writerwiththedragonring

[writerwiththedragonring]

Star Trek: Eagle

NX-Class Ships of the War

NX-01 Enterprise: Launched in 2151 under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, the Enterprise was the pride of Starfleet and one of the most important ships in the war.

NX-02 Columbia: Commanded by Captain Erika Hernandez and launched in 2154, the Columbia operated until 2156, when it was destroyed in the Battle of Algeron.

NX-03 Challenger: Launched in 2154 under the command of Captain Jeanette Gautier. Her mission took her to the borders of the Cardassian Union, where she laid the foundations for future cooperation between the First Republic and United Earth in the 23rd century.

NX-04 Discovery: Launched alongside the NX-03, Discovery was assigned to explore a region of space coreward of the Sol System, making first contact with the Saurian species and making formal contact with the Deltans. Under the command of Tomas Zamora, Discovery was instrumental in the Kzinti Campaign of the Earth-Romulan War.

NX-05 Atlantis: One of four NX-class vessels that were built as part of an accelerated shipbuilding campaign in the wake of the Romulan Crisis and launched in early and mid-2155 alongside the NX-06 Endeavor, NX-07 Apollo, and NX-08 Eagle. Under the command of Captain Brendan Harrington, it was assigned to deep space exploration before being recalled at the start of the Earth-Romulan War.

NX-06 Endeavor: Following the conclusion of the Xindi Crisis, the NX-06 Endeavor was assigned to explore the former Delphic Expanse. Under the command of Captain Hanabi Ozawa, Endeavor made contact with over a dozen species.

NX-07 Apollo: Commanded by Captain James Chen, the Apollo was originally assigned to explore planets just short of the Klingon border, but was quickly recalled at the beginning of the Earth-Romulan War.

NX-08 Eagle: Launched in mid-2155, the Eagle is considered the last of the "pre-war" NX-class spaceframes. Her original mission was to explore the region of space just beyond Mu Capricorni, but was recalled a few months later.

NX-09 Mercury: The first of the "war-era" NX spaceframes. Commanded by Captain Charles Collie, the Mercury was immediately sent to the frontlines near Bolarus.

NX-10 Vostok: The sister ship of the NX-09, the Vostok was launched under the command of Captain Timothy Bereza and assigned to Defense Group B, intercepting dozens of Romulan warships attempting to penetrate the defensive line.

NX-11 Gemini: Launched in July of 2157, the Gemini was under the command of Captain Samantha Clark, a descendant of the famous William Clark, and assigned to push the frontlines as far coreward as possible.

NX-12 Voskhod: Launched alongside the NX-11, the Voskhod, under the command of Michelangelo Ramirez, was assigned to Defense Group A, protecting the region coreward of the Sol System.

NX-13 Orion: The first of the last block of NX spaceframes ever built, launched in 2158 under the command of Captain Masaharu Sulu. The Orion, along with her sister ships, the NX-14 Orel, NX-15 Shenzhou, and NX-16 Gaganyaan, were launched weeks ahead of schedule during the Battle of Proxima Centauri.

NX-14 Orel: Launched ahead of schedule in 2158 under the command of Captain Albert MacKay, the Orel was destroyed in the Battle of Proxima Centauri.

NX-15 Shenzhou: Launched in 2158 to take part in the Battle of Proxima Centauri, the Shenzhou was lost along with her captain, Thomas Lau.

NX-16 Gaganyaan: Launched alongside the NX-13, NX-14, and NX-15, the Gaganyaan fought in the Battle of Proxima Centauri under the command of Captain Roy Khurana. It, along with the Orion, survived the battle and the lessons learned formed the basis of the major refit for the NX spaceframes in 2161.

[writerwiththedragonring]

Star Trek: Eagle

Star Trek Adventures Campaign Pitch

Setting: Beta Quadrant, 2156

Background: In November of 2154, it was discovered that the Romulan Star Empire, a distant and territorial polity, had been manipulating the governments of Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar Prime to destabilize their region of space.

With this revelation, these governments, who had long been enemies, chose to form a coalition against outside aggression and manipulation. United Earth, and Humanity, were instrumental in leading these first talks.

As negotiations neared its conclusion in October of 2155, the Romulan Star Empire began to show its disapproval of the alliance. They began with attacks on United Earth frontier colonies, Tellarite shipping lanes, Vulcan exploration vessels, and the Andorian border. Their message was clear; We do not approve of this coalition. Cease talks immediately, or face termination.

On October 22nd, 2155, the governments of Earth, Vulcan, Andoria, and Tellar Prime formed the Coalition of Planets.

The governments of Denobula, Rigel, and Coridan elected not to join this coalition, but remained allied with it.

