Holding The Line Chapter 204

Never one to miss a party, Raptor has sent in his own contribution to the celebrations on behalf of the HTL team. Don't forget to read on past the chapter description for the latest news on the new HTL site.

Hey all, Raptor here

Happy Birthday and many happy returns to the Wing Commander CIC, from me and all the HTL crew. You guys have done more than anyone to keep the Wing Commander community on the Internet thriving over these past few years. We're proud to have been associated with you in that time, and look forward to continuing the partnership in the future.

Our CIC birthday chapter is the first of a four-parter called "Check And Mate", written by myself and Joe "Wraith" Guida. This story signals the beginning of the end of the Nifelhiem battle, as the Yorktown and the Valeria begin closing in on the last of the Nephilim carriers. The sharp eyed among you will notice a gap between the last Valeria story (which had us preparing a strike against a Nephilim group codenamed Epsilon) and this one, which starts just after that strike. The chapter that slots in there is still being written, and will be published after "Check And Mate". Please send any and all comments to me at or to Joe at captpowell1@earthlink.net.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch204.htm

The second half of our birthday present is a promisary note. As you know, we've been working hard on Holding The Line Dot Net, and were hoping to debut it for the CIC's birthday. Unfortunately, the site isn't quite ready yet. When it is ready though, it will be unveiled to the public here at the CIC, even before it is released on the Aces Mailing List.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 203

The HTL team have been battling forum problems lately, but they've released a new chapter to cheer everyone up. Here's Raptor with the update:

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with Part Four of James Andrew "JAG" Greenhow's Welcome To Hell series, which follows the Confed reserve force sent to help hold the line. As you've seen in the past few chapters, their Border Worlds counterparts have already engaged the Nephilim, but the two groups are operating seperately from each other. Please send any and all comments to JAG at Rambo.123uk@btinternet.com , not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch203.htm

On another note, the temporary message board the Aces were using has crashed. We were planning to set up a permanent board that would be part of HTL Dot Net when it went live. We've opened that forum up early to make sure the Aces have a place to meet and chat. The graphics will be updated soon, and we'll subdivide the board into the proper forums as we go along, but the board is functional at the moment. Feel free to stop by and get registered. The CIC's own Death will be moderating the site though, so behave. ;-)

The board is at: http://www.holdingtheline.net/forum

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 202

Raptor has been hard at work on the new HTL site. It's apparently coming along nicely, and he has taken the time to send a new chapter. Here's Raptor:

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with the third and final chapter of Scraps Of Honour 15, Death Of A Thousand Cuts. As you saw in the last chapter, the Border Worlds reserves had launched a strike against the Nephilim strike group coming in from Loki. The initial attack is a feint, intended to draw the Nephilim fighters into an ambush. This chapter picks up from there, and is written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. Please send any and all comments to Nick at Chaerone@bigpond.net.au, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch202.htm

On another note, most of the grunt work of programming Holding The Line Dot Net has been done, so now it's simply a matter of adding the stories, artwork and other content. I've unveiled the beta to the writers, and we hope to have the final site ready to go live in July. This site has been in development a long time, but I think it'll be worth the wait.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 201

The partying over at the WC Aces Club seem to be winding down after celebrating both their tenth anniversary and the release of chapter 200 last month. Now that the dust has settled, here's Raptor with the latest chapter of HTL.

Hey all, Raptor here

My sincere apologies for being so late with this update, real life has been running me into the ground lately. On much more pleasant topic though, the Border Worlders are about to hit the Nephilim right where it hurts, as HTL continues with the second part of Nick Deane's story, Death Of A Thousand Cuts. Please send any and all comments to Nick at Chaerone@bigpond.net.au.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch201.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 200

It's a week of milestones for Holding The Line. First of all they've reached the huge milestone of two hundred chapters of the story, which is a big enough achievement, but also today marks the 10th anniversary of the WC Aces club which writes the story. Though the main WC Aces site is out of date, the club is still quite active through the HTL project.

Hey all, Raptor here

I'm sure you've noticed the lack of HTL chapters over the past three months. The reason is that several writing groups in HTL have been working on big chapters that will wrap up the fighting in Nifelheim. The first of these is Chapter 15 of the Scraps Of Honour series, which follows the Border Worlds reserves sent to back up the Combined Fleet. Here, they are preparing for a head-on battle with the enemy forces coming in from Loki. This chapter is written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. Please send any and all comments to Nick at babylons@tpg.com.au, not to me.

The chapter is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch200.htm

On another note, this story marks our 200th published chapter, and 1,000,000 words published. Don't worry, I'm not obsessed enough to count every word we've published. Our chapters average 5000 words, which by my calculation puts us at a million words total. As an added bonus, this April 15th is also the Aces Club's tenth anniversary. I would like to congratulate all the writers who have put so much effort into keeping HTL and Aces active over the years. Long may it continue.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 199

Just over a week ago on January 28, HTL celebrated its 6th anniversary. In the absense of a slice of birthday cake, Raptor has sent us a new chapter instead.

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with Part Thirteen of my Into The Inferno series, which follows Battlegroup Valkyrie during the final clash in the Nifelheim system. As you've seen in past chapters written by myself and Dan "Death" Poore, the corvettes and fighters from Taskforce Abbey had taken out the escorts of a Nephilim carrier group. In the battle however, Abbey's flagship escort carrier had been severely damaged. This chapter picks up from there. Please send any and all comments to me at theraj@es.co.nz.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch199.htm

Also, HTL marked its sixth anniversary on the 28th of January. This anniversary was definitely bitter-sweet, as it will be the last in our history as an active storyline. We're targetting a finish date in the second to third quarter of this year, and there are some huge battle chapters coming up which will wrap the storyline up. As always, I would to thank the writers who have put so much effort into the story. I would also like to thank the people, within the Aces Club and without, who have E-mailed in comments and encouragement. It's feedback like that which keeps writers on track through the ups and downs of a long campaign.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 198

Hey all, Raptor here

I believe you should always start a new year the way you mean to carry it on. In that vein, the first chapter of HTL's sixth and final year is a brutal and blood soaked tale. This chapter is an interlude to our current story, and is set parallel to the fighting in Loki. It tells the story of the blood feud between the Tanfen Corporation and its arch rival Porhen Industries. This story is written by Kevin "Leeloo" Tan. Please send any and all comments to Kevin at leeloo8@hotmail.com, not to me.

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch198.htm

In other news, work on Holding The Line Dot Net is going along well. Cyberion is creating some beautifull works of art, including those images you've been seeing here at the CIC recently. I'm writing up the content of the pages, and the web designer is doing the technical work. In order to get everything perfect for the unveiling though, we're thinking of pushing the date the site goes live by a couple of months. Believe me though, it's gonna be worth it. ;-)

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 197

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with the second half of the great "Aftershocks" two-parter, which is written by Joe "Wraith" Guida. As you saw in the last story, pilots from the TCS Yorktown had located the wreckage of the light carrier TCS Endeavour, only for their rescue efforts to be interrupted by the Nephilim. This story picks up from there. Please send any and all comments to Joe at captpowell1@earthlink.net, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch197.htm

The HTL writing team would like to wish our fellow Wingnuts a happy and prosperous new year. We have a lot of big events coming up in 2005, not the least of which will be the big finish to the storyline. We'll also be passing some major milestones on the way, including HTL's six anniversary, its 200th chapter, and one million published words. Last but not least, Holding The Line Dot Net will be going online, so stay tuned.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 196

What's the best way to finish off a day of Christmas shopping, as lots of people are doing today? I don't know, but sitting down and reading the latest HTL chapter doesn't sound too bad. Here's Raptor to tell you about it.

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with a great two parter called "Aftershocks", written by Joe "Wraith" Guida. As you've seen in past chapters, the TCS Yorktown has taken a battering in her battles with a Nephilim dreadnaught, and the TCS Endeavour has been lost in her own battle with an enemy carrier group. Now the fates of the two battlegroups intersect. Please send any and all comments to Joe at captpowell1@earthlink.net, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch196.htm

On a differant topic: Vote for HTL. Vote, damn you. Vote, I say! ;-)

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 195

Busy times for us here at the CIC. what with putting up Christmas decorations and the like. Fortunately Raptor isn't too busy to send in a new HTL chapter.

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with Part Twelve of the "Into The Inferno" series, which is written by yours truly. As you saw in the last chapter, a small Border Worlds strike force had taken out the light escorts of a Nephilim carrier group. In the battle though, the escort carrier BWS Defiance had been crippled, and Nephilim fighters were chasing the attackers as they broke off. This story picks up from there. Your feedback is most welcome, so please send any and all comments back to me.

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch195.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 194

Hey all, Raptor here.

HTL continues with a great story called "Once More Unto The Breach", as the battle for Nifelheim continues to heat up. As you saw in the last story, the Combined Fleet is starting to take a heavy toll on the attacking forces, but the humans are taking substantial losses of their own. This story focuses on Taskforce Abbey, a small strike force of Border Worlds corvettes centred around an escort carrier, and is written by Dan "Death" Poore. Please send any and all comments to Dan at nohbody@mail.com, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/...

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 193

Hey all, Raptor here

As you've seen in the past few chapters, the battle for Nifelheim is already heating up, and enemy forces are closing in from both sides. The crew of the TCS Endeavour has already played a vital role in the battle by helping two other Confed battlegroups destroy a Nephilim dreadnaught, but their struggles are far from over. This story is written by Shaun "Iceman" Rashid. Please send any and all comments to him at velacia@rogers.com, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch193.htm

In other news, I was able to make the downpayment for the HTL website recently, and we're on track to go live at the end of the year. We've got a heck of a lot planned for the site (including those tasty ships Cyberion has been kind enough to create for us) and we plan to unveil it step by step throughout 2005. The site will include message boards dealing with the site itself as well as with HTL, so there will be plenty of opportunities for you guys to help shape the site as it develops.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 192

As you've probably guessed by now, the latest HTL chapter is here.. and when you're done reading, Raptor has something he'd like a bit of feedback on.

Hey all, Raptor here.

HTL continues with the third and final part of Scraps Of Honour 14. As you saw in the last chapter, a flight of Border Worlds fighters from the reserves was rescuing a Tanfen VIP transport under attack by Nephilim fighters. During the fight though, Major Jack DeVille finds himself right in the path of a torpedo. This chapter picks up from there, and is written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. Please send any and all comments to Nick at babylons@tpg.com.au, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch192.htm

Also, I've been thinking about the shape of the new HTL site, and I've had an idea that I would like your feedback on. As I said before, the site is meant to showcase the HTL project, but I want it to be more than simply an archive. I'm thinking of adding a section called "The Reading Lounge". The name deliberately harks back to the old Aces Lounge, and I want that section to have a similar feel. I'm thinking of having a "Meet The Aces" subsection there (an intro to the Aces and what we do), a "Best Of The Aces" (showcase of non HTL writing), a message board where Aces can interact with each other and people from outside the club, and maybe a forum for news and views. What do you guys think? What else would you like to see? Let me know, and I'll do my best to make it happen.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 191

There's big things happening at HTL headquarters. Raptor wants to tell you about it, and for good measure he has put up a new chapter too.

Hey all, Raptor here

HTL continues with the second part of Scraps Of Honour 14, which carries on Nick "Chaeronea" Deane's excellent series following the Border Worlds reserve forces. As you saw in the last chapter, the reserves were preparing themselves to take on the Nephilim fleet that had jumped in from Ymir, a much more dangerous assignment than the one they had been told to expect at the start of the campaign. By using the "Matador Strategem" however, they just might be able to pull it off. In the meantime, a civilian ship has gotten too close to the combat zone, and a flight from the Sicily is racing to help. This chapter picks up from there. Please send any all comments to Nick at babylons@tpg.com.au, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch191.htm

HTL will also be getting a new presence on the Internet in the coming months. This is very much a long term project, but the HTL team is working on putting together a master site for the entire Holding The Line project. At the moment, we've got the project's starting point on the HTL homepage, most of our older stories on the Solsector archives, new stories on the current chapter archives, and unit and faction information on various homepages, some of which are still online and some not. The current set up gets the job done, but with HTL wrapping up, we wanted a site where people could see the whole thing in its entirity.

For that reason, we recently registered the domain name holdingtheline.net, though there's nothing there at the moment. Cyberion, who created the tasty ship renderings that we presented a few weeks ago, is working on additional ships and artwork for the site, and the other writers and I are working with a professional web designer to put the web site itself together. We aiming to have the core site going live at the end of this year or early next year, in time for HTL's 6th anniversary and a couple of other major milestones which are coming up. That will be far from the end of the project though, as we aim to keep adding to and expanding the site afterwards, making it a one stop shop for everything HTL related. Watch this space.

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 190

Everyone here has been really busy since the CIC's birthday when we released a special double bill of Holding The Line. Raptor has been busy too, so he has only now had a chance to send us the next chapter.

