[TC] FROM NOTHING, A Rogue's Tale - Book I [COMPLETED]

wreckzors · Post by **wreckzors** » Wed, 2. Feb 11, 19:23

great chapter, I didn't have work today because of the giant snow storm so I got to read it from the comfort of home. I am not really sure the best way to set up the ranks. I would say that as long as all your men only control 1 ship a piece.. they should each be captains.. and you be the next rank up. If you give one of the men control over more than one m6+ ship, I would increase his rank to your old rank.. and then up your rank (you still following me?) and well.. as far as being the leader of the fighter squad... you could call him the Shadow Chief.. or maybe just wing leader?

I was hoping Slots would make an appearance in this chapter since he was talked about at the end of last chapter, but this chapter was very well done so I will live

. You just keep writing amazing chapters and I will keep reading them.

Scion Drakhar · Post by **Scion Drakhar** » Wed, 2. Feb 11, 21:13

Kirlack wrote:WRT rank: I think Drake taking the rank of "Admiral" would be too much, perhaps a bit pretentious?

My thoughts too.

Kirlack wrote:IMO Drake should retain the "Captain" whilst Alex, Ea't, Lucifer and Sayleen become "Commander" to reflect the fact that Drake is still in charge, but each of them commands their own ship.

Historically the commander of a ship is called the Capitain. This persists in the modern Navy where the commander of the ship or base is the "Capitain" despite his or her rank. I once served on a boat where the Captain had been busted down in rank several times for drunkness and drunk driving to the point were hs executive officer, or XO, acutally outranked him (to the infinite amusement of we mere enlisted men.)
Anyway, I'm inclined, for simplicity's sake, to leave the commander of a single ship retaining the title "Captain" and change Drake's title to reflect the fact that he now commands more than one. Now throughout the modern world a Captain outranks a Commander and a Commodore outranks a Captain. Malcolm, serving as my first mate, would likely be a Commander and despite all of my fighter jocks being officers they'd probably be varieties of Lieutenants with Z'ppt perhaps being a sub-commander, or "Shadow Commander" or Wing Leader. I'm even inclined to have the commander of a frigate have a rank that supercedes that of a corvette as they would, wouldn't they? Lucifer would outrank Ea't as he'd need to give Ea't direction in battle to coordinate the safety of his own ship. Where it will get really confusing is when the non-com's are included. Once again, the captain of a ship is the captain, and obviously the Captain of a frigate is going to outrank the Captain of a freighter, but the language may not demonstrate that. Does that make sense?
As you can see I've been thinking about this a little.
Now the marines would all be the equivalent of enlisted men and for simplicity's sake I may just break it down into five or perhaps six ranks. Perhaps five ranks with the addition of a warrant officer designation for the person in Calon Bro's current spot who commands all of them.
So that's where it's evolved to in my brain so far.

Kirlack wrote:I'm increasingly tempted to add something in but keep banging my head on the wall as to what I can do Whilst Ps'y is very well fleshed out in my head I'm struggling to get any of his thoughts etc down on paper (or maybe I'm just too busy reading this and playing my own game

Don't worry about it. Do what you can do and no more. If you can, try and describe Ps'y's brother, as he's going to be making an appearance rather soon.

Triaxx2 You never fail to crack me up. Who is the Angry Argon Engineer and why is he/she angry?

Wreckzors, yeah the weather's awful here as well. Snow +freezing rain. I can't even walk to the store. Also Slots will arrive in the next chapter, I promise.

On that note, I may take an extra day to post the next one. Since the battle with the Q I feel I've been pushing and I'd like to slow down a little and allow a more organic development. So tomorrow's chapter may be late. My apologies.

Please feel free to continue telling the story without me. Aren't we due an update from Wildcat for instance? Oooh, I went and did it. Now he'll have to give us something. I feel like Mr. Burns, "EX-cellent."

WildcatMB · Post by **WildcatMB** » Wed, 2. Feb 11, 21:38

*taps fingertips together*

excellent...

writing, but work is calling me way too often these past two days.. i hope to have a perspective done of the wake soon... (latest tomorrow)

Falkirion · Post by **Falkirion** » Wed, 2. Feb 11, 23:08

Scion if I was writing this I'd just go with regular Navy ranks for the ship serving personel (Drake, Lucifer etc) and run regular marine ranks for the Marines. Just my thoughts. This story is keeping me hooked and coming back day after day for an update, and playing my own pirate story.

Jawms · Post by **Jawms** » Wed, 2. Feb 11, 23:22

Triaxx2 wrote: Time get on feet. *thud* Time lay on floor.

ahahahaha i love it..

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 00:45

First, a bow. *bow*

Second: I've been thinking on this. Admiral is the proper title. Commodore is traditional, but doesn't quite fit. Unless you'd like to be known as the Dread Pirate no'Beard.

Warrant Officer hell. Calon is a Gunnery Sargent. They're marines, use marine ranks.

I don't think using any rank other than captain for the boys with the big birds is a good idea.

But Z'ppt definitely deserves the rank of Squadron Commander.

And you'll find out why the Angry Argon is angry.

Jonzac · Post by **Jonzac** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 01:40

I think you shouldn't have a "title". No pirate in the world was really called "admiral".

What you DO need is a NAME...like Blackbeard. Your always referred to by that name. The members of your fleet that are leaders will be captains, but you are just "Dread Pirate Nancy Boy".

Scion Drakhar · Post by **Scion Drakhar** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 04:12

I hear you. Makes sense. I do rather like the idea of being the Dread Pirate something or other, although I don't know if I'd go with 'Nancy Boy.' Not packing enough piratical dignity, that.

On the other hand, what about 'Cap'n Jack Sparrow' and 'Commodore Barbosa'? I know it was bloody disney movie. So was Old Yeller. Disney don't pull any punches, now. Downright brutal they are. But even so: Even Blackbeard began as Edward Teach, Captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge, and many pirates doubled, just as Drake does, as at least semi-respectable merchants. And the only reason rank's an issue at all is because we are now dealing with a sizeable military force, despite it being quite small in comparison with race or corporate militaries or to what it may eventually become (should I live that long) it has still grown past the point of simply "Hey, Ea't I'll take his six, you and Ps'y flank him. Z'ppt run cover for us. Ok let's do it." It's now a complex society with a need for structure. So, Calon Bro is a Master Gunnery Sergeant. Z'ppt is a sub-commander beneath Drakes first mate, the Captains of independent vessels are Captains. Yet, being at the top of the pile, how is Drake addressed, "Hey Kid?"

Oh, one more thing, Triaxx2 as an example: The Chief from Halo was a warrant officer. There are enlisted ranks, in the US those go from E1-E9, then there are Warrant Officers, who are essentially enlisted men that progressed so far that they needed to be promoted beyond enlisted ranks, and hence were made officers because of their 'Warrant' and those ranks are W1-W4 or W5 depending on the branch of service. Then you have all the officers that enlisted men scorn with the statement "Don't call me sir, I work for a living." Those ranks range from O1-O10. Each tier has it's own titles which vary with the branch of service. I agree with you though, Calon is 'Master Guns.'

kgkosio · Post by **kgkosio** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 04:33

Sniff, great last chapter. It brought a tear to the eye.

To add some background:

Dread pirate is a reference from the Princess Bride. Dread Pirate Roberts was known as a ruthless pirate who never took prisoners. But in reality, the Dread Pirate Roberts was a series of men. Each would hold the title until they were satisfied with their wealth. At that point they would choose a successor who would assume the position of the Dread Pirate Roberts and the old Dread Pirate Roberts would be the First Mate for a new crew of pirates. He would address his successor as the Dread Pirate Roberts for a tour and then retire, knowing the the legacy of the Dread Pirate Roberts would live on, and the he would be safe from future persecution for the crimes of the Dread Pirate Roberts.

This could work for you as an endgame a couple of billion credits from now.

wreckzors · Post by **wreckzors** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 06:35

kgkosio wrote: This could work for you as an endgame a couple of billion credits from now.

NO.... there must be no end... I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT THIS STORY ENDING...

now tomorrow.. I am going to be checking for updates even more regularly since we might get an extended update from you and a post from Wild Cat as well... I hope you are happy ruining my productivity. I guess the new hire little Timmy Jenkins doesn't need that shiny laptop setup for him tomorrow.... it's not like I work for a foster care agency.... and they need their laptops setup ... SO THEY CAN HELP ORPHANS......

(there is no Timmy Jenkins... but there are orphans... and it is possible that we may hire someone some day named Timmy Jenkins.. and it could be tomorrow.. just saying... cause he would need a user account and computer setup.. and it would TOTALLY BE DELAYED... slightly.. like a couple minutes....)