But with the recent attacks, the Coalition faced its first challenge.

Naturally, the Andorians pushed for the Coalition to declare was on the Romulan Star Empire. The Vulcans, however, cautioned that as they did not know the location of Romulus, it would be illogical to delcare war. The Tellarites, ever pragmatic, argued that they lacked the resources and time to find the location of Romulus all while waging war. Earth was further divided on the issue, as there were those who believed that they did not begin exploring space to fight a war, others felt that they could not bear further tragedy and death after the Xindi incident, but there were those who argued that they could not appear weak.

Against the advice of Prime Minister Nathan Samuels, the President of United Earth, Obiefuna Abara, directed Starfleet Intelligence to begin covertly searching for the location of Romulus.

By analyzing reports and sensor logs from dozens of attacks, Starfleet Intelligence was able to narrow down the location of Romulus to a general direction relative to Earth.

In January of 2156, President Abara issued a command reassigning the NX-02 Columbia to Algeron Starbase. This caused further conflict between the President and Prime Minister Samuels. For years, the jursdiction of Starfleet had been a topic of discussion. Some felt it fell to the Ministry of Defence, which makes the President the Commander-in-Chief. However, others felt that Starfleet was not a military, and so must either be considered a separate entity, and perhaps form its own ministry, or was to be directed by the Prime Minister.

Ultimately, it was decided that the President was the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet in times of war, and otherwise led by Starfleet Command in times of peace, who would then advise the Prime Minister. However, President Abara argued that the Romulan Crisis did in-fact count as a wartime crisis, and so his directive was valid.

Algeron Starbase was a large administrative station in the Algeron System. 9 of the 12 planets of this system were rich in mineral resources, and so a mining operation was quickly established by Starfleet. Contracted miners would extract the resources from these planets, loading them onto automated vessels, which would transfer them to Algeron Starbase. From there, the resources would be sent to various planets via freighters of the Earth Cargo Service.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the galaxy, after the progress made by Starfleet Intelligence toward locating Romulus, they had discovered that more information was needed. Section 31, a secretive and supposedly rogue organization within Starfleet Intelligence, deduced that the Algeron System was either close to or within Romulan territory. Their agents met with President Abara, suggesting that they secretly install an advanced sensor array into the starbase, monitoring incoming warp signitures from the theoretical direction of Romulus. They also urged him to consider placing a tempting target in the system, namely an NX-class. It was decided that this target would be the Columbia, commanded by Captain Erika Hernandez.

When the Columbia arrived the following February, it joined the two Daedalus-class and one Intrepid type already assigned to protect the base, the Port Royal, Hornet, and Excalibur.

Interestingly, the Columbia was assigned a new first officer prior to this reassignment, Commander Robert Pine.

On the 18th of May, 2156, five Romulan warbirds dropped out of warp within attack range of Algeron IV. Just before going into battle, Hernandez ordered the Excalibur to take on as many civilians from Algeron Starbase as possible as well as their sensor logs and those from the starbase, and to head to the nearest United Earth outpost.

According to reports, the Port Royal and Hornet were able to destroy one Romulan warbird and disable another before being destroyed. The Columbia then destroyed two and heavily damaged the remaining two before its destruction.

All hands were lost.

The remaining two warbirds were able to catch up to the Excalibur, which had sent a distress call on a continuous loop, informing nearby allied ships of the attack and that they had the location of Romulus.

Although they were able to destroy one of the pursuing warbirds, the Excalibur was disabled by the second. It was only the timely intervention of the NX-01 Enterprise and the FX-26 Burnell that saved the Excalibur.

Then on May 21st, 2156, the Coalition of Planets declared war on the Romulan Star Empire, beginning the Earth-Romulan War.

At the Rome Conference the following June, the members of the Coalition discussed the logistics of the war. It was decided that United Earth would bear the brunt of the war, as it was their intervention that started the Romulan Crisis in 2154. However, the other members of the Coalition had their own responsibilities.

The Tellarites would establish supply lines between the core planets and the front lines. The Vulcans would monitor incoming Romulan attacks using their advanced sensor technologies. Finally, the Andorians would dedicate their powerful warships to protecting the core planets of the Coalition.

Their allies, although nominally neutral, supported the Coalition in various ways.

The Denobulans sent medical technologies and aid. The Rigellians negotiated a one-sided trade deal, acquiring vast amounts of resources for use in shipbuilding, most notably, dilithium from the Coridan.

A month later, the Axanar shared their weapons technology with the Coalition.

Within the first year of the war, United Earth began a massive ship-building campaign, launching dozens of Daedalus-class starships and the first two war-era NX-class vessels, the NX-09 Mercury and NX-10 Vostok.

