LC1 Valued Peace: An Airholen the Explorer/WoW Story

                Airholen stretches as he exited the Pandarian farmhouse. The smells of an active farm fills his nostrils. The pigs, chicken and yak meander about eating. The dog sat at the base of the steps watching over them and the cat was sitting on an old stump cleaning himself.  He loved the rustic living that he found out here on the Pandarian continent. And getting away from the crystal powered ark was what drove him out into the world and away from his people.

                Panterra purred at his side. She was his constant companion. Her spotted white fur was soft to the touch as his brushed along his tail. She also seemed to prefer this place over most of the place his people, the Draenei, could be found.  Walking down the stairs, Airholen surveyed the farm and started to walk its perimeter. He didn’t fear that any creatures were damaging his fence line because the farm was on the outskirts of Halfhill. He wondered back around the house.

                The building sits up on stilts. There was a stairs that took it up to the low circular doorway.  The thatched roof was fresh and yellow. The interior was simple one room affair with cooking fire, bed and desk with chair.  It was sufficient for his needs, and didn’t have that hard feel of the stone, metal and crystal of Exodar. The wood grains and vegetable fiber carpets and bedding.

                This home and its isolation it provides from the bustle of world really was what he valued the most.  There was nothing else that compares to this calmness this place provides. He was home, and that was all that mattered. 

LC1 Danic's Prized Possession: A VAdm Danic/STO Story

                Stardate 91355.39  USS Explorer

                Vice Admiral Danic sits in his ready room, eyeing his new crewmembers. Assessing them in every manner his Vulcan senses can allow him. Three of the four crewmen were staring straight ahead, as good fresh cadets normally do. But the fourth one, Ensign Tugnarra, was looking over the shelves that held his souvenirs from previous missions. Tugnarra was curious enough for being a female Ferengi in Starfleet, but her uniform displayed the yellow of engineering too. And the lack of fear was interesting in a Ferengi.

                “Welcome to the Explorer. Remember, we are ship of science, not war. Do not expect to see combat. Do not expect to be safe either. We face the unknown, and that carries its own danger. You know your assignments. You are dismissed. Ensign Tugnarra, remain here. “Danic watched the crewmen leave, eyeing Tugnarra as they passed her.

                Tugnarra remained at attention while her compatriots filed out. But she just couldn’t keep her eye from wondering about the room. When the door swished shut, Danic once again looked at Tugnarra.”Do you know why I had you stay?”

                “No, sir.”

                “I am curious about your actions and attitude in my office. You seemed more interested in my office and lacked any of the fear that most new crewmembers have when meeting me the first time. Why is that?”

                “There is a saying on Ferenginar, ‘You can measure a man’s success by his possesions. But you can measure a man’s character by the possessions he treasures.’ I was just taking in what you show as having value to display. I like what I see, even if I don’t understand it all.”

                Arching his left eye brow quizzically, Danic looked at what was on display. ‘You are a quartermaster, if I remember correctly from your files. So you should recognize all that is on the shelf. So what don’t you understand?”

                Tugnarra hesitated. Then look straight at a lump of charred metal. “That piece of metal over there. It seems to be a burnt piece of hull structure. Unlike the other pieces, it has no obvious artistic value or functionality. It stands out as an oddity amongst all the cleaner aesthetic pieces. It represents something. Something that you are not afraid of talking about, but feel no need to bring up yourself. I would think that it’s connected to your first command, based on your public records started with in disaster. “

                Danic looked at Tugnarra. Ferengi logic was always a curious thing. Profit and acquisitions as the guiding factors for one’s life seemed to be a shallow way to live. How they could find such joy and self-worth in such things was beyond him. “It is from that fatal day. I kept it to remind me of how disaster is not always a bad thing. From that moment, command took notice of my efforts and so gave me the Discovery. There are many examples in history of where failure brought new discovery.  My discovery was that I can command others and make those right choices. And Command learned that they had another starship captain when they needed one.  That piece I picked up from the bridge once I got back to ESD, before I meet with the Admiral.”

                Calmly Danic looks over the Ferengi female. “You have yet to explain your attitude.”

                Tugnarra frowned. “I don’t know what you mean? I am not sure what attitude you mean?”

                Danic stood up and approached the crewmember. “Most new crewmen who come to my office are too afraid to do more than stare straight ahead, too afraid to say anything and all to glad to be dismissed. You on the other hand were so busy looking around that I doubt even your famed Ferengi hearing heard all of what I had to say. What sets you apart from the rest?”

                Tugnarra gave a snaggletooth grin.  “I see. Well…on Fereginar, females are not allowed to do many things. We are largely ignored, which allows me the luxury to always look around without worry. Besides, since it’s illegal for females to leave Fereginar, the threat of a stern warning from a Starfleet Admiral pale in comparison to Liquidators grabbing me and taking me back to Fereginar to face charges for being a female with the lobes for business. No offence.”

                “None taken. Very well. Does my explanation of the hull piece sufficient?”

                “Yes sir.”

                “Then carry on. Report to Commander Kerrick. Dismissed.”

                The young Ensign nodded and turned to leave. As she get to the doors, Danic heard her whisper “He’s nicer than most Vulcan’s. I wonder what it would cost to buy command apprenticeship.” And the doors close.

                That would be a curious thing, a Ferengi Starfleet Captain. Would be most curious.

               

                

LC1 Core Item Updater: A Red Laughter/DCUO Story

                A man sits in the dark. He is very scared for he doesn’t remember how he got here.  He hears a small metallic sound as if metal hit stone. He looks about in the dark and then focuses on the two glowing circles that were floating in the air. “Hello?” he nervously calls out.

                Laughter with a metallic edge floated towards him. “Hello he says. Well hello, John” the female voice tuned the man’s blood cold.

                “Red, is that you? You ok?” John was afraid.

                “Yes, John, I am fine. And I won’t hurt you…..much.”  He hears a stifled laugh. “I want something, John. I want my things back. Please tell me that Robearto is fine. Please tell me you still have him.” He could hear her giggle a bit. “Or I will have to make you pay for him. Where is Robearto?”

                John swallows. Red loved that bear. And he didn’t know what had happened to Red the night those Aliens came and took her and the others. But it’s been hard living since she was gone. The apartment they shared had been hit hard by the invasion.  He had left in a hurry leaving everything behind. He didn’t know what had happened to her or his stuff that he had left behind. His life has been hard ever since. “I don’t have it. During the invasion I left in a hurry leaving everything behind.”

                A light turned on over him. It was harsh compared to the utter darkness he had been in. Then something soft flew out of the darkness beyond the pool light and hit him in the head. He looked at it where it landed. It was Robearto. “Oh, you found it. That’s good.” He held his breathe.

                “Yes. Yes I did. Poor Robearto was all alone. Robearto didn’t like being left alone. He wants you to know that you were a bad man for leaving him.” Her laughter wafted in again.

                “Red is no more, John. Red Laughter is here to right the wrongs done to poor Robearto.” John’s eyes widen as Red Laughter stepped into the light. Her mechanical eyes glowed red. The patchwork of woman and machine smiled as his fear became even more evident. “Yes, John. You left me and Robearto. And Robearto says you need to be punished. “ Red Laughter’s palm starts to glow. “And I am going to punish you….” She laughed with inappropriate joy at the prospect of his pain.

                He screamed for hours, before he died. 

Modern News and Views 1

     So this is supposed to be about Modern games. But I haven't been playing any lately so have not payed them any attention. So I will plan to play DCUO and Champions Online at least once over the next week so that I have something to say here.

Sorry folks.

Science News and Views 1

                So today we have the very first Science News and Views. I will cover Star Trek Online; the only science fictions based game I am currently playing.  At some point, I will return to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, but for now it’s strictly Star Trek Online.

Star Trek Online

                So I figure I should first explain this game a little bit. Star Trek Online (STO) is a free to play MMORPG. You take on the role of a ship’s captain. You will send crewmen off on missions, take bridge crew on ground missions and fly your ship in space battles. As the name implies, it is based in the Star Trek Franchise, but not part of the alternate timeline that JJ Abrams has created.  You can me a member of the Federation, Klingon Empire or Romulan Republic. So that is the basics.

                STO is working on Season 8, seasons being expansion. The new Season is The Sphere and will deal with a Dyson Sphere that is home base of some Voth. The Voth are a dinosaur-like species from the Voyager series. They are more advanced than anything in the Alpha Quadrant. In this expansion, they are aslo coming out with a new federation ship, Avenger Class Battlecruiser. This ship is designed to look like it was built for war but retain the classic look and feel of Federation ships. So far, I think that it looks good.