Hey all, Raptor here

I know it's been a fair while since you last saw a new HTL chapter, but it couldn't be helped due to a combination of real life and technical issues. We're just coming to the end of the holiday season in the seaside town I work in, and the pharmacy has been very busy. In addition to that, a few E-mail problems after downloading XP Service Pack 2 have been taking up my computer time. It's all sorted now though, and it's back to business as usual.

As you saw in the last few chapters, the fight against the Nephilim fleet coming in from Ymir has just started, but it's already getting bloody. As I'm sure you'll recall though, the human Combined Fleet is fighting off not one but two Nephilim forces, the second being the remains of the fleet that's been battered in the running battle to date. This fleet is coming in from the Loki jump point, and will be met by the Combined Fleet's reserves. We kick off that portion of the battle with part fourteen of the excellent Scraps Of Honour series, written by Nick "Chaeronea" Deane. Please send any and all comments to Nick at babylons@tpg.com.au, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch190.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 187

Hey all, Raptor here

As you saw in the last chapter, the final battle of the long and bloody campaign to hold the line is beginning in earnest. Battlegroups Rapier, Auriga and Aurora have joined forces to hit the incoming Nephilim fleet hard, launching a combined strike at an enemy dreadnaught and her escorts. As before, this chapter is brought to you by the teamwork of Joe "Wraith" Guida, the Auriga writing team, and Shaun Rashid of the TCS Endeavour. Please send any and all comments to Joe at captpowell1@earthlink.net, and he'll pass them along to his fellow writers.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch187.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 186

What's this? HTL on a Wednesday? How odd. Well, we didn't want to keep you all waiting for this latest chapter. Here's Raptor.

Hey All, Raptor here.

Okay, I think that enough of the curtain raisers, and time for the main event to start. The Nephilim are coming in fast, eager to finish off the battle once and for all, and Combined Fleet is ready to take that massive armada on. We commence the big and bloody finale battle in earnest with a great four parter called "Loud And Clear." It's jointly written by Joe "Wraith" Guida (whose TCS Yorktown battlegroup will be at the centre of this battle), the Battle Group Auria writing team, and Shaun Rashid of the TCS Endeavour. Please send any and all comments to Joe at captpowell1@earthlink.net, and he'll pass them along to his fellow writers.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch186.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 185

Apparently Raptor survived the trip to wherever it is that he has gone to for his overseas experience, and has sent through a new HTL chapter for you all.

Hey All, Raptor here.

HTL continues with "In The Eye Of The Hurricane", a great story following the crew of the light carrier TCS Endeavor and Battlegroup Aurora. While the Endeavor group hasn't suffered the devastating losses that Valkyrie or the Valley Forge group have, they have taken their fair share of knocks. Now, they're about to be thrown right back into it. Please send any and all comments to Shaun at velacia@rogers.com, not to me.

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch185.htm

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 184

Hey all, Raptor here.

HTL continues with Part Three of the "Welcome To Hell" series, written by James Andrew "JAG" Greenhow. This story follows the Confed reserve units who have been awaiting, preparing for, and dreading the arrival of the Nephilim throughout the battle to hold the line. Now that the Nephilim are here, they're about to be thrown right into the jaws of hell. Please send any and all comments to JAG at rambo.123uk@btopenworld.com, not to me.

http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch184.htm

On a completely different note, I'm off tomorrow on what Kiwis call the Big OE (Overseas Experiance.) It's pretty much a rite of passage to spend a few years living and working overseas after finishing college, or in my case grad school. Thanks to modern technology though, everything HTL and Aces related will continue as normal. I've got a global roaming setup that'll let me connect to the Net anywhere in the world, and you can reach me as normal at theraj@es.co.nz

Best, Raptor

Holding The Line Chapter 183

The HTL team have been welcoming some new talent as this week's chapter has been written by a newcomer. Here's Raptor to tell you about it:

Hey all, Raptor here.

HTL continues with a great story written by Kevin "Wolfman" Foster. Kevin's a newcomer to HTL, but he's a very promising writer. As you might know, the battlecruiser Nemesis has been accompanying Battlegroup Valkyrie, but she was never designed to be a carrier escort. She's a convoy raider, designed to strike hard and fast at the enemy's weak spots. Now that the Nephilim fleet has jumped in, it's time to turn her loose. Please send any and all comments to Kevin at wolfman_borden@yahoo.ca

The story is at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~theraj/archives/ch183.htm

Best, Raptor