Our Heroes will be the command crew of the NX-08 Eagle, launched in mid-2155, following the launch of the NX-07 Apollo. The story begins as the command crew oversees the installation of new weapons and armor in preparation for their war assignment.

Launched as a technical testbed for new technologies destined for the next pair of NX-classes, the NX-08 Eagle was built by Copernicus Shipyards on Luna and is considered the last pre-war NX-class.

[writerwiththedragonring]

A Distant Shore, A Rippled Mirror

Not a day goes by I don't look into the rippled mirror, watching the crimson hills of the distant shore. Emerald trees reaching out to the violet skies, illuminated by the dim curtain of the twin suns.

My mind turns to the grey scenery of a frigid land, where white peaks of rough waves crash against the black crags of the shore. A lone woman, her cinnabar hair waving in the salty air, looks out to the horizon. Her sapphire eyes watch the shifting forms of every wave, reading their chaotic dance.

The fetid marsh, blanketed in white haze, stretches out into eternity. Naked trees, like narrow spires, seemingly sprout from the muck. In the distance, ghostly forms on spindly legs slowly walk over the swamp.

I return, the cacophony of the city fills my head. I look out at the busy streets, the glow of streetlights and headlights highlighting the crowds of beautiful people. The echo of the distant shores haunt my mind, but the warmth of flesh and reality draws me back.

The rippled mirror reflects on every mirrored surface, like shards scattered across a room.

[writerwiththedragonring]

I don't know what Huey's doing but gosh darn he's having fun isn't he

[writerwiththedragonring]

The Tale of Tedward the Dickless

Many across the land have heard tales of the Aegis Guild's Tedward the Lion. Tedward, the Prince of Hearts. The heartthrob of millions. A man's man and womanizer, and enjoyer of variety and adventure.

Armed with his trusty sword, a gift from an elven noble, and his violin, passed down his family for generations, he brings joy and mirth wherever he goes.

But everything changed one day. Life is unfair, for it may grant you much one moment, and take it all away, and more, the next.

He and his party had delved too deep into the darkness of an ancient tomb, that of the accursed necromancer, Ephidel. Through living skeletons and undead warriors they fought, hewing through rancid flesh and dusty bone.

It seemed an eternity since they last breathed the fresh air of the surface and felt the warmth of the sun, for the tomb offered naught but the stench of decay upon the stagnant air.

Then they found it, a door, carved from a great stone, circular in shape, bearing the terrible face of the Crawling God, patron of the lowly, the horrid, and despised, his fanged maw agape. A stone tablet on the floor below it read, "Rest your hand before me, if you are confident in your treasured wisdom."

"A test." Tedward mused, "How quaint."

To the shock of his party, he approached the great stone, unfastening his pants. Never before had he presented such a delicate, and storied, part of himself before a god, save for the time he seduced the high priestess of the goddess, Ursa. But as he felt the cold touch of stone, a terrifying pressure closed in around him as the fangs took hold.

"The story of Ephidel is a sorry one." Said the stone in a great, booming voice. "Look to his past, and you see, what is the truth of life that all choose to ignore?"

He didn't know why he spoke, for he knew the answer. The walls of the tomb bore the tale of Ephidel, the faded glyphs depicting a life of struggle, tragedy, and hardened resolve. And yet, vanity was at the forefront of his mind.

"W-Wait," Tedward pleaded, "This was in jest!"

But the stone would not budge, for it felt nothing for the bard's charms. The silence was broken by a pained, screeching cry, blood stained the cold stone, and Tedward lay before it, Braith, the party paladin, tending to his wound with the healing light of her goddess.

"That was the dumbest thing you could've done, Ted." She scolded him, unfazed by the nature of his wound.

"At least the kobold isn't here." The bard winced, "He'd give me a mindful."

As Tedward was healed, Dorcas the Giant, who was not so much a giant as he was a regular human, albeit taller than most, approached the stone. There were no remains within the mouth, but blood still stained it.

He placed his hand within the terrifying maw, and like Tedward, felt a pointed pressure as fangs closed around it.

"The story of Ephidel is a sorry one." The stone repeated. "Look to his past, and you see, what is the truth of life that all choose to ignore?"

"Life is unfair." Dorcas said, remembering the words engraved in stone where the stories began.

"So we do what we must to survive." Said the stone. "Ephidel awaits."

The great stone lifted up in a recess above, shaking the tomb as it moved. Behind it lay a great staircase, leading deeper, yet the vibrant glow of torchlight emanated from within.

He was close, the end was near.

