Re: [GZG] Fiction -

Doug Evans wrote:
> Can't give a precise pointer, but a good place to start is the
inestimable
> Mister Han's web presence:
> 
> http://www.warpfish.com/jhan/ft/gzgpedia/

Yes, Inestimably lurking these days.  (8-)

Even though updates on the site are few and far between these days,
I'm still taking updates / entries whenever anybody sends me an
email.	I suppose, what I really should do is turn the whole thing
into a Wikki.  Hmmmmmmmm.  Maybe something else for the to-do list...

In the meantime, if people want to update or add new organizations /
countries, let me know!

JGH

>>From there, you can also check the out the star lists and maps
> created/hosted by that impressive Nyrath the Nearly Wise, aka,
Winchell
> Chung.
> 
> As with all things Tuffley, there's plenty of room to play fill in the
> blanks.
> 
> The_Beast
> 
> PS Can anybody tell me if you can do crosstabs in Excel, or if I have
to
> export to Access, how to do so relatively painlessly? I've been trying
to
> mash Winchell's star lists into lists of 'closest' stars distance to
each
> star near Sol, and the process is ugly, and fraught with error. Have I
> mentioned my strong personal distaste with Mr. Gates?
> 
> tagalong wrote on 01/29/2010 02:45:27 PM:
> 
>>
>> So whens the book out. :]
>>
>> Stupid question but where did you get the place names for Mars from.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a List of the planet and system names for the
> Tuffeyverse.
>> Doing a campaign. tar
>>
>> james
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 29th, 2010 at 1:33 PM, Beth.Fulton@csiro.au wrote:
>>
>>> G'day,
>>>
>>> Latest story from Jock. Its a wee bit of a filler before we get back
>>> into
>>> the campaign proper.
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Beth
>>>
>>>
>>> In Memoriam
>>>
>>> After the recent attack in Marin most of the 2/34 had been pulled
>>> back to
>>> San Juan and from there evacuated to Henna Dimashq, a large Martian
>>> city to
>>> the north of Coprates Chasma. Like many Martian settlements it is
>>> built in a
>>> crater, with the original settlement right in the centre and
>>> agricultural
>>> land in a ring around that. This city had become a hub for local
>>> commerce
>>> however and there were extra urban districts in large notches in the
>>> crater
>>> wall both east and west. A smaller area in the southwestern rim had
>>> become a
>>> fairly well established military base. It wasn¹t the wholesale
>>> requisition
>>> that had effectively occurred in Nirgal, but it was still an
>>> extensive
>>> presence.
>>>
>>> Here many of the worst of the wounds could be patched up and
everyone
>>> could
>>> get some R&R. Some of the most critically wounded would never be
>>> returning
>>> to combat, though the Seige of Sol meant they wouldn¹t be shipping
>>> straight
>>> home either. They could help out in a desk position or try and find
>>> some
>>> other job. Young Gary Lewis was talking about becoming a VR pilot
now
>>> some
>>> of the booster stations along the new Margaritifer Line were up and
>>> running
>>> again. I didn¹t think he¹d live let alone be thinking of still
>>> fighting the
>>> Kra¹Vak, but the fight in these kids is amazing.
>>>
>>> As for me I¹ve chosen to return too. I was given the option of
>>> calling it
>>> quits after I took the slug to my throat. It went in just under my
>>> chin and
>>> came back out through my cheek. Busted my jaw up. It still aches a
>>> bit, but
>>> all is ok now. They even grew me some new teeth. So I¹ll be going
>>> back in
>>> with the 2/34 when they return to the Tokalau Isthmus.
>>>
>>> Today however, we have a more solemn purpose. We¹re here to
remember
>>> the
>>> fallen.
>>>
>>> We¹re sitting at the top of the parade ground in Camp Henna. I can
>>> see
>>> crowds of civilians snaking back down the crater wall to the big
>>> cathedral
>>> down in the old quarter. Martians have such a different take on
>>> things. At
>>> home there would be black and flowers and tears. Not so here. Well
>>> not
>>> completely. There will be tears, but the place is a riot of colour.
>>> These
>>> people come from families used to battling the elements, scraping a
>>> living.
>>> They celebrate life no matter how short or how it ended.
>>>
>>> ³Jock.² Iron George nods, as he pulls up a chair by me. He plants
his
>>> feet,
>>> legs spread akimbo, his walking stick balancing across his knees.
