NOVA’s Quarterly Newsletter
It has been two months since our last issue and we have more stories to tell about NOVA’s adventures and battles against the dreaded ARFs. April 15 is NOVA’s third anniversary. It will be celebrated with the traditional ice cream cake party later this month. A special event indeed for all NOVA members.
Not everything has gone well since the last newsletter. Contretemps 7 had some scheduling difficulties caused by the hotel chain. The convention now is only to be held on April 23 and 24. The regional will be held at the Holiday Inn in Council Bluffs during that time.
Steve Beeman and Ben Ellinger have vastly improved the attitude in which Car Wars and ADQ correspondence is dealt with. May their years together be long and prosperous. NOVA has recently become more stabilized with a steady membership of 8 to 10 players. Our membership is divided into two categories: full -- a member who subscribed to ADQ and with all club benefits, and half -- a player who just shows up for the fun. We’ve found this system to be quite successful over the years.
STARBURST back issues are available at $0.50 per issue for U.S. residents and $0.75 for international buyers. Anyone having comments or suggestions on STARBURST should send them in care of NOVA. We don’t know what you like or dislike unless you tell us. I know apathy runs rampant in the AADA chapters, but remember “he who doesn’t speak, shall never be heard”.
Local politician Kirk Stales announced the formation of the Unification Party along with his entry into the state’s governor race. The Unification Party’s goal is to unify the nations of the world under one government for the benefit of all. Several of the Unification’s candidates are running for offices in Nebraska and in the rest of the country. Their presidential candidate, James Marvel (ex-duellist), is running a strong third in the race. The Anarchy Party is being sorely beaten by the Uni’s, a nickname that some people call them. The Uni’s favorite greeting is “one” or “may we all be one”. This new development heated up the campaign around the country. One issue that the Uni’s are proclaiming is for the militarizing of all autoduelling. This issue doesn’t sit too well with some duellists.
I bet this is the section you’ve all have been waiting for. In STARBURST 1-1 we covered our first battle with the ARFs. Since then we’ve had many battles with them, with the last one occurring a year ago. That battle has left such an impression on NOVA members that to say the name “ARF” in the presence of one will cause him to foam at the mouth while others cringe in a nearby corner. We will give the ARFs credit; they are resourceful and ingenious up to a point. ARF recruits, on the other hand, can be very yellow-bellied. It has been known that the ARF has teamed up with BLUD or anyone else they can find at the moment. Usually, all alliances with them are short and explosive because of their fanatical beliefs. Occasionally their leadership is very good; if they had better followers ARF might’ve gotten someplace.
The ARF War began rather suddenly eighteen months ago during NOVA’s first vehicle show. The vehicle show was into its second day at NOVA HQ when in midafternoon several ARF cars came barreling through the front gate. At the same time several ARF agents jumped into several of the display cars and started them up. Chaos reigned as the battle raged because nobody knew who was who. Three ARF manned Plunges flew over the HQ and bombed it, causing the roof to collapse. The helicopters escaped untouched. Bob “Rocket” Calhoun suffered a brain embolism and fired laser-guided rockets upon Chris “Fuzzy Dice” Horn’s nitroglycerin-laden hovercraft. The ensuing explosion took out most of the HQ and all the vehicles within a 10" radius. Windows within a 1/4 mile were broken and all of New Omaha could hear the blast. Those who were lucky enough to survive the remains of the HQ were a sad sight. The clones of those who died were told of what happened. “Doc” was the first to say “This means war”, and everyone agreed quickly that an immediate counter-attack was to be made. The nearest ARF base was found by the state patrol and off we went.
On our way to Fremont we encountered a large ARF force sent to stop us on abandoned Highway 275. The force consisted of two semis, a tractor, a garbage truck, a few cars, trikes, and cycles. At first the ARFs out-numbered us two to one. But they hadn’t met the Sledge, a minibus with a tank gun in the nose. A newcomer, Ted the Toaster (see our new section, Local Hero), had just joined us and was learning quickly to hate ARFs. Combat began with cycles and trikes being blown away by the burst effect of tank gun shells. The Exterminator, driving his garbage truck, caused minor damage to NOVA vehicles but lost his cargo of 20 ground troops by a well-placed tank gun round from Jack Love’s quad-tracked mini- bus. Ted the Toaster was hit hard by the ARFs and rolled his metal car to a stop. He was shaken, not stirred, but uninjured. The ARFs ran away with a few survivors.
Just beyond Fremont NOVA located the ARFs headquarters and headed for it. The NOVA force approached the HQ cautiously on an old paved road. The ARF gatehouse fired first with VMGs, which were quickly silenced by concentrated fire. The clone of Fuzzy Dice, driving a van by remote control, took several vehicles with im as he headed toward the HQ fence line while the remaining NOVA cars crashed the gate. Several ARF buildings were destroyed, along with a hanger that contained the ARF helicopters. Meanwhile Fuzzy Dice maneuvered his van into a parking lot filled with ARF cars with the help of covering fire. The van was filled with nitro and was exploded by Fuzzy Dice when it was in the center of the parking lot. The explosion took out most of the cars and the buildings on the base. Miraculously, none of the NOVA duellists were seriously hurt from the explosion, which produced an earth tremor that was felt in Fremont. No useful information was found in the wreckage.
It was a few months before ARF was heard from again on what was called “The Mock ARF’s Day”. NOVA had theorized that the loss of the ARFs HQ and of two dozen vehicles financially hurt them for some time. Their next attack consisted of cars which included two specials. One car had a hologram projector which projected a giant robot and the other had a fake tank body around it. Near noon on December 17, 2036, the ARFs launched a sneak attack that was led by their two special cars. They somehow got into New Omaha without being detected and started a path of terror that was leading towards City Hall. Luckily NOVA was in the area and quickly entered the fray. Mike “Bullseye” Hirtes and Ted the Toaster took on a “robot” while the remaing NOVA cars fought the “tank” and other ARF cars.
The tank was breached on one side, and the car underneath it disengaged the fake tank shell. It ran off, leaving a trail of ice, oil, and flame clouds behind it. Meanwhile, Bullseye fired on the robot at close range. The building behind it collapsed, and Bullseye realized that the robot was a hologram. Ted The Toaster sped through the hologram and fired on the car that was projecting it. The car quickly disengaged amid the smoke, burning buildings, and debris. Remaining ARF cars sped off also leaving a victorious, but bewildered, NOVA behind.
The NOVA/ARF War ended on February 28, 2037, in a climactic battle. It all began at 3 p.m. when General Chaos, the Nebraska ARF commander, broke into all local TV and radio channels to inform everyone that New Omaha would be, as he put it, “placed back into the Stone Age by several, very powerful, hidden bombs” by 5 p.m. that day. Immediately all forces of NOVA, the police, Mondos, national guard, Air Force, and Army were mobilized to find the bombs General Chaos had hidden. At 4:30 p.m., an ARF force was seen entering the Boneyards in western New Omaha. NOVA intercepted and destroyed them without taking any prisoners. NOVA HQ was bombed again, this time by an ARF airship which was shot down by three NOVA helicopters. The third prong of the attack was at the Offutt Army/National Guard/Air Force Base where several ARF APCs were destroyed in a diversionary battle. Over 800 ARF soldiers and BATS (Boiler Android Troopers) stormed the minefields and fences, suffering over 70% casualties. The survivors managed to steal several Army vehicles at the armory before an ARF helicopter, heavily damaged by ground fire, crashed into the armory. Everything within a 1/4 mile of the armory was destroyed in the resulting explosion. As a final gesture of hostility, two ARF airships bombed the five bridges linking New Omaha and Council Bluffs.
The planted ARF bombs went off and destroyed Police HQ (which was only one year old, replacing the first one that was destroyed in a previous ARF battle), City Hall, Offutt Command Post, and Council Bluffs City Hall and police station. NOVA and the National Guard were mad, but luckily we triangulated the location of the ARF base. Just southeast of Fremont near the Platte River we ran into the General’s personal vehicle: a giant custom truck that looked like a good-sized building on six huge wheels. The battle with the Juggernaut was satisfying as NOVA deflated and pulverized it, killing General Chaos in the process. His clone then taunted us as we got repairs at Fremont, which he bombed as soon as we left it.
We went northwest to Norfolk where NOVA forces broke into the ARF base, destroying the wall defenses as we went in. Two small ARF tanks and three scout cars (stolen from the Offutt armory) attacked us in the courtyard. The battle was shortened by new developments in weapons, such as submunitions deployment rockets. Ted The Toaster crashed through one doorway, followed by Kelly using another improvised entrance and headed straight for the command center. Upon entering it they found the self-destruct activated, but Kelly managed to turn it off. General Chaos escaped again but left behind hard proof that the Mexican government has been supporting the ARFs. Mexico used a cover story that blamed the CIA/FBI in creating the ARF.
