Venom Wars 2008
The group shot
Best bruise
House K'Mok
Ceremonies
AAR: Venom Wars V
Location: Louisiana, Home of the Bayou Serpent
DATE: March 28-30
On March 28-30, the Warriors of the IKV Bayou Serpent hosted their annual event of Venom Wars.
Myself and Lord Buroq' arrived Friday evening around 8:00pm, after braving the roads running through Shreveport and beyond, lotsa fun there believe me, we got to the base camp and docked our craft.
Upon arrival, we met up with Lord Ripar and commenced with fellowship and waited for more warriors to show up.
Saturday, after we all came out of our perspective hollows, and shook the sleep out of our heads, and got down to business.
Game one: Defend the station and its cargo
The game was pretty much a blur of action, so it kind of ran
together. There was much, much slinