - Dictator class cruiser M36-38 Self destructed when boarded by Chaos Reavers and control of the bridge was lsot

*Sorrow - Tyrant class cruiser M38-40 destroyed trying to pas the Maw

*Azure Wanderer - Ambition class cruiser M40 to date

[renewja649]

Mã Cheat Game Age Of Empire 2

All Age of Empires 2 cheats on one place. There are two things to keep in mind. First, we are huge fans of the AOE series, especially Age of Empires 2, and second, we do use cheats but only for fun. Bagi kalian yang sudah bermain game cukup lama pasti mengetahui game yang bernama Age of Empires 2 ini. Ya, Age of Empires 2 sendiri adalah seri kedua dari franchise Age of Empires. Seri pertamanya sendiri dirilis tepat pada tahun 1999 lalu. Age of Empires 2 sendiri adalah game membangun sebuah kerajaan yang sangat seru.

CHEAT ADD 50 BUSHI = add 50 samurai CHEAT ADD 50 SAMURAI = add 50 guards string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 GUN = add 50 musket guards string 4 North Korea (KOREANS): CHEAT ADD 50 HWARANG = add 50 guard shooters CHEAT ADD 50 FLAMING = add 50 ballistas Maya (MAYA): CHEAT ADD 50 BALAMOB=Add 50 Maya warriors CHEAT ADD 50 EAGLE= Add 50 Mayan Condor Warriors CHEAT ADD 50 RECOILLESS=Add 50 recoilless guns CHEAT ADD 50 DRAGON=Add 50 Dragon anti-tank missiles Mongolia (MONGOLS): CHEAT ADD 50 NOMAD=Add 50 nomads CHEAT ADD 50 STEPPE=Add 50 nomadic shooters CHEAT ADD 50 HORDE=Add 50 Mongolian shooters CHEAT ADD 50 GOLDEN=Add 50 Golden Armor Mongolian Archer String 4 Nubia (NUBIANS): CHEAT ADD 50 KUSHITE=Add 50 Kushit shooters String 4 CHEAT ADD 50 APEDEMAK=Add 50 Nubian shooters Rome (ROMANS): CHEAT ADD 50 LEGIONS=Add 50 Roman legions CHEAT ADD 50 CAESAR=Add 50 Caesar Warriors CHEAT ADD 50 PRAETORIAN=Add 50 Roman Guards Russia (RUSSIANS): CHEAT ADD 50 RUSINY=Add 50 Ross Lancers CHEAT ADD 50 COSSACK=Add 50 Cossacks CHEAT ADD 50 DON = add 50 guards Cossack cavalry CHEAT ADD 50 RED=Add 50 Red Army soldiers CHEAT ADD 50 KATYUSHA=Add 50 Katyusha rockets CHEAT ADD 50 SHOCK = add 50 Red Army assault infantry CHEAT ADD 50 T80=Add 50 T80 tanks String 4 Spain (SPANISH): CHEAT ADD 50 SCUTARI=Add 50 long shield infantry CHEAT ADD 50 TERCIOS=Add 50 conquerors Turkey (TURKS): CHEAT ADD 50 JANISSARIES=Add 50 janitors CHEAT ADD 50 BIMBARD = add 50 smoothbore guns CHEAT ADD 50 BASILICA=Add 50 Royal Smoothbore Cannon CHEAT ADD 50 CANNON=Add 50 cannons Finally, I add some general military intensive string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 ROCKET=Add 50 rockets CHEAT ADD 50 FLAMETHROW=Add 50 Flamethrowers This time I am supplementing the secrets of general arms. Everyone knows that there are eight different eras in the rise of the country. Therefore, the corresponding arms will be gradually upgraded with the advancement of the times. Below I will introduce most of the arms The cheats are published for everyone to exchange and correct For the era, A=ANCIENT AGE Ancient Times String 4 C=CLASSICAL AGE ME=MEDIEVAL AGE G=GUNPOWDER AGE Gunpowder Age E=ENLIGHTENMENT AGE INDUS=INDUSTRIAL AGE MO=MODERN AGE INFOR=INFORMATION AGE Each unit will be marked with the era, so I won’t translate it anymore. As for what it is, let’s see for yourself. CHEAT ADD 1 SENATE=Add a Senate (also built around the city to function) Below are the general arms of each period in the barracks (BARRACKS) (take 50 units as an example) There are four types of soldiers in the barracks, I will explain them one by one in order Throwing Soldiers CHEAT ADD 50 JAVELINEER Javelinman C string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 ARQUEBUSIERS Musketeer G CHEAT ADD 50 BAZOOKA Bazooka IMFOR Spearmen CHEAT ADD 50 PHALANX Phalanx C CHEAT ADD 50 PIKEMEN Pikemen ME CHEAT ADD 50 FUSILIERS Flintlocker E Archer Series CHEAT ADD 50 ARCHERS Archers C CHEAT ADD 50 CROSSMEN Crossbowmen ME CHEAT ADD 50 MUSKETEERS Mauser Bing E CHEAT ADD 50 RIFLEMEN Rifleman INDUS CHEAT ADD 50 INFANTRY Stormtrooper INFOR Pathfinder CHEAT ADD 50 SCOUT Scout A CHEAT ADD 50 EXPLORER Explorer ME CHEAT ADD 50 COMMANDO Assaulter INDUS CHEAT ADD 50 SPECIAL Special MO Then there is the cavalry barracks (STABLE) There are generally three types of cavalry 1 CHEAT ADD 50 LIGHT Hussar C CHEAT ADD 50 HUSSAR Cavalry E 2 String 4 CHEAT ADD 50 CATAPHRACT Armoured Cavalry C string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 KNIGHT Knight ME CHEAT ADD 50 CUIRASSIER Armored Cavalry E CHEAT ADD 50 TANK MO CHEAT ADD 50 MAIN main battle tank INFOR 3 CHEAT ADD 50 DRAGOON Heavy Cavalry G CHEAT ADD 50 CARABINEER Carbine Cavalry E CHEAT ADD 50 ARMORED armed cavalry INDUS Engineering Weapons Barracks (SIEGE) String 4 Generally there are two kinds CHEAT ADD 50 SUPPLY The cheats of the supply trucks of all ages. As the times advance, it will change its appearance without upgrading another kind CHEAT ADD 50 TREBUCHET Stone thrower ME CHEAT ADD 50 BOMBARD gun machine G string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 CANNON Concentrated Cannon E CHEAT ADD 50 ARTILLERY Cannon INDUS string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 HOWITZER Howitzer M The last is the shipyard There are generally four types, except fishing boats CHEAT ADD 50 FISH/FISHERMEN The secrets of fishing boats in all ages. As the times advance, it will change its appearance without upgrading 1 CHEAT ADD 50 TRIREME three-tier warship A CHEAT ADD 50 GALLEY C CHEAT ADD 50 CARRACK armed ship ME CHEAT ADD 50 FRIGATE G 2 CHEAT ADD 50 BARK Small sailboat A CHEAT ADD 50 DROMON fast ship C CHEAT ADD 50 CARAVEL light ship ME CHEAT ADD 50 CORVETTE Guarding Sword G CHEAT ADD 50 SLOOP Single sailboat E CHEAT ADD 50 DESTROYER destroyer INDUS CHEAT ADD 50 CRUISER cruiser MO string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 MISSLE guided missile cruiser INFOR 3 CHEAT ADD 50 DREAD Terror Ship INDUS CHEAT ADD 50 BATTKESHIP battleship M 4 CHEAT ADD 50 FIRESHIP Fireship G CHEAT ADD 50 SUBMARINE SUBMARINE INDUS Repeat the cheats for other non-combatants CHEAT ADD 50 CITIZEN=add citizen string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 SPY=Add spy string 4 CHEAT ADD 50 GENERAL = Add General CHEAT ADD 7 SCHOLAR=Add scholars (usually add 7) CHEAT ADD 50 CAR = add caravan CHEAT ADD 50 MERCHANT=Add merchant Note: Although the player can add the number of troops in the game, it is best to grasp a certain degree, so as not to add too much, resulting in the game being too stuck or even crashing.

Pages:12

Cheat Codes

To enter the following cheats, you must press (Enter) anytime during gameplay. Next, type the letters to the left, and press (Enter).