                The expansion will have space and ground combat. The Voth ground forces include high tech armored Voth soldiers, cyborged dinosaurs with lasers, and armored battle mechs that are mini tanks. These units have interactivity amongst themselves so that they developed tactics that combine the unit powers together for greater effects. This will make it that your ground missions and away teams will have to work together to beat the high tech Voth and what other threats they have yet to release. The Voth are not being presented so much as an enemy of the state but a organization with goals at odds with our government’s goals. No animosity but a desire to control the future of the Dyson Sphere.

                For those who don’t know what a Dyson Sphere is, let me try to explain. Take a sun and build a ball of metal surrounding it. Put the walls of this ball the same distance from the sun as the Earth is and now you have a basic idea. The people would live on the walls of the ball with a sun always shining down on you.  This is the general idea.

                They are still working on this expansion and as they release more info, I will update this blog. Tune in tomorrow for the Modern News and Views.  Have fun everyone!

Fantasy News and Views 1

                This is the first Fantasy News and Views update. We have news on WoW, Neverwinter, Hearthstone and EQ Next. So let’s get started.

World of Warcraft

That when I learned about the random factor on Burdens. You get a random enchantment when you combine it with a Timeless Token.  Now, if you’re a person who likes to plan out their time to get things, because you have limited time, and need to make sure that every choice moves me in the right direction.  Randomness eliminates any sense of personal control or accomplishment of obtaining that goal. While I don’t like randomized rewards for boss kills, I can at least accept it because it’s a reward that I received at the end of one action, a fight. The Burden’s take days, in my case weeks, of effort to get 50K Coins, just to apply it to the token and get some enchantment that might not be what I needed for the optimization of my character to be completed. It sucks because either I languish with the realization that I might never get the character built to be what I want it to be, or don’t plan on ever optimizing my character to be the best that I have the ability to get it too. It sucks, and has ruined my desire to do more on the Timeless Isle.

                Otherwise, we know that Patch 5.4.1 is in the works, hopefully this means that we will find out Garrosh’s final fate in Pandaria. I really don’t have much more on the news as I didn’t have a lot of time reviewing the news for WoW this week.

 

Hearthstone

                More closed Beta keys have been released. More players are being brought in, I think this will help in raising the player base for testing, maybe doing some pre-release stress testing of the services on a lower scale. I have encountered two bugs in the system so far, and have reported it. Not much else to say for it.

 

EQ Next

                Everquest (EQ) Next is the next iteration of the EQ MMO.  They have a Round Table in which they ask fans questions. They take those answers and make choices based on the collected data. The current question is about Lore. They want to know in what way you like to learn about game lore, either by cut scenes, questing notes, external sources or some mixture thereof.  This game appears to be going in a new direction for MMO’s, you get to destroy the world like bridges and trees and such. This means you can find new places by digging. We will keep an eye on this for now.

 

Neverwinter

                This is a D&D based MMO. It is free to play. I have had a lot of fun playing this game but recently haven’t had the time. They are releasing a new lockbox with high end gear in it. I haven’t been on to get any so far.

 

Tune in tomorrow to see what the news in Science News and Views will be be.

Weekly Character Update

Airholen the Explorer
    The Timeless Isle gives up some booty. I got the mount off of Houlon, nothing from LFR wing 2 and 3, and have picked up several burdens. I used the burdens to get several off the timeless armor pieces up to iLevel 535. I also picked up some grievous leggings from the Celestials. I have picked up enough valor points to upgrade several of the armor pieces.

Brewmaster Asmodea
     Sold some stuff. Done nothing else.

Zombee, Danic, Sisteric and Grell
     All of them have completed the CE event and received the 50k Dilithium, a Very Rare Duty officer and several hundred marks. All four have returned to the trail of rep grinding once again.

     Sorry this isn't much this week, but I really didn't play much because of Hearthstone. I got a beta key into the Hearthstone Closed Beta. This has taken my interest very hard as I try many things. I have reported some of the problems I have encountered, but overall this game is more fun than any Magic game I ever played. And I like Magic a lot.
      So tune in tomorrow for the Fantasy News update, where I will talk about WoW, Hearthstone, Neverwinter and whatever else I think of. See you then.