>>>
>>> ³Guday shir.² I slur, the mobility of my healing jaw still
hindered
>>> by the
>>> braces clamped around it to hold it in place as it knits.
>>>
>>> Turning to look at him I can see that Baxter¹s face is ashen, his
>>> eyes sharp
>>> edged and glittery, his jaw is rolling.
>>>
>>> ³Shir?²
>>>
>>> ³Shit start to the day.² He says quietly, eyes locked on to the
far
>>> distance. ³Lost Higgs and Al this morning.²
>>>
>>> ³But I shought Al wash doing well² I protested incredulously.
>>>
>>> ³Yeah I know. Why the fuck is it always ones with kids?² he asked,
>>> raw grief
>>> evident in his quiet tone.
>>>
>>> I didn¹t know what else to say, so we lapsed into silence, there
>>> starring
>>> off into the distance, consumed by our individual thoughts.
>>>
>>>			    * * *
>>>
>>> I first met Sergeant James Wilson Higgs VC in the sandbagged ops
room
>>> in the
>>> compound at Marin. He had this way of leaning up against the back
>>> wall
>>> keeping a quiet but vigilant eye on everything. He also seemed to
>>> have this
>>> sixth-sense of when something was about to go wrong. He could read
>>> the real
>>> time 3D projections of the battlefield better than anyone else I
>>> knew. Iron
>>> George included.
>>>
>>> Some of the feed for the projections came from unmanned drones that
>>> roamed
>>> overhead, others from sensors on high altitude balloons. For the
very
>>> fine
>>> scale detail needed in close combat specialist handlers on site
>>> released
>>> nanite OEmotes¹. When I asked him how he knew he asked if I played
>>> music,
>>> when I said no, he asked if I water rafted. Again no. He asked if
>>> there was
>>> anything that I did that was especially my thing. Football is my
>>> thing.
>>>
>>> ³How long¹ve you been playing?²
>>>
>>> ³Nearly twenty years.²
>>>
>>> ³Any good?²
>>>
>>> ³Kinda. Not that skilled.²
>>>
>>> ³But can you read the play? Know that the opposition is going in
that
>>> hole
>>> or that your winger will be by the far post?²
>>>
>>> ³Yeah, I can do that ok.²
>>>
>>> ³Same thing. You can just read what¹s going to happen, it flows
past
>>> and you
>>> just feel it. Nothing conscious necessarily, you just know.²
>>>
>>> Zen battle fighting. ³Very Jedi.²
>>>
>>> ³Can tell you¹re a lit major mate. I had to watch those things in
>>> high
>>> school. Remastered but they never really got it, no holo depth at
>>> all. Not a
>>> patch on Khorramshahr Campaign series. Now that was story telling!²
>>> Despite
>>> his disparaging words, turns out Sergeant Higgs was an avid vid buff
>>> and we
>>> spent many hours breaking the boredom of deployment discussing vids
>>> or
>>> exploring the contents of each other¹s OEcasters.
>>>
>>> The laid back persona, soft drawl and easy smile hid a fairly
>>> serious
>>> combatant. A significant asset in the ops room he was also a very
>>> professional soldier in the field. I remember one action in the core
>>> industrial district to the north of the compound. We would have
>>> walked
>>> straight into a major ambush if Higgs hadn¹t figured it out and
sent
>>> us
>>> roofward instead. He got us set up in amongst some energy vanes and
>>> put the
>>> snipers from recon platoon up on some water towers. Then by
>>> jury-rigging a
>>> field server he slaved the spec feed and coordinated fire down along
>>> about
>>> 1500m of the Kra¹Vak¹s planned kill zone. Starting with
coordinated
>>> launches
>>> of grenades and IAVRs to flush them out of their forward positions
>>> and then
>>> using SAWs and machine-guns to OEwalk¹ the Kra²Vak back away from
>>> our
>>> position. When one of the gunners went down he took over that
>>> position and
>>> still didn¹t miss a beat in his directions. I have this beautiful
>>> still of
>>> him, feet braced against the building edge, intent expression,
>>> mid-command,
>>> eyes alive, arms tight as he wrestled the MG, casings collecting in
a
>>> small
>>> mountain around him.
>>>
>>> That was an intense firefight. The Kra¹Vak came back in full force,
>>> followed
>>> close on their heels by the telltale early signs of a major dust
>>> storm. We
>>> needed to extricate ourselves quickly. Amidst the clouds of dust and
>>> enemy
>>> fire Higgs called in for an evac by VTOL. It felt like an age later,
>>> but was
>>> really only minutes when a gunship took up position above us,
sitting
>>> up
>>> high trying to keep the way clear for a troop-carrying variant of
the
>>> Mantis
>>> to come in and get us. The Mantis couldn¹t land on the roof - the
>>> clear
>>> space between the clutter of towers and vanes was too small for its
>>> bulkier
>>> body. So it came in low and the able bodied had to leap onto a cargo
>>> net
>>> they¹d rolled out the loading ramp and then clamber up. If that
>>> wasn¹t hard
>>> enough with the enemy still firing on our position, it was jinking
>>> to-and-fro to make it hard for any rocket toting Kra¹Vak. Even the
>>> few guys
>>> who were hit but still ambulatory went up that way. When it go to
the
>>> two
>>> seriously wounded though Higgs waved away the cargo net and pointed
>>> away
>>> back toward the compound. For a heart stopping second I thought he
>>> was
>>> telling them to leave him and the seriously wounded behind, but then
>>> he must
>>> have been in direct link with the pilot because the VTOL slid over
to
>>> the
>>> camp-wise roof edge and hovered landing ramp down, backed into the
>>> building.
>>> Higgs shouldered the wounded gunner first and then sprinted full
pelt
>>> at the
>>> VTOL, slugs flying around his high profile, and as he reached the
>>> roof edge
>>> he kept right on coming, leaping into the VTOL with his final
>>> strides. After
>>> laying the man on his shoulders in the back of the VTOL, Higgs
turned
>>> round
>>> and went back for the other man. Sprinting back out of the VTOL,
back
>>> across
>>> the roof (bent double but still an attractive target), bloody body
>>> onto his
>>> shoulders and then back again for that final leap onto the VTOL.
Just
>>> as his
>>> boots hit the ramp we were rocked by some kind of hit and the VTOL
>>> whanged
>>> into the building hard. I thought we were going down and that the
>>> Sergeant
>>> would topple out. Instead Higgs hurled himself forward into the body
>>> of the
>>> transport. He and the man he¹d been carrying ended in a bloody mess
>>> by the
>>> rear seating, but he¹d saved them from a fall to their deaths. He
>>> was
>>> quickly on his feet though as it was clear something was badly wrong
>>> with
>>> the VTOL, which was shuddering and grating against the building.
>>> Higgs slid
>>> his way back to the loading ramp where the loadmaster was perched on
>>> the
>>> edge of the ramp, hanging one armed from straps above his head and
>>> pointing
>>> down off the ramp to the wall. He was obviously yelling, but with
the
>>> wall
>>> of noise that filled the VTOL I couldn¹t make out what he was
>>> saying.
>>>
>>> To my utter disbelief, Higgs grabbed the MG, slung his feet through
>>> the
>>> cargo net and then his upper body and the gun disappeared over the
>>> edge of
>>> the ramp. I could see his body judder, so I guessed he was firing.
>>> Five
>>> short bursts from what I could tell. The VTOL shot forward, nearly
>>> sending
>>> Higgs and the net careening out over the ramp, but we were free. The
>>> loadmaster and Pancho pulled Higgs back in as we rose and then
>>> zigzagged our
>>> way between buildings back to the compound. Just watching that my
>>> heart was
>>> racing so hard I never thought it¹d settle again.
>>>
>>> When we were back in the relative safety of the camp and the noise
>>> was
>>> confined to the usual raucous discussions and the background thud of
>>> explosions and mortar fire I sought out the loadmaster and asked
what
>>> Higgs
>>> had done. Turns out the VTOL had been snagged on a fire escape so
>>> Higgs had
>>> used the MG to shear the balustrade clean off. I asked Higgs about
it
>>> later
>>> too, he shrugged it off and simply said. ³You just get in and get
>>> shit
>>> done.²
>>>
>>> Losing Higgs meant that 2/34 was bereft of perhaps its finest
>>> soldier. To my
>>> mind at least they were all astounding, but Higgs was exceptional.
