Posts by |LC|Adramelech

  • How Foster became |LC|Adramelech

    |LC| Adramelech - Background and Story


    My name is Richard Foster, and I am a pirate.


    If you had told me just a month ago that I would be a member of a criminal organization, that I would be living on an Outcast planet, that I would be wanted by the law, I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.


    I guess in order to make any kind of sense of it... which even I have yet to do... I must start at the beginning. I was born 36 years ago, on the HMS Ark Royal, in the Cambridge system. My parents were freelancers, and happened to be in the middle of a trade lane when my mother went into labor. The Ark Royal was the closest thing to a medical facility in the vicinity, and they allowed them to come aboard.


    My oldest sister died days after being born, 15 years before I was even thought of. Her name was Cheryl. My mother did not speak much about that.


    3 years later, they had another daughter, Deborah. She was a gifted explorer, trader, and all around-scoundrel - though always good natured. She surpassed even my parents in her skillful dealings, and had amassed sizable wealth. Her plan was to eventually commission a new Freeport station somewhere in the border territories. They found her APC's blackbox in the wreckage of Freeport-7.


    4 years after Deb was born, my sister Christine came along. She took to the simulator right away, but could not be bothered with learning the ins and outs of wheeling and dealing cargo. When she was 14, we came under attack and the turret control system on our family's Humpback was destroyed. She jumped in the guns and took down 7 Corsair ships before the Rheinland Military finally showed up. They offered her a free ride to the Rheinland Military Academy, and I never saw her in person again after that. She became the youngest Ace in the fleet, and I will drink to her memory every year on the anniversary of her crashing her torpedo laden fighter into a Dom'Kavash Dreadnought in Sol. They say she saved thousands of her mates on a hospital ship that was hull-breached and unable to jump to cruise speed.


    My parents could not bear the loss of both their daughters, and presumably their son as well - as during the past 8 years I was as I mentioned previously a "guest" of an unknown host and had vanished without a trace as far as my family knew.


    They sold off their holdings, and after donating the majority to the Rheinland Veterans Relief Organization in memory of Christine and Deborah, they set out to hunt Nomads near where Freeport-7 was destroyed. From all accounts, I gather they did a damned fine job at it because they made their living entirely on selling various Nomad equipment from downed fighters and bombers. When the distress call went out, and the Alliance converged on Death Valley, they went without hesitation. I found an entry in a Kusari digest on the events of the battle "Two Black Eagles got cut off attempting to break the line around our cornered ships. Several dozen Nomad ships broke off to engage them head-on. They went down together." Their names were Richard and Karen, and they died as they lived, together.


    Unlike my sisters, I took the "easy way", according to my family... I ran whatever would make the most money. And I was damned good at it too... at least until that last fateful run. I wasn't even running illegal goods, but diamonds are a pirates best friend as they say. They were waiting for me in Sigma-13. The time between the wasp hitting me, and me hitting the eject button seemed like an instant. They never even said a word to me, when I was released from my pod it was directly into a dark cell. I spent 8 years talking to myself.


    When my rescuers came, it was simply part of a larger Cardamine sting operation. Lucky me. Liberty Police forces were pleasant enough after that long in solitary confinement. They would not, however, even tell me where they had freed me from - let alone whom my captors were. Classified, of course, just like whatever they put in their rations. They put me aboard a Liberty Navy medical frigate, where I quickly learned what Cardamine withdrawal was. Apparently, my hosts had been feeding the stuff to me in small doses, without my knowledge, for the better portion of a decade. If I could have captured the withdrawal nightmares on holo, I would be a rich man.


    The good old Rheinland banking system... once I passed muster, the LN released me, and against all hope I found that not one, but all three of my rainy-day accounts were still active. 30 minutes after I debarked on New Berlin, I was perusing the ship catalog. Never did much like Rheinland boats, but I was so excited to be free again that I felt like my brand new Humpback was my old custom Eagle smuggler.


    I learned of Christine's fate when the dealer ran my ID, and asked me if she was my sister. He gave me a salute, and a discount. I thank the Creator that I was leaving orbit before I broke down and sobbed like a little girl. It took me another month, but finally Ainu Depot produced a slicer that retrieved the intel on what happened to my parents. I paid him his sizable fee, and we toasted their memory. I simultaneously realized that not only was I alone, but that all of my family died for a cause. That night I had delusions of grandeur, entertaining the idea of becoming an officer of the Blood Guard or the CFPD... but the next day, and perhaps the hangover, reminded me that a life of order was never my calling.


    In all my days captaining a ship, however, I never engaged in piracy. Well, the Corsairs might disagree, but those bastards started firing at me the first time I encountered them. I have shown them no mercy since.


    After a bit of plying the trade lanes, and exploring the vastly expanded galaxy thanks to the new jump gates found in my absence, I quickly realized that the universe had become far more dangerous than it was before - and even back then it was no cake walk. The fourth time I found myself repairing the same holes in my Humpback I realized that this boat just wasn't going to cut it. I started checking around, and when I saw what the Bullpup Mk III had to offer, I was absolutely blown away. This here was a ship designed after mine own heart, so to speak.


    Custodian is at the same time a beautiful, peaceful, and somehow simultaneously deadly place. After avoiding the binary stars AND the minefield, I was detaching mooring clamps on Neutro Station in my brand new Bullpup Mk III.


    I cruised back and jumped to New York... and immediately my proximity alarm goes off. Three ships, in gun range. And they were tagged as pirates. They identified themselves as part of the Luciferian Conspiracy. My blood ran cold. It was time to see what these twin thrusters could do. Without even answering their hail, I punched it in a panic. I was slammed back into my seat and my icy veins were now pulsing with adrenaline. I checked the scope and they were fading quickly. I was ready to roar victoriously, when I realized they were not pursuing. I kicked off the inertial stabilizers, puzzled as to what was going on.


    Then I received a directed broadcast "Why are you running? We aren't after you." I shot back something to the effect of that being the end result of feeding a horse, but instead of a retort I got back a reply that sounded sincere.


    We actually conversed for awhile (though I was not for a minute going to turn back toward Rochester with those three camped at the gate), and it ended on an equally puzzling note... they asked me to join them. When I kindly refused, their response was "When you change your mind, you can find us in the Enyo system." Not IF I changed my mind... when.


    The whole encounter troubled me greatly. I have been dealing with pirates since before I stopped wetting the bed. Nothing like this had ever occurred before. Were these "good" pirates? Was I still having cardamine withdrawals? Then I noticed my bank account. 10 Million credits had been added. A note on the statement said "Welcome." I contacted the financial network... the transfer was legitimate, untraceable credits. This was truly bizarre.


    I started running routes from Kusari to Rheinland again... old habits die hard. A fellow trader gave me a tip, I could really upgrade my speed with some Advanced Hydroxin Thrusters... and I knew right where Ainu depot was. I was a real speed demon now, able to haul at 75% of cruise speed coasting on thrusters alone. But, even more importantly, I discovered that there was a certain... market... for classified station plans. Ainu depot sold them at an astronomical rate, but a quick check of my route planner showed that I could sell them for an AMAZING profit in Omega-3.


    Seeing that Omega-3 was owned by the Silver Arrows, I worked out a trade agreement with them. I just didn't tell them WHAT I would be trading... besides, mercenaries love money... if they took umbrage, I would just grease a palm or two.


    After making that run a few times, I'd recouped my expenditures, but I also discovered that the Bullpup - while great for running - wasn't so superb for fighting some of the heavier opposition. I looked again for a new ship. I feared going to Coalition space, but the Haidar fighter looked like a winner for my needs.


    It was a strange thing going to Sol... since a child I had been taught that Sol was near-myth, a legend to which we'd never return... I hit the gate to Hyperion with no little apprehension. I wasn't fond of bribing the Coalition, and not just because of the hefty price tag that came along with that, but because since elementary I'd been taught that they were the ancient enemy of all who dwelt in exile in the Sirius sector. Upon reaching was was left of Earth, I started to believe that we'd gotten the better end of the deal in the long run.


    After I met with the Coalition "liason", and paid my almost 4 MILLION credit entry fee, I was having a drink in a bar called "Blue Shangri-La". A woman's voice, from a seat that I'd heard no one claim, spoke into my ear "Wouldn't it be nice to know that you are not alone?". I turned toward her, immediately taken in by her fierce jade-green eyes. She was a beauty, slender, dark haired, and she looked as safe as a Maltan Krait. "Well...I..." I stammered, still taken by surprise. She simply smiled. I offered to buy her a drink and she accepted. I clinked glasses with her, and promptly choked on my drink. As I was downing my ale, she said - nonchalantly - "You are no longer "Captain Foster of Foster Freelance Incorporated, you are now Adramelech of the Luciferian Conspiracy." I choked again and sputtered. "I'm sorry, love," I said "But you've mistaken me for someone else." She smiled again, chuckling this time, and she went for something in her coat. "Easy, there, Adramelech... we're a brotherhood." she said, raising an eyebrow at my hand now darting for my holster. Which was empty. Son of a... "Does she look familiar?" the woman said, cocking her head almost playfully. Like a playful Maltan Krait, anyway. I looked at the datapad she'd produced from her jacket. I had never seen the girl before, she looked to be approximately 18 to 20, blue eyes blond hair. I started to say no, but the woman interrupted me "Look closely," she said "doesn't she remind you of someone." I stared at the picture... this was ridiculous, but she DID have a point... then it dawned on me... I opened my mouth to speak, but the woman beat me to it "Your sister." I was thoroughly confused at this point, groping for words like a fish lying on a pier. "Her name is Alexandria, she is your niece, and she will be safe as long as you do what you are told."


    My skin, hard and cold as the blood now flowing beneath it, contracted. "What must I do?" I asked.