Next is a new section to our newsletter called Local Hero. It will cover a local duelist who has become popular by his feats and deeds. Each will be written by the player who created them. So hold on for something a little different.
Ted The Toaster, by Jay “Hosehead” Chladek
Ted was born on April 15, 2010, in Omaha, Nebraska, to unknown parents (they were probably farmers - ed). He was six years old when the Grain Blight of 2016 occurred. His parents left him behind when they left for California for better opportunities. He was on his own for two weeks, stealing food as he went along. Eventually he was adopted by a family called the Williamsons.
At age 18 Ted attended Metro Community College where he learned to be a gunner. It was at this time that Ted earned the nickname “The Toaster” by suppressing a riot with a flamethrower and two hand grenades. The riot broke up when a maniac in a black pickup charged into it. Ted hit the pickup twice with his flamethrower, causing it to lose control; it crashed into the mob, killing several people. The remaining people fled in terror, and this was only the beginning for Ted’s career.
Using the reward money he got for breaking up the riot, Ted finished school and bought a Vigilant station wagon. After spending a few years as a convoy escort, Ted returned to New Omaha and joined NOVA. Shortly after that he got his big break in the arena circuit. At the Carter Lake Arena, Ted scored three kills in a Division 20 event. Ted was made into an instant local celebrity due to that feat, but that’s not all of it. Carter Lake Arena has 4 criss-cross jumps in the center, and cars must be going at a minimum of 30 mph to jump over them. Ted’s last kill attempted to escape from our hero by going over the jumps. Ted fired a machine gun burst into the backside of the escaping car while it was airborne. The driver lost control when the car hit the ramp on the far side, nosed down and started to roll across the arena floor. Ted then moved next to the defenseless car and blasted it. This event, plus many more extraordinary incidents have earned him the quote , “When he appears, strange things happen”.
Another reason Ted has earned a name for himself is his unbelievable knack for surviving incidents that could have very well killed him. Ted has a clone in Gold Cross, but he has never used that clone since he joined NOVA. Ted survived numerous gun hits that put him in the hospital numerous times. He even lived through having his car run over by a tank. Hospitals in town started to show a profit since Ted returned to New Omaha.
At present Ted is going trough a losing streak in arenas, so he has turned to race driving. In two recent events, with the sponsorship of Gusto Gasburners and Flyright Industries, Ted finished in first place. In the second race he achieved a top speed of 260 mph using a jet powered Cam Am. The race started with his first car, but later on he was forced to eject when the car destroyed itself in a spin out. He landed in his hang glider and got into his back up vehicle. Despite this setback Ted still won first place, in part because of this ingenuity. Ted will be unable to use jet-powered cars in gasoline racing due to a new restriction from the track management. It seems the management doesn’t appreciate having to resurface the track every time Ted uses a jet-powered car.
Ted presently is Driver +2, Gunner +1, Handgunner, Hovercraft. His advice for any aspiring duellist is to invest in an autocannon. An AC has burst effect, high accuracy, and can strip off metal armor easy. Another good weapon to buy is a twin laser. It’s guaranteed to do eight points of damage, and that helps when also using laser-guided rockets. The anti-tank gun is good for three reasons. It has burst effect, can damage metal armor, and is inexpensive, a vital factor in lower level divisions. These weapons have helped Ted considerably in all of his combats. At the date of this writing, Ted The Toaster has scored seven kills. He wishes all duellists good luck on their dice rolls (except against him!).
We’ve just finished the New Omaha atlas entry, which may soon be published in ADQ. The Council Bluffs, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska, entries were finished almost a year ago. NOVA is currently play testing some “Fast Lane” material for finishing touches that will be finished later this year. Look for it in the upcoming year.
It’s hard to believe NOVA will start its fourth year as a AADA chapter. So much has happened since our inception in 2035. We’ve seen chapters come and go, metal armor being introduced, Mr. Haring suddenly leaving and NOVA’s first Car Wars convention. Let’s hope the next four years are just as interesting.
Drive and fly offensively!
Norman McMullen, President
Don Jacques, Vice-President & Secretary
Re-editing of Nightmessenger Vol. 2, No 1 completed on 03/01/97 by Donald Jacques.
Originally printed as a SpeedScript 3.2 document on a Commodore 64 with a Epyx extender cartridge. The issue was reentered as a WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows document, turned into a HTML document by KEYview 5.0, and edited again in Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0.