CodeEffect

PEPPERONI PIZZA 1000 food bonus

COINAGE 1000 gold bonus

QUARRY 1000 stone bonus

WOODSTOCK 1000 wood bonus

UPSIDFLINTMOBILE Accelerates your Chariot Archers

DIEDIEDIE All enemy units die

BIGDADDY Black sports car with a rocket launcher

STEROIDS Buildings and units are created instantly

King Arthur Changes all birds into Dragons

PHOTON MAN Create a guy in a white suit with a quick-fire laser gun

E=MC2 TROOPER Creates a guy in a white suit with a slow- firing nuke gun

Big Momma Creates a White Sports Car

POW Creates baby with rocket launcher

Stormbilly Creates some sort of walker

GAIA Gives you control over nature (but lose control over your own civilization)

KILLX Kill player X

Cheats For Age Of Empires 2

HOYOHOYO Priests are faster and stronger

NO FOG Removes the fog of war

REVEAL MAP Reveals the map

MEDUSA Transforms villagers to Medusas

DARK RAIN Turns a Bowman into a Composite Bowman which turns into a tree when not moving

BIG BERTHA Turns Heavy Catapults into Big Berthas

BLACK RIDER Turns Horse Archers into Black Riders

FLYING DUTCHMAN Upgrade your Catapult Tiremes/Juggernauts into Flying Dutchmen

die die die Win the battle

HARI KARI You lose the game

RESIGN You resign

HOME RUN You win the game

ICBM Your Ballistas and Helepolis have a 99+1 range

JACK BE NIMBLE Your catapults and stone throwers fire villagers, cows, etc.

Achievements

Campaign Achievements

Roma Victrix – Complete the Rise of Rome campaign.

Vene, Vidi, Vici – Complete the Ave Caesar campaign.

Imperial Peace – Complete the Imperium Romana campaign.

The Elephant in the Rome – Complete the Enemies of Rome campaign.

Game of war cheat book. Punic Attack – Complete the first Punic War campaign.

Hittite Baby One More Time – Complete the Reign of the Hittites campaign.

Pharaoh – Complete the Ascent of Egypt learning campaign.

Smoking Ziggurats – Compete the Voices of Babylon campaign.

Epic – Complete the Glory of Greece campaign.

Big in Japan – Complete the Yamato Empires of the Rising Sun campaign.

Other Achievements

Homes? – Build 500 houses.

Towers of Babel – Build 50 Babylonian towers.

Rise and Wall – Build 789 Shang wall segments.

Not that I’m keeping count… – Defeat 1000 enemy units.

Hun, is that you? – Destroy 200 temples.

Heracles – Defeated a Lion (Alpha)

Age Of Empire 2 Cheat Code

Artemis – Hunt 250 animals.

Age Of Cheats

Parthian Shot – Train 500 horses.

21st Century – Train 21 Centurions.

Axe to Grind – Train 400 Axemen.

Cute Cats – Build 500 heavy catapults.

The Choson Ones – Create 1000 Choson Legions.

Dancing Chariots – Train 400 Assyrian Chariot Archers.

Minoan Compies – Train 100 Minoan Composite Bowman.

Release date january 5, 2020. https://renewja649.tumblr.com/post/655245136366895104/spongebob-ds-game-cheats.

Scytheseeing – Train 100 Egyptian Scythe Chariots.

Syntagma – Train 256 Macedonian Hoplites.

Wololo – Convert 1000 units.

Eye of Horus – Convert 20 units with Egyptian Priests.

Losing Your Religion – Convert an enemy Priest.

Atlas – Explore all areas of a single map.

Feet on the Ground – Win a random map without training any cavalry.

Eye in the Sky – Win a random map without training any archery units.

Related Posts:

[thegrievousone]

The Republic's Navy Pre-Christophsis (22 BBY)

If you really stop and think about it, the Republic was not in a very favorable position. I had not fought a major war in a long time, therefore much of the strength of its military would have been spread out over the entire galaxy. Also keep in mind that most of the war was fought in the Mid and Outer Rims, which would bog down movement.

Even if they had the superior Navy, these factors can not be ignored

Consular-Class Cruiser: Wasn't even a true warship.

Pelta-Class Support Frigate: Was more focused on being a medical/supply ship and would not be in the line of fire if it could avoid it. (that also goes for the Consular).

Carrack-Class Light Cruiser: Sure they packed firepower, but were still comparatively small. Was the only defense against starfighters.

Dreadnaught-Class Heavy Cruisers: Sure they were durable, but everyone had access to them and were old by the time war broke out.

Acclamator-Class Assault Ship: Sure it was effectively the best ship the Republic would use in the war, but when your best ship is your troops transportation, that puts a target on your back.

V-19 Torrent Starfighter: The only starfighter at the start of the war. They were only passably effective in large groups.

Delta-7B Aethersprite-Class Light Interceptor: Only used by the Jedi, they were fast, but lacked any armor for protection.

Now for the fleets.

1.Defence:

2.Quick Reaction:

3.Invasion:

4.Superiority:

5.Escort: