Im too damn lazy...
noname
Join Date: 2002-04-30 Member: 556Members
Join Date: 2002-04-30 Member: 556Members
yeah well its summer so gimme a break <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo--> anyway its been awhile sence me last post and ive writen a little more. this short story is starting to become a book, id like your guys opinion on a how its going so far, personally i think i need a little bit more action and to develope a few charaters more. id like to put my story up at the hive but they havent gotten back to me yet. im gonna break my story up into smaller posts so ur not here reading all day <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->
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i pull the slide back on my pistol and hundredes of hours on the traning feilds flashed back to me, i let go and racked a bullet in. it felt natural, like i was born for this. i did the same for my light rifle and remembered the first time i fired it.
the thing slamed into my shoulder, it was the first gun ive ever fired in my life, it felt good. i let the gun hang at my side as i rubbed my shoulder thinking "this is the LIGHT rifle? cant wait to see the heavy version"
"hold the rilfe tighter and u wont bust ur girly little shoulder." the drill sgt said in a mean, commanding voice.
"yes sir!" my response was loud and clear. im already starting to become a machine i though as i fire a quick burst at the target down range.
i sat looking around the cramped crew compartment of the L.S.A.C., land. space. assault. craft., or, as us grunts call it, the coffin. we call it the coffin because they have a simple box-with-wings look, there very small, very fast, and very well armored. they way marines are delpoyed it the best part, the coffin will (in space) fly parallel to the infected ship and latch on. inside, the coffin is drenched in red light. the coffin then cuts many small holes into the hull of the ship. before this happenes, the coffin diables any "hull breach" alarms that might go off as a result of the cutting, itd suck if they knew we were comming. through these holes the coffin throws small phase gate becons, the coffin then patches the holes it made.
the coffin is then flodded with green light. the marines inside activate their personal phase gate and get ported into the ship. this all happenes in about 1 minute from when the coffin latches on. this precedure is very similar for land missions, but with out the latching on and cutting, so in a land mission we can depart almost as soon as we hit the ground.
this, however is not why its called the coffin. its called the coffin cuz, although it has quite alot of armor, there are no escape hatces. i guess thoes military geniouses figured that sence 98% of missions occure in space theres no real place to escape to... that sucks.
"2 minutes" valls said ominously.
well, were assulting some infested ship cruseing stright at an important planet rich in many valuable minerals, if its course in not changed it will slam into the planet uttlerly destroying it.
2 minutes huh, well if its a good day ill be able to look back on this moment, hopefully with pride. if its a bad day ill probly be dead in 3 min.
god i hope its a good day.
the coffin shook violently, we were latching on. my vision went red as the lights switched on, my heart was pounding in my chest, my stomach was a tangled knot and my foot was tapping as fast as a machine gun. split second later there was a distinct, high pitch whining noise as the lasercutters did their work. i checked my equipment and adjusted my helmut. the becon tubes are connected and dumping the last of the phase becons. "marines! on your feet! remember the mission! as soon as we port move aft towards the cargo bay. secure the cargo bay and establish a perimeter!" sgt valls yelled. the patching was complete and the coffin was flooded with an erie green light. "NOW!" Valls yelled. we activated our phase gates and i closed my eyes as i ported. i felt an odd tingly sensation all over my body, my ears popped and my stomach felt like it was on a rollercoster as i was ported on the ship. i opened my eyes as i fell a few inches onto the metal floor of the infested ship "Star Strider".
"clear!"
"clear!"
"clear!"
"clear!" everyone yelled in a wisper. it was dark and quiet in the corridor we ported to. there was a steam pipe that was slowly venting steam and making a quiet hissing noise, least i hoped it was the pipe making the sound...
"cargo bay, spread out, get moving!" growled sgt. valls. 20 marines lerched forward as if one entity, 3 in front huggin the walls and checking the corners on point, 4 guys, including the sarg. covering the point men in a lose group, 8 marines, with me, behind the lead group ready to support the front or rear and covering the cealing, 5 guys make up the rear group.
we moved through the darkened foggie corridor towards the cargo bay.
"blood, leading to the cargo bay" said adam in a morbid tone. adam is a pretty big guy, looks very intimidating but is actually quite friendly, sometimes. hes 6'2" and 235lbs. of muscle, he has a square jaw and an all around neanderthal look to him, i mean that in a good way. he was on point.
"where u expecting confittie and a red carpet?" spat sgt. valls "be alert, and move on"
"hump, dont slip" adam said with a venomis tone. adam kinda has a problem with athority, i often wounder why the hell he joined the frontiersmen.
"thats alotta blood" murmered bill, he was a well built guy, not as big as adam, but not weak by any means. he was a little shorter then me, standing at about 5'11", and has a square jaw like adam, but his brow isnt as low, hes broader then me and one of the toughest mother f**kers i know. adam and bill are my closest friends in the squad.
"looks like the body was dragged into the cargo bay" i wispered back
"cut the chatter" demanded sgt. valls
i could see the footprints in the blood where marines in the front of the group had walked through it. the blood was splattered on one side of the wall, at the base of the wall is where the bloody draging marks began.
"found the body" reported adam grimly "this guy is really f**ked up"
"fan out" commanded valls.
we all moved into the cargo bay, it is a pretty spacious place filled with boxes and small towing veachiles creating something close to a maze. chains dangled from the ceiling, clanking softly. then i saw the body, the first dead human body ive ever seen. it was greusome, and it stank.
the body had many lacerations on it, across his arms and legs, but the most notable was the big one across the midsection going from the hip diagonally up to the shoulder. that had to be the fatal one, the mans innards were spilled infront of him, probly the cause of the large blood streak on the floor.
i was frozen in place and fighting back the bile rising from my stomach when it happened.
"BOB'S!!!" adam screamed at the top of his lungs as he, and the 2 other point men went down on one knee. the bobs lept over a large metal box, 4 of them, they landed with a loud "THUD". everyone moved up to form a line behind the crouched marines and fired in wild, long bursts. the marines weapons barked with deafening thunder and tracers filled the air in the split second the bobs showed themselfs. one was torn asunder and splattered across the box, the second lost a limb but seemed not to care and charged into the hail of death. it came inches away from adam before it died, riddled with holes. the other 2 lept over the 3 point men and into the awaiting marine line. one was stoped in mid air and dropped lifeless to the floor. the 4th was killed in mid air but its dead body slammed into the marine standing mere feet from me. the bob was still twitching when the marine pushed it off, he held his ribs as he muttered "medic".
"sweep the cargo bay in groups of 4, seal all the entrances you find and report back to me."ordered valls.
dan is the squad medic, hes an older guy, late thirtys maybe, he never told anyone his age. pretty sturdy looking old guy, with a bit of gray in his hair. dan moved over to the injured man "hit pretty hard there huh" dan said with a smile. "no s**t, think i mighta busted a rib or something" replied josh. josh was the youngest of the squad, and we tease him about it... all the time. tough little guy, has a baby-face though, hes a good guy and has a good sense of humor.
"hows he doing?" asked sgt. valls
"couple broken ribs, no internal injuries that i can tell of. hes gonna have one big a** bruse." chuckled dan.
"think u can fire a gun josh?"
"if i have too" josh replied painfully
"you will" valls said coldly.
"godd***it is right, man, almost pi**ed my self" bill said as he walked up beside me cupping his nuts and making a face like he just bit into a lemon. "lets go find adam and sweep the cargo hold. man we f**ked them bobs up, huh" chuckled bill.
we walked over to adam, he was still sitting on his a$$ staring at the dead bob less then a foot away from him.
"ugly son of a b**ch huh" i said
"it almost got me" adam said with a little tremmor in his voice.
"yeah, but it didnt" said bill reassuringly
"did u see what happened to josh?" i asked, adam shook his head "one of the bobs that jumped over u got shot in mid air, but it kept comming and slammed into the poor b@$tard, i heard he busted a few ribs or something"
"lucky kid, he could be dead" said bill.
"comeon, get up, we gotta sweep the cargo bay and seal the doors. hey bill, have u seen derk?" i said as i helped my dazed friend off his a$$.
"yeah, hes over there" bill pointed near the door we came through, he waved derk over. adam kicked the dead bob in what looked to be its face, and we walked carefully through the maze of large boxes and cargo pullers. marines were crawling all over the cargo bay, every couple of minutes you could hear a crackling hiss and see a shower of sparks as someone weilded a door shut. the comms crakeled to life in my ear.
"all doors sealed, sir"
"good, report to the center of the cargo bay" valls said
everyone made there way back to the center of the bay.
"ok marines heres the lowdown" valls started from atop one of the metal boxes. "9 days ago the cargo vessel star strider" he stomped his foot twice "sent a distress signal and soon there after stopped transmitting completely. 7 days ago star strider came into range of that fat blue planets censor aray." he said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "that fat blue planet, altex, contacted TSA and requested support. from data collected by altex we were able to plot star striders course, in 7 days star strider would collide with altex completely destroying the planet. altex was colonized some 100 yrs ago and is a major supplier of minerals to the planets in this and surrounding star systems, to loose altex would deal a great blow to the systems ablitiy to produce, well, just about everything. to make things worse, star strider is carring cargo heading for calledica to aid the frontersmen fighting there. if this shipment doesnt get through, then it gives the damn aliens a chance at taking calledica, and if they take calledica then they have a launch pad into the rest of the sector."
"why the hell are we here then?" derk asked in a very worried tone "i mean, were a fresh unit with no combat experience. shouldnt some elite unit be here?"
"yes, some elite unit should be here. unfortunetly no elite unit was within the 7 day deadline, we where the only available squad. 800,000 lives are in our hands gentelmen, we wont let them down." vall said clenching his fist in front of him.
"this cargo bay, CB-3, will become our base of operations. keep all doors sealed except the aft hatch. squad A, i want cameras placed on each corner outside of this cargo bay. squad B (thats us) set up our 2 sentry guns covering the hallway to CB-2 and the hallway outside the aft hatch."
"goddamnit we gotta go out there, i new i should kept my trap shut." derk said.
"squad C, search for boxes with the frontersmen logo on it, there sould be some weapons and supplies around here somewhere. squad D and E, group up, ur now fireteam 1. smith!"
"yessir!" yelled smith, our 2nd in command
"your taking fireteam 1 over to CB-2, sweep and seal. i want comms open the whole time and no chatter."
valls turn around and started to peice together the mobile command platform. squad A was working on opening the aft door. they broke the seal and opened the door, the eight marines from squad A & B jumped out into the corridor covering both directions.
"clear" i echoed
squad A moved down the corridor, me, bill, adam and derk moved in the opposite direction towards CB-2, fireteam 1 followed us. we moved down the corridor, all around us where pipes and vent openings. the floor was metal grating and our boots thumped upon them loudly no matter how hard we tried to be quiet. we werent going to be sneaking up on anything around here. everything was quiet as we rounded a corner and approched CB-2, the only sound was the constant hummm hummm hummm of the engines.
we passed CB-2 and fireteam 1 broke off and clustered around the door. a few seconds later there was a soft "woosh" as the hydrolic doors opened and fireteam 1 rushed in.
"valls, smith. where in CB-2, no sign of them" smith reported.
"good" valls replyed
"sir, cameras 1 and 2 up and running, sir"
"copy that squad A, squad B hows the sentries comming?" valls asked in a none to nice tone.
"we're setting up the second one now, wait, something is moveing down the hallway...s**t!" adam said under his breath as he ducked behind the corner, we jumped outta the hallway, following adams lead.
"what is it, squad B, respond!" valls yelled into the comms
adam poked his head around the corner, pulling it back quickly.
"builder" he replyed
"s**t" muttered bill
"sir, what should we do?" asked adam
"has it spotted u yet?" asked valls
"dont think so"
"good, stay there. squad A, drop the cameras and meet up with squad B."
a few second latter we could hear squad A approching, boots crashing againts the metal grating of the floor.
adam poked his head around the corner again "S**T!!" he jumped away from the corner as a hugh glob of yellow snot flew past us. "fall back, he saw us!" we started running toward squad A as the fat beast plowed into our half built sentry gun with a lound crash. we ran down the corridor shooting wildly as we went. we turned the corner and saw squad A running to back us up, we turned around to face the builder alien. 4 light rifles from my squad started to bark, soon followed by 4 more rifles from squad A, the sound was deafining. the charging beast didnt even slow down as the bullets bounced harmlessly off its thick carapace. "LEGS, GO FOR THE LEGS!!!" i screamed over the thundering rifles. i droped my aim and let off a long burst towards the builders legs. i saw a cloud of blood explode from one of its front legs, its leg collapsed under the charging builder, sending it rolling along the corridor. the beast came to a hault maybe 10ft. infront of me, its soft underbelly was facing us. a grim smile crossed my lips as i took aim at the unprotected underside. the 8 of us fired at once, bullets ripped though the builder splattering blood along the walls. we slowly moved towards its mangled body. it was dead alright, some 30 or so holes lined the underside of the giant builder. its body streched from one wall of the corridor to the other, and, on its side, was about 4ft tall.
"squad B, report" commanded valls
"builders dead, sir" i replyed
"excellent work, keep your eyes peeled, builders are rarely left with out a bodygaurd of some type, is the sentry gun intact?" valls asked
"not sure, took a pretty hard hit, i might beable to get it running" said bill, he was something of a mechanic.
"good, squad A finish with the cameras, id like to see out there." valls said sternly
we moved back towards the busted sentry gun.
again silence, only the engines could be heard...
hummm hummm*tick* hummm hummm*tick* hummm....
"u almost done?" i asked over my sholder.
"yeah yeah yeah" bill replyed
a minute or two later i head them lock in the second mini gatling gun and turn on the sentry.
bill stood up and moved over to the camera squad A put on the corner.
++ sir, sentry is up and running ++ bill said into the commnet looking up into the camera.
++ good ++ valls said in a flat uncaring voice ++get back to the bay++
++ on our way ++
we started heading back to CB-3, as we jumped over the carcus of that fat alien i heard the gun barrel engines of the sentry start up. a split second later the twin gatling guns started pumping their high velocity, explosive tip bullets down the corridor at something near 4,200 bullets per minute. i couldnt pick out the sound of a single bullet being fired, rather it was a constent thundering high-pitched wwhheerrrrrrrr. the smokeing bullets shells spued out like a fountin of metal, ricocheting off the walls and bouncing around on the floor. the muzzel flash light up the whole corridor as the sentry fired, it was a truly impressive sight. i head an unhuman scream echo from aound the corner as the sentry stopped firing.
all 4 of us cautioulsy moved towards the sentry gun, i poked my head around the corner. steam and water flowed from ruptured pipes making it impossible to see all the way down the corridor.
++ squad B, report! ++valls yelled
++ where all here ++ adam said
the steam and water started to die down and i could make out the body of something at the end of the hallway. the wall at the very end of the corridor was splattered with blood and covered in bullets marks, fist size chunks of concrete where blown out exposing pipes and steel bars. on the floor leaning up agaisnt the wall was the shattered remains of an alien of some sort, it was so horribly mangled and dismembered i couldnt tell what type it was.
++ sentry got one of'em ++ i said to valls
++ what type? ++
++ donno, its was totally ripped apart ++
++ ok, return to the bay ++
"man those sentry guns kick a$$" bill said with a huge grin
"yeah, quite amazing, lets get the f**k outa here... like NOW!" derk said clutching his light rifle. derk is a cool guy, a bit jumpy when the action starts but reliable when things get rough. hes taller then all of us, standing at 6'3" and pretty well built, deep voice too.
we arived in CB-3 and fell in with the rest of the unit. valls was standing atop a metal box with his helmut resting on the command consloe.
valls was one mean looking mother f**ker. his black hair was starting to go grey giving him a kinda weathered look, his cold, ice blue eye could pierce the soul. his square, stubbled coverd jaw, which judging by looks, i dont think i could break no matter how hard i punched, always had a thin liped snarl on it. i cant remember the last time he laughed, or even if he did. i dont think the man is able to feel emotion. he wore a jagged scare going diagonally from the upper left cheek to the left side of his mouth. and another going diagonally from the center of his forehead, over his right eye, and stopping on his right cheek, like his face was raked by a claw or something. his voice was deep and rough, like rolling thunder. his thick neck was set atop the broadest sholders of the unit, he stood at 6'3" weighing nearly 250lbs. he was the oldest, strongest, toughest, and most experienced marine in the unit. no one doubted that valls could kick their a$$, a few cocky newbie b*thces though they could when they first joined the unit, valls quickly put them in their place.
"after sweeping this cargo bay we found some weapons, ammo, sentry guns, cameras, and some medical supplys. ill pass out weapons and ammo to all the squads, 1 shotgun and 1 heavy rifle per squad, u can decide who gets what. fireteam 1 got back from sweeping CB-2 moments ago, its sealed and clean so if anyone gets into trouble use it as a fall back point. smith will fill u in on CB-2" valls finished and smith stepped in front of the unit.
"the frontiersmen cargo boxes in CB-2 where empty when we found them. they where the only boxes opened also the boxes werent damaged when they where opened, leading me to believe that there are survivors, atleast there where 9 days ago."
"ok, heres the plan. squad B, u'll make ur way to the bridge, the aliens boarded the ship from the rear so the front of the ship should be clear. when u get to the bridge access the ships logs and download them to me, set up cameras near the bridge. squad A and C, group up ur fireteam 2, i want u guys to sweep and seal CB-1, and CB-4. i want cameras in and around CB-1 and CB-4. after thats done break down into squads and patrol the CB-1 thru 4. fireteam 1, ur to secure a safe passage way to medical and seal it, take one of the sentry guns and cameras. when thats done break down, squad D i want patroling medical, squad E move to the bridge and help squad B. stay sharp. fall in by squads and get weapons and ammo"
with a nod from valls smith moved over to a crate and started handing out the new equipment. we got our s**t and started off towards the door. after a bit of bickering adam got the shotgun and i got the heavy rifle, unfortunetly neither of us got alotta ammo for'em. adamn kept his light rifle, i ditched mine and split my ammo between bill and derk. we all had a camera.
the pneumatic door opened with a hiss and we stepped out side. i looked back as the other squades stalked off in the other direction.
"well s**t, no help from them." i sighed as i turned my back on the rest of the unit and troted up next to adam.
"there all pussys anyway" adam said boastfully while flexing his arms. "sides, we wont need any backup with me around" said adam as he slamed his thumb into his chest and beamed a funny smile.
we rounded a corner and opened a bulkhead door, i peared into the darkness beyond the door. it looks like the lights were out or broken, some where flickering on and off making the eerie shandows seem to dance and move.
my heartbeat started to rise and i felt the pounding in my chest, my stomach was suddenly full of butterfies. i took a deep breath and slowly letting it out i muttered "lets go." as i put my foot into the shadowy abyss.
++ SH!T! CONTACT IN CARGO BAY ++ screamed smith. in a fire fight the squad saregent taps a button on his comm-net equipment toggling between combat-mode and normal mode. combat-mode allows the commander to choose either to recieve everyones signal or just the squad saregents signal, so, only the squad saregent can talk to the commander but everyone in the squad can hear the commander, thus cutting out some of the frantic chatter of the grunts.
++ smith, whats going on.. ++ valls said in a calm voice
++ f#ckers got the drop on us... LEFT! ON UR LEFT!!! sh!t barry, they got barry. DIE U SOM-B!TCH!!! ++
valls snarlled as he saw barrys icon fade to black. angry red icons massed infront of smiths position as the battle line formed.
++ SMITH!! can you hold them?!? ++
++ yeah, we can hold'em, TUCKER! SEAL THAT DOOR NOW! JIM! NATE! HELP HIM OUT! there all trying to push though one of doors at once, numbers is slowing'em down ++
++ smith, becareful of the vents ++
++ vents are bolt...TUCKER! GET DOWN!! vents are bolted, they aint getting through there, TUCKER, JIM, GET BACK HERE!! HOWS NATE?!?! ++
valls watched the action in a birds-eye-view from his console, one of the doors was sealed but something rushed nate, jim, and tucker. nates icon went critical and unless fireteam 1 can secure medical, nates a goner. the angry red tide started to receed and the gunfire became more sporatic.
++ valls, there pullin back, copy? ++
++ yeah there leaving, post cameras and sentrys outside those doors when the bay is secured. hows your ammo?? ++
++ little low after that fight ++
++ ok, there should be an enegry node in the north-east corner of the bay, hook up there and ill phase you some ammo and medical supplies for nate ++
valls took off the armored gauntlets of his gloves and rubbed the scare near his chin and tried to figure out what the hell those bugs were up to. they barely put up a fight...a scouting party maybe? they lost 2 little ones and for what...severly wounding nate...finding our position....no, that little bit of an accomplishment is not worth 2 of there little bugs. what the hell was the point of that fight?
++ fireteam 1, whats your situation? ++ valls spat over the comm-net fearing the attack as some kind of diversion
++ its pretty quiet, we've just reached medical. the doors lock is busted, valls can u open it ++
++ no, can u phase breach it? ++
++ no sir ++
++ fine, do it the old fashon way ++
++ old fashon way? ++
++ pry the b!tch open ++
valls studied the console, smith held the cargo bay and placed cameras outside covering all the hallways. valls could see 3 marines setting up a sentry in the hallway the aliens attacked from, 2 building 1 covering, just as they were taught. squad B is making good progress and nearing the bridge. fireteam 1 just breached medical, the blue icons of the marines poured through the door and flowed through medical like water, covering every inch, checking every corner.
++ valls, medical is clear ++
++ good, set up a perimeter and dan ++
++ yes, sir? ++ snaped dan
++ nates pretty messed up, were sending him your way ++
++ i heard, ill start to prep a table for him ++ dan replyed
++ squad B, whats your situation? ++
i looked down a darkened hallway as valls voice came over the comm-net, a floresent light swung back and forth like a pendulem blown by a non-existent wind, it cast a disorentating flicker of light making all the shadows move and dance.
++ scary as hell....sir....++ i replyed in a wisper for fear of a shadow hearing me.
++ your almost to the bridge ++
the pendulem light swang and flickerd, illuminating a previously black part of wall with the harsh floresent light. i gasp as i saw the blood splattered on the wall.
++ blood splatter ++ i said
++ valls, anything on console? ++ adam asked in a quick wisper
++ nothing, keep your eyes peeled, watch the corners and vents ++
"no sh!t" said bill sarcasticly "what does he think we are, complete idiots..."
"my a$$ aliens arent up here" adam said in a ominous voice
"shut-up man, just, keep moving, ok." derk said nervously
we kept advancing through the twisting maze following the signs pointing to the bridge.
as we turned a corner we came upon evidence of a battle. there where filing cabnates and desks fliped on their sides and used as a make-shfit barrier, the walls were scared with bullet and slash marks, along with blood, mostly human. we notified valls but he just said to get our a$$es in gear, no mention of help or back-up. we moved onnearing the bridge, jumping over a couple more of these make-shift barriers. the door to the bridge was torn off and lay shattered in the corridor infront of us, 6 inches of reinforced steel lacerated and broken like cardboard.
"fu*k, no bob could to THAT" adam said in amazment
we walked onto the bridge, it was a vision of pure horror and violence. nothing on the bridge was left intact, consoles where smashed, bodys where eviscerated and the entrails lay strune around the bridge, a look of shear terror was etched onto the faces of those who still had faces. one corpse was slumped over a console that appeared to still be able to work, the mans head was missing and i had to pry his hands off the sides of the console to beable to activate it. i tried to wipe off some of the blood on the screen but it seaped into the cracks and distorted the visuals. bill, adam, and derk moved thorugh the bridge trying to identify any of the corpses, looking for the captin.
++ valls ++ i said with a noticable tremmor in my voice
++ yes ++
++ we made it to the bridge, but, its... ++
++ its what? ++
++ its... its a fu*king massacre ++ i replyed, almost losing my lunch as i looked at the headless man
++ have u found the ships log? ++
++ yeah, got'em. last one is dated 6 days ago, i guess thats when, this, happened. im sending them your way now ++
++ good, are the ships flight controls intact? ++
++ no, all the consoles are busted, cept this one ++
++ ok good work. sit tight guys, im sending squad E your way, set up cameras and set up a perimeter ++
"gimme the cameras, ill set'em up" bill said, he was doubled over staring at the ground. he looked like he was about to throw-up. "i gotta get outta this fu*king room"
"yeah, me too" said derk
"fine, im gonna stay here and look at the ship logs, adam?"
"fu*k..." adam bupred as his fist shot to his mouth as he forced himself not to barf "...im with them man, ur fu*king crazy"
i turned back to the console and opened the log accessing the last few recordings.
will read now
edit: reading the first sentence I'm beginning to wonder how much I've read already. probably missed a lot, so I'm going to read the whole thing.
too late <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo--> , nicely done, lookin forward to some more