If you need a random wussy baby character to do crap work / get blown up / sacrifice.... Timmy Jenkins would be a great name. Just saying.

Jawms · Post by **Jawms** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 06:50

I say toss the conventional ranks.. Your a pirate! Arrr.. In my opinion, Drakhar should be "Captain Drakhar" and the rest should be Commanders.. The captain runs the show, the commanders folow suit. The Marines should follow simplistic rankings like private, corpral, seargent, ect.. and the shadows something designed for them.. Ex: shadow, advanced shadow, master shadow..

just my two cents..

Nathancros · Post by **Nathancros** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 07:31

i say that the ship/group/fleet the person is flying signifies his rank, say lucifer is in the kraken so he is higher than someone flying in the shadows, but maybe the shadows wingcommander CAN be at the same level*or perhaps more* than lucifers kraken, as the collective group of the shadows is/can be stronger than the single kraken. it depends on the firepower that the person can bear from his ship/ships..
Just my dollar and a half, feel free to throw the half away and keep the gold coin

_Zap_ · Post by **_Zap_** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 08:16

well. I agree with Jawms, toss the conventional Ranks. You may have a sizable force but you are no big great authority like the argon goverment, you are a pirate as you said in your wonderful speech.
captain, commander, squadron leader/wing leader - okay, thats logic. but dozens of ranks for your bunch of mercenarys and some engineers? nah. i don't know.

maybe I'll write something about Z'ppt. I noticed he doesn't say much. i know he isn't the guy who talks all day long but he is often just mentioned and referred to. i don't know anymore in which chapter he said something else then "aye captain". Same goes for Lucifer, he's been only referred to since he got the kraken.
my problem with writing something about him is i don't speak english very well and my writing style is considered somewhat dry. so i'm not sure weather i should write it in german and translate it or write it directly in english.

well, what about having dinner all together, or go out in the tenjins and hunt down some bloody paranid? (and some boron if were hungry xD)

Kirlack · Post by **Kirlack** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 11:05

I feel much the same as you do _Zap_, I'd like to write something about Ps'y, but between Scion doing a good job of writing him and my own confidence issues with my writing I'm not entirely convinced it'd be worth the attempt.

Scion Drakhar wrote:If you can, try and describe Ps'y's brother, as he's going to be making an appearance rather soon.

Hmm, Ps'ys brother. Cai't C'tic, hard nosed Split militant, a "proper" Split. Eschews shielding and safety for bigger guns and more speed. Whereas Ps'y is a bit of a stoner joker, Cai't is very serious and takes his responsibility to the military very seriously. He's of med-high rank, has captained up to M7 class ships but prefers to pilot a Chimera. Whilst Ps'y is quite dedicated to many aspects of Split culture (such as his always carrying his ritual long knives

), Cai't is not, in fact the aforementioned long knife he should carry is currently strapped to Ps'ys belt. All that considered though he always has time for his little brother, even after that terrible accident in Family Pride which cost the family so much honour (and caused Ps'y to leave both military service and Split core sectors).

I can add some more details later if needed, just let me know. Also If Cai't as described doesn't really fit with your idea of him feel free to scrap him

EDIT: With permission, I'd like to write a short excerpt featuring Ps'y and Alex, focussing on how they know each other, but I don't want to encroach on anyones plans/thoughts/ideas. I was thinking about their escape from the Split military prior to Drake saving them and the battle at Zyarths Dominion. That timeframe seems a good time to "flesh out" their relationship. Again if it's stepping on anybodys toes I'll drop it, it's just a thought

Scion Drakhar · Post by **Scion Drakhar** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 12:17

kgkosio, thanks. I totally missed the reference, and I like that movie, too. Age, bah! Who the hell authorized THAT? In any case, I have a couple ideas for an endgame, if I survive that long, and it involves massive, sector levelling damage being done to the core sectors of a certain three eyed species ...

Wreckzors, Timmy Jenkins. Hmmm. He just may make an appearance.

_Zap_ wrote:maybe I'll write something about Z'ppt. I noticed he doesn't say much. I know he isn't the guy who talks all day long but he is often just mentioned and referred to. I don't know anymore in which chapter he said something else then "aye captain". Same goes for Lucifer, he's been only referred to since he got the kraken.
my problem with writing something about him is i don't speak english very well and my writing style is considered somewhat dry. so i'm not sure weather i should write it in german and translate it or write it directly in english.