[writerwiththedragonring]

Secrets of the Draconic Mind

The gentle glow of the lamp settled upon the bare, wooden wall of the room. The muffled sound of mirth in the tavern below emanated from the floorboards, a small price to pay for the privacy Crunch-Bite was given.

The rusty-scaled kobold sat at the writing desk, quill in hand, scribbling down on a roll of parchment. In front of him sat a strange cube of black metal, alien symbols engraved into each face within a series of circles. It was cold to the touch, as if left in the frigid winter air, despite the warmth of the inn.

"I remember these." The kobold thought to himself, "Just like the obelisk."

He thought back to the strange monument he encountered long ago. When everything changed.

Kobolds are peculiar folk. Distant cousins of dragons, said to have been born from the blood of one of the primeval dragons who fought for supremacy long ago. Yet, despite this, they are looked down upon by all, even other draconic beings.

For the most part, they desire only peaceful lives, finding it within the civilizations that would take them. In the lands of the dragonborn, they are laborers and servants of the nobility, among others, they work solely in sewage maintenance and trash disposal. To outsiders, it appears to be lowly, demeaning work. But kobolds are content as long as they are left alone to their work.

Crunch-Bite remembered the days spent cultivating mushrooms, sifting through trash, and repairing parts of the complex sewage system of the city his warren worked for. But he remembered how miserable he was, how he envied the influence the tinkerers had. They were the few kobolds who had the intelligence and know-how, they were inventors, they were artists, they were leaders. He wanted to be like them, but he didn't know how.

Then everything changed.

He was told by the tinkerer to inspect a part of the sewers damaged by an earthquake. It seemed routine, breached walls, leaking pipes, but there was something else. A wall collapsed, revealing a hidden chamber.

He ventured into the darkness, unaware of what nightmarish horror he would encounter within.

The air was cold, still as death, no living being had been there for a long time. His eyes strained to see in the dark, the only light was an eerie violet glow emanating from another room.

In this new chamber, he found all manner of strange artifacts. A large, black obelisk, engraved with symbols that glowed with violet light adjacent to a strange pedestal. A staff of black chitin. And on the far side of the room, slumped in a throne of chitin, the withered husk of a strange, alien being. The lengths of tendrils that hung from where the mouth should be broke off upon his touch, like dried leaves in the cold of autumn.

But despite the uneasy feeling he experienced, being in such a strange room, he was also filled with curiosity. Yet, he felt as if something was watching him.

As his claw innocently brushed against the armrest of the throne, the floor in front of throne opened, and a circular basin of liquid rose up. Lights in the ceiling illuminated the bowl, the liquid within was green and still, save for a strange, purple lump floating on the surface.

Crunch-Bite scampered onto the edge of the basin, struggling to make out what the floating piece of debris was. He reached out to it, yet it was just beyond his grasp. As he strained to fish it closer with the tips of his claws, his grip on the basin slipped, and then there was nothing.

He vaguely remembers the feeling of the cold liquid hitting his face, the bitter taste of it, a piercing pain, yet when he awoke, he was in the sewer, the wall was miraculously undamaged.

He thought that was the end of it. A strange dream, a nightmare, nothing more.

But after a while, his restlessness grew, he was no longer only envious of the tinkerers, he was convinced that he was smarter than them. But he was a mere worker. Before long, he began to hear voices in his head which were not his own. He dismissed them as illusions brought about by the stress of his work and the restlessness he suffered.

Then came the war.

Seizing the opportunity brought by the earthquake, the forces of a neighboring kingdom attacked the weakened walls of the city. The kobolds, placing the survival of the warren above all, chose to withdraw deeper underground to wait out the coming chaos.

But Crunch-Bite felt something well within him. As the battle raged above, he rose from the darkness, instinctively reaching into the mind of the first invader he encountered. As he did so, he watched in horror as his scales glistened with alien mucus, he felt tendrils sprout from his snout, and, unbeknownst to him, his eyes would become darkened spheres, spackled with white streaks and flecks.

By the end of the battle, he had returned to his familiar form, but he knew he was something different. He realized the voices that haunted him was that of those around him, and all present were wondering how he felled those mighty warriors, who now lie motionless, alive, yet their eyes distant and devoid of any awareness.

For over three years now, he has searched for answers. He knows now he is not entirely a kobold, he is not even entirely Crunch-Bite. His adventures has brought him to scholars and mystics, to ruins both ancient and forgotten.

Since being recruited by the Aegis Guild, he has had no shortage of adventures. With each, he comes one step closer to discovering the truth of the mystery he stumbled upon.

In the gentle glow of the lamp, he stared at the black cube. The world grew silent, and the etchings of the cube began to glow.