>>> This war
>>> was marked by any number of souls willing to put life on hold to rid
>>> us of
>>> the Kra¹Vak, this saw a level of dedication and on-going morale
that
>>> made
>>> them the embodiment of professional soldiers.
>>>
>>>			    * * *
>>>
>>> ³Looks like we¹re on lad.² Baxter¹s words pulled me back from my
>>> thoughts.
>>> The Lt Col had risen to his feet and was watching his troops form up
>>> to lead
>>> the parade of mourners down to the memorial service in the
cathedral.
>>> I rose
>>> and turned to make my way over to where the civilian marchers were
>>> gathering.
>>>
>>> ³No son. Come and with us², I looked at Baxter quizzically. ³You
>>> earned your
>>> place.² I was humbled and honoured to the point my throat
constricted
>>> and I
>>> couldn¹t say a word.
>>>
>>> Following Baxter I moved over to the 2/34. He broke off to take up
>>> his
>>> position at the front, whereas I hung back intending to hide away
>>> amongst
>>> the rear ranks. I noticed a clutch of colt-limbed troops, laughing
>>> and
>>> wrestling over some hidden prize and darted over for a quick look.
>>> There was
>>> Turps, in a hover chair. He¹d been hit during the attack and had
lost
>>> both
>>> his legs to a direct strike from a rocket while he¹d been manning
the
>>> heavy
>>> MG in a sanger on the roof of the compound. He¹d been little more
>>> than a
>>> rag-doll torso when he¹d been airlifted out with almost no chance
of
>>> survival. While he was still a little pale he seemed a long way from
>>> the
>>> maimed corpse-like body I had seen carried aboard the airship only a
>>> few
>>> weeks before. The friends he hadn¹t seen since were coming up,
>>> clapping him
>>> on the shoulder or tousling his hair. As ever he was talking fast to
>>> all
>>> around him, joking, showing off his new implants and graft points.
>>>
>>> ³They reckon it¹ll be about another seven weeks before the grafts
are
>>> fully
>>> prepped and then snap they just click in my new legs² he said,
>>> cavalierly
>>> clicking his fingers with a big grin. ³They reckon I could even do
>>> the carta
>>> course for the forward combat artillery corp, get some mecha-link
>>> points.²
>>> His excitement was palpable. Instead of death or becoming a crippled
>>> shell
>>> he was actually turning his misfortune into an opportunity.
>>> OEGetting
>>> grafted¹ may be accepted part of some cultures now, but it¹s still
>>> typically
>>> not a life style choice too many in the main stream opt to follow.
>>> For one,
>>> it is typically prohibitively expensive, unless you do it for a job
>>> or
>>> you¹re willing to run the risk of lower grade goods. However, the
war
>>> had
>>> created a demand for OEenhanced¹ bodies on the front line, in some
of
>>> the
>>> most extreme environments. Consequently if you were willing, and
>>> deemed
>>> suitable, the options before you ran from the full spectrum from
>>> OEminimal
>>> enhancement¹ to OEcomplete conversion¹.
>>>
>>> ³And see this?² Turps said leaning forward and showing off a scar
>>> running up
>>> the back of his shaved head and in behind his ear. ³Neural graft
and
>>> rear
>>> attachment for my new eye. How¹s this for freaky?² he glared
almost
>>> imperceptibly and his pupil dilated and took on the hint of a dull
>>> almost
>>> black-red glow. CEV. Cybernetically enhanced vision. It seems he
>>> wasn¹t
>>> missing a trick. ³Oh nice frilly bra Cath² he said with a grin.
>>>
>>> ³I¹ll still knock your block off Turps, if you don¹t behave
>>> yourself!² That
>>> brought hearty laughs all round. This is perhaps one of the moments
>>> that
>>> exemplify this current war with the Kra¹Vak for me. It has been a
>>> long hard
>>> war. Its not just a conflict on some far off world between
>>> mercenaries and
>>> career professional soldiers, all boxed up and nice. It is dirty,
>>> frightening, horrific and universal. Yet it appears that our will is
>>> universal too. Despite all that they have experienced they can still
>>> laugh,
>>> feel the exhilaration of survival. Yes they are mightily aggrieved
>>> over the
>>> mates lost or injured, but they get on more determined than ever.
>>> They say
>>> their own kind of goodbyes, tell the odd joke, clean their weapons
>>> and get
>>> ready to go out and kill some more of those xenobastards.