That would be awesome! If I were you I'd write in your natural language (german?) first and then translate it. I know it's an extra step but I firmly believe in giving the imagination the ability to express itself with as few obstructions as possible first and then going back after to edit and give sense to what's come out.
Regarding Z'ppt's lack of a speaking role so far: I have seen him as sort of quiet, that doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I've also percieved him as someone more comfortable with native Split than the universal 'common' used by the rest of the universe. You guys really do influence the characters in many ways. So, coming back around to the point, please do! Give me as much insight into these characters as possible! And you're right, Lucifer has been distant since being given the Kraken. Perhaps we all should have dinner one of these days ... after a hunting expedition in Boron territory.

Oh, one last thing: You're english is just fine, mate.

Kirlack wrote:EDIT: With permission, I'd like to write a short excerpt featuring Ps'y and Alex, focussing on how they know each other, but I don't want to encroach on anyones plans/thoughts/ideas. I was thinking about their escape from the Split military prior to Drake saving them and the battle at Zyarths Dominion. That timeframe seems a good time to "flesh out" their relationship.

That would rock! Please do. (hint, when writing, at least to get started, hang all the rules and just 'sketch.' You can always fill it in and apply the rules of spelling and grammar and coherent timeframes and whatever after. In other words, when you start, give yourself complete and total permission to do it "wrong." Modern day wordprocessors give us vast opportunity to do it "right" after.)

Thanks for the descripion of Cai't. A couple questions, though, the first and foremost being: how does Ea't convince him to either come see me or even better, get on the Leviathan and join up? If he's such a hard nosed and succesful military ...er ...Split ... why would he abandon his rank and his carreer to serve under a pirate? Oh, and would he even fly a Tenjin? Seeing as they are seen throughout the universe as Yaki, and Yaki being, well, Yaki? Either way it's not a problem. I can get him a Chimera, and later on a Dragon, etc.

Regarding rank: I've actually decided that the subject will work itself out in the writing. Perhaps beginning at the aforementioned Boron BBQ and then working it's way into debates in Drake's ready room. I see Lucifer, Malcolm, Sayleen, perhaps Cai't C'tic, Z'ppt, Ea't ... everybody, all having something to say about it. So, I'm going to give it to my imagination and let it work itself out in there.

Remember, everthing you folks say ends up in there somehow. So if you've got something to say, the discussion is far from over!

Once again, thanks for reading and I will try to have some more of the tale to tell later today.

Cheers!

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 12:17

He's a Master Guns, because they know how to get things done, and he sure does that.

Star Trek I believe, used Commodore as a rank to avoid command confusion. So that if an officer of rank equal to say Picard was aboard, he'd be referred to as Commodore to avoid confusion.

On the other hand, this is Sci-fi, so we can make up our own ranks. With that in mind:

Pirate Lord Drake, Chief of the Hunt.

Chief of the Hunt: An ancient Split tradition, when survival of the family was the most important aspect of Split life, during hunting times, the wise elders would gather together and declare a Chief of the Hunt. A Chief of the Hunt would be responsible for deciding what prey to kill, and how to kill it.

The title fell out of use around the time cities began to form, but returned when the Split reached space. Now it's used as an Honorific, to refer to someone who commands more than 3, but less than 10 capital ships. After 10, the designation Admiral is used, regardless of actual rank.

Scion Drakhar · Post by **Scion Drakhar** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 12:24

Triaxx2 Oooooh. That right there just created an entire dialouge that might just find it's way into the writing. That's good stuff.

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 15:57

You're welcome.

WildcatMB · Post by **WildcatMB** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 16:50

Posting coming in under an hour.

wreckzors · Post by **wreckzors** » Thu, 3. Feb 11, 16:52

haha, if you actually think you might use Timmy Jenkins.. You could make him out one of 2 ways. The wussy baby guy that no one really likes and could be used as cannon fodder / sacrifice / crap jobs. Or you could make him the poor boy whose parents were killed during one of your civilian TL boarding ops.. and now he doesnt have a home (or a leg due to trigger happy marines) and is taken in by the crew. All the crew grow to love little Timmy Jenkins because no matter what horrible things they do during the day and on their missions... comming back to the ship and helping little Timmy Jenkins makes them feel better. Almost like helping him is their penence for their crimes.

either one... I just think the name Timmy Jenkins is rediculous... If you dont want to put him in, I completley understand.

Timmy Jenkins... I mean really...

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

[TC] FROM NOTHING, A Rogue's Tale - Book I [COMPLETED]