  • Cant start the Game

    Quote from Duck_Dodgers (SA_SCORPION)

    What you should try is reinstall FLMM, Reinstall the Mod, reinstall FL, clean registry, delete the folder from My Documents/My Games/Freelancer


    Then, install it all back. And that shall be it. I had no problem installing in on a Win7 x64 bit and a Win7 x64bit SP1. So, you did something wrong somewhere ;)


    Cheers, Scorpi

    I think he means UNinstall not REinstall... kill everything, then delete folders, start from scratch.


    Before you start messing with shortcuts, try launching it from within FLMM, it should work fine!


    (I have it going on Win 7 x64 Sp1 no problems)

  • Ships you use or like in MP

    Quote from Shockwave

    I've flown saber in 1.8, it's a good ship with a bit more armor, but it's sluggish in turning... That requires a bit different fighting tactic.


    The only other ship I know that carries 2 thrusters is Soulforge Train (and Ragnarok, but you can't exactly get that in free trade)...

    You just saved me millions and a lot of time... I was worried it would be sluggish... I am looking for the most agile VHF out there, even if it only has 4x class 10 guns.

  • Star Citizen by Chris Roberts

    He said the Space SIM genre... this will be the first triple A space sim made since... I dunno what.


    Freelancer is awesome, but it's not a sim (no cockpit view, mouse control, etc).


    I can't wait for SC to release... gonna be epic!

  • Ships you use or like in MP

    So far I have flown (Of the new ships)


    Bullpup Mk III
    Haidar
    Raptor
    Hurricane


    I like the first two for what they do... and honestly, LOVE the Bullpup Mk III ... it's so fast straight line speed you can boom and zoom all day... the shield is the kicker.


    However, after flying the Hurricane, I don't think I like it as much as the Raptor.


    Has anyone evaluated the Saber yet? The one down in Sovetskaya... I love the way it looks (at least from a distance, never flown it).


    I am looking for a fighter with great speed/agility that can still mount at least 4 class 10s.


    Another question, are all VHFs 4x Class 10 + 2x Class 9?


    ALSO: Do any other ships besides Bullpup Mk. III mount two thrusters?



    Thanks in advance!

  • No Reload In PVP

    Ahhhhh okay, mutually beneficial.


    I still marvel at how you got AMBUSHED and still beat those guys down even though they were reloading hahaha... I haven't seen them back since.


    Cool with me, they taxed me and I didn't have the money at the time...

  • No Reload In PVP

    Hello,


    I have been re-familiarizing myself with the rules... somehow I MISSED the "No reload in PVP"... luckily, I heard about it through someone ELSE breaking it before I did!! (Thanks, Husker for cluing me in!)


    It just made me wonder, why no reload? I am not against the rule or anything, just curious as to how/why it came about.


    Thanks!

  • Questions, suggestions for CF 2.0

    1. Persistent objects - Allow purchase of weapons platforms, etc, that are gone once destroyed - but have high HP and will last until then. Perhaps make these only purchasable/deployable in a Clan's system.


    2. Clan-based NPCs... have clan faction NPCs patrol clan systems... say, for example, you jump into Tarsus and are greeted by a squad of 6 CFPD Eagles... that'd be the tits!


    3. Allow upgrade/hiring of more patrols by clans. Perhaps allow patrols to leave systems.


    4. Trade consignments... allow a player to hire an NPC ship/convoy (anything from a rhino to a Soul Train convoy depending on price). If the trade consignment makes it to the destination, you get a portion of the profits.


    5. Make Light Fighters and Heavy Fighters more viable... Light Fighters mounting class 9 weapons and Heavy Fighters mounting class 10 (Maybe just 2-4 hardpoints capable) with the same shield limitations would make for some more variety. The A-100, if it could mount class 9 weapons would be awesome! Even if you had to buy a special item to upgrade to this... or perhaps make it only viable with a class 5 power gen?


    6. If possible, make it harder for NPCs to donut punch you while you are still undocking... getting absolutely side-swiped by DK Gunboats before you can even move when leaving Coalition HQ is lame.


    AWESOME MOD!

  • Lost 15 million randomly selling things

    So, I THINK I know what happened...


    I have a RAT 7 mouse, and the left click was sticking... I thought I had it fixed, but every now and again it will do this crazy rapidfire left-click pulse type thing (really annoying).


    Happened today when I was looking at a ship I didn't want (just looking) and all of a sudden it went into the Buy screen for the ship.


    It's not supposed to do that unless you click Buy, and I was hovering over the ship itself (nowhere near the buy button)... so I think I may have solved the problem.

  • Lost 15 million randomly selling things

    Has anyone else had this happen?


    I am selling normal stuff... looted weapons, cargo, ammo... etc...


    Then I notice one of my coalition gatling guns is missing... so I look over, and THERE IT IS... for FULL PRICE... so, I rebuy it... and figure I just messed up.


    Then it happens again, same gun slot, same gun.


    Couple of hours later, I was selling pods, and poof... somehow I sold my shield generator upgrade and the same damned Coalition gatling gun... so, that entire pod run was wasted, luckily I had enough to buy it back (had a whole 150,000 left over).


    Was this some wack thing with my client? Anyone else ever seen this?