>>>
>>> With a whistle from the CSM, all grew quiet and solemn and lined up
>>> ready to
>>> move out. The parade moved slowly down the ribbon of onlookers, who
>>> clapped
>>> and cheered, augmenting the beat of the military band. Then one of
>>> those odd
>>> Martian song-chants began - the words indistinguishable, but
>>> beginning low
>>> and maudlin, but slowly growing to fill you with a thrumming buzz of
>>> excitement.
>>>
>>> Once down in the Cathedral a familiar mix of funeral rituals were
>>> played out
>>> in honour of the latest group of fallen, to provide safe passage for
>>> their
>>> spirits and solace to the living. For some there were songs, others
>>> dances
>>> or symbolic rites, for many there were eulogies. Some sorrowful,
some
>>> darkly
>>> humourous, most delivered by steel-eyed, rigid-jawed friends who
>>> chokingly
>>> tripped over feelings that went unspoken in life. People who had
>>> been
>>> inseparably tight knit, eating, sleeping, drinking, laughing
together
>>> now
>>> dealing with being the remaining individual. Many hinted at grief to
>>> come
>>> when the fighting was all done.
>>>
>>> By the end of the service there was a strange mix of celebration and
>>> hard
>>> knots around your heart. I had been crying and looking to my left I
>>> saw that
>>> even Baxter had let a single tear run down his lined face. Looking
>>> right I
>>> spotted the CSM as he rose to speak, but his eyes were dry and his
>>> face was
>>> set in a mask of anger. He walked stiffly to the front, back ramrod
>>> straight. Turning sharply he gripped the podium straight armed,
>>> white
>>> knuckled, looking fixedly at his page before raising his head and
>>> explaining
>>> how this was the ³campaign of their lives², that he was
³immensely
>>> fuckin¹
>>> proud of the courage they¹d all shown², that ³each death is a
hole in
>>> our
>>> hearts that would never heal² and finally that ³they have not left
>>> us, they
>>> will be with us on each patrol and will stand behind us a silent
>>> source of
>>> inspiration as we keep fighting the Krek scum². Until then I¹d
>>> forgotten
>>> that Private Mitchell Clarke, killed by a Kra¹Vak slug to the
throat,
>>> had
>>> been the already much decorated teenage son of the CSM. The lanky,
>>> blonde
>>> maned and always smiling kid had been so different to the
>>> bull-necked,
>>> tattooed and severe CSM, but he was a son who wouldn¹t be going
home;
>>> a son
>>> who would be mourned deeply.
>>>
>>> The last to speak was Iron George, his deep gravely voice forcefully
>>> filling
>>> the cathedral. "They died as soldiers choose to die. Boots on, guns
>>> hot,
>>> shoulder-to-shoulder with their mates, defending our homes from an
>>> enemy
>>> that would consume us and end us once and for all. In the years to
>>> come, in
>>> the quiet moments of the day we will remember them. We will mourn
>>> them
>>> properly. For now though we have to continue the fight. We must
>>> continue to
>>> walk out and fight so that those who died did not die in vain. Our
>>> mission
>>> to clear the Kra¹Vak paitya from under every rock on Tokalau and
from
>>> there
>>> the solar system and form there the Outworlds. The fallen we honour
>>> today
>>> would not have wanted it any other way. "
>>>
>>> I stayed in the background the rest of the day, watching, listening
>>> to the
>>> men and women, young and old, share their stories, share their
grief.
>>> What I
>>> heard confirmed something I had long suspected. I had heard tales
>>> from my
>>> own father, who¹d served on Bradley in 2179, and I was on Kayleigh
as
>>> a
>>> young TSNN correspondent in 2181 when Vortsheimer was over run by
the
>>> LLAR
>>> mercenaries. Neither was a patch on this fight. This was a new kind
>>> of war.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Gzg-l mailing list
>>> Gzg-l@mail.csua.berkeley.edu
>>> http://mail.csua.berkeley.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/gzg-l
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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> 
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> 

-- 
** Jerry Han - jhan@warpfish.com - http://www.warpfish.com/jhan -
TBFTGOGGI **
My heart has been worn, but it ain't broke;It may hiccup and cough black
smoke
It may seem old, but it still runs; My love has laces that won't come
undone
					-- Jason Plumb, "Satellite"
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