It all comes down to this. 

The fourth and final story of the Counterpunch arc has begun, and it is an all-Navy story, subtitled "Death," which can be found here.

As usual, I encourage everyone to use this thread for related discussion.  We can develop story ideas with each other here, and encourage each other to even greater heights of activity.


A few other notes, for reference:

1.) My first post is set 2 days after Bloodmoon exploded.  That means there are 2 days before that post of relative calm in the Kamlott System (where Second Fleet is regrouping) that you can play around with as you write your introductory posts.  There will also be a couple more days IC before the Fleet is ready to renew our assault.  So, feel free to use the next week or so in real life to exploit that lull in the action to flex your role-playing muscles.  Develop relationships with other player-characters and with NPCs, and indulge in some character development of your own PC.  There will be plenty of action and battling in this tale, but it isn't all pew pew pew, all the time. 

2.) Inspired by your stellar performance on the last story, I have a personal goal of making this story - Counterpunch: Death - the Hottest Topic of All-Time on the Naval Story Board.  That means a target of 157 individual story posts.  It's a lofty goal, but one I think this team can reach!    And hey, we're already 1 down!

3.) To help us reach that goal, I'm going to ask everyone to pay more attention to how they structure their posts.  Before posting a several-thousand-words-long monster, ask yourself if it would it be possible to tell the same amount of story just as well (or even better) by using several smaller posts.  Don't get me wrong: I love the quality of prose you guys are turning out!    But sometimes in Counterpunch: War it felt like people were mashing together several scenes which could have been lovely individual posts, maybe in an effort to circumvent the taboo against double-posting.

I'd like us to rein in that sort of thing on this one, and get back to basics: each member should read the story so far, and come up with a scene that will further the action a little bit, from the POV of their PC or an NPC.  No more, no less.

Double-posting isn't evil, and it's even good in small doses when the plots and subplots start to multiply and collide with each other, but the spirit behind the taboo against double-posting is to encourage more intimacy between members as we collaborate on telling tales.  We're sharing the role of writer, and sharing the experience of role-playing exciting adventures in a Galaxy far, far away... let's remember that, and focus on creating posts which help others jump into the story.  Let's write exciting ideas and then watch our teammates react to them, rather than hoarding all the plot advancement to ourselves.

I'll say no more about it, because I don't think anyone's actually "hoarding" or overstepping themselves.  You guys are rockstars, and I trust you all.  It's just something I want us to think about, as we start this new story, so I thought I'd mention it. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Guadalcanal and the Solomons Campaign:



The entire Battle 360 series from the History Channel is on that person's youtube channel.  Episodes 3, 4, and 5 all cover the battle that is the inspiration for Counterpunch: Death.

For those who prefer to read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Islands_campaign

And, in case the parallels aren't clear:

ISD Adjudicator = USS Enterprise
Sollamens Asteroids = Solomon Islands
Gwodd LK nale = Guadalcanal    (I know... groan)
VEN = US Navy
Dominion Navy = Imperial Japanese Navy

In our version, the bad guys are much worse off than the historical "foes" were, but the mission is still critical: the momentum of the war is at stake.

I shudder to think.  My poor Brilliant... the first of the gigantic murder-wedges I had the good fortune to captain.  Still, the story isn't titled "Death" for nothing. 

Avalar, don't apologize (I'm referring to your OOC note at the end of your post)!  It's a great personal introduction.  Maybe I didn't make myself clear above: length isn't a bad thing.  I just want us to try to follow the one scene=one post guideline, whenever possible, and you did! 

Who's next, folks?  Maybe someone from VENI?

I'm about halfway done on my intro post - I plan something rather.. outrageous, shall we say. Well, it ties in with your first post, anyway

I should have specified: yes, the Vanguards are outfitted with hyperdrives! 

And, just to clarify spacial relationships a little bit, I've whipped up a VERY rudimentary flow chart of the star systems relevant to this story: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1nOd2sNiVio4rSEz-tYiem0uA0o-rNUHQ3oC4NfCAUGs/edit?usp=sharing

It ain't pretty, but I feel like it makes things clear for visual learners.

The Bloodmoon Corridor is a twisty route of short jumps that connects the Vectra System (where Abrae is) to the Sollamens Asteroids, cutting through The Tangle.  From the Sollamens, ships can jump to any of the Dominion home planets, making it an easy route to Tilsec itself.

That's okay.  Remember, everyone: this first week or so irl, everyone has a lot of freedom/leeway to do their personal introductions for their PCs, using the full span of time IC between the Battle of Bloodmoon and the jump of the main Fleet to the Sollamens for their posts.

Posted!  I have one more prep-post to do before we get to the battle, so someone post quickly so I can jump in again!

(and yeah, the "Gooooood morning V[SD Brilliant]" is a parody of "Gooooood morning V[something else]".  Anyone guess what?)

"Gooooooood morning Vietnam!"

I loved your post Serpent. Sometimes we need a bit of comedy in our posts. Always makes for a good read in the midst of everyone being depressed/angry/anxious etc.

Also I think Hades is trying to be the new Deepsix in posting >.>

Hmmm. No one from Strill has posted yet, and I am stuck waiting for the events Joamer is going to post. I might have to invade an NPC or cause something strange to happen to Makenna for fun...

I agree with the others, Serpent: I loved the lighter tone, and the Good Morning Vietnam reference was delightful. 

Hades, your post about Gundark was great too: that's exactly the kind of character development I'm eager to see at this stage.

Everyone, take note: the idea for this part of the story is to set up characters that the readers (and we ourselves) can CARE about.  By the time we head off to the Sollamens, there should be a real sense of high stakes, not just because of the military/political situation in the Galaxy - VE versus ID - but moreso because of the much more intimate possibility of losing beings with whom we serve.  And Serpent's point about Shakespeare is very, very apt: make sure you're introducing as much comedy, romance, and lighthearted fun as possible, because there is also going to be a lot of tragedy, grief, and depressing content by the end of this one.

I said something way back at the beginning of the Counterpunch arc: the meta-level idea behind this chain of stories is to demonstrate that "actions have consequences" in our stories.  Well, defeating a rival faction as determined and well-established as the Imperial Dominion is possible, but it will most likely result in some pretty hard-to-stomach consequences for us...

Not gonna lie...I am completely brain dead for an introduction. I should be putting up a post sometime tonight or tomorrow...soon as I get my Sgt to stop fucking with my shift long enough that I can sleep....

On other news rather than the one week on nights one week on days that we were doing, we are doing one month rotations instead, still 14 hours though, But I should be able to get a decent sleep scheduled for this one and post more...at least, here's hoping.

Yea, bad about language. sorry. I blame the army jumpers I work with.

I think I knew that, just slipped in. I shall try to be more mindful.

I will take a month of 14 hour shift when it's consistently days rather the the every other week thing I was doing.

it was one week on nights, one week on days, one week on nights one week on days. it's been like that since December. It was wreaking havoc on my sleep. lol.

Okay, my third post is up!  That probably concludes my 'set-up' phase for the story.  I have now finished setting up the main characters of the Brilliant's subplot.  Basically, I want the action on the Brilliant to focus on three NPCs in addition to my character.

Vagen Eosel: The dull, by-the-book XO.

Dev Mishima: The smart-mouth would-be Com Officer currently doing menial punishment duty.

Sval 'Airlock' Heysh: Imperial Dominion pilot and POW, about to break loose and cause chaos.

This is Counterpunch: Death, and I have not yet decided which of the above (if any!) will survive the carnage to come!  This is going to be so much fun to write!

Chlovi, Still, Vornskr, and Gundark personnel, here's another online video that suggests what this battle will be like for you guys.



Some differences, as already discussed:

1.) In our version, we're attacking to invade THEM, rather than the Americans invading to prevent a future Japanese invasion of Australia.

2.) In our version, the timeline will be compressed.  The historical "battle" played out over six months.  I want our story to cover no longer than two months or so, IC.

3.) Historically, the Solomons campaign was really when the Japanese lost the war of attrition in the air.  In our version, the Dominion has already lost many many good pilots and fighters.  With the exception of the Saints, they're on their last legs, fighter-wise, already.

But generally, this is the feeling of combat I want: more direct and dirty and analog than sci fi.

I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag, but since the Vice Admiral himself is dropping hints, I'll go ahead and echo him: good chance that we'll see posts from some veteran members who haven't had the time lately.    And that's all thanks to the inspiring work you all are putting in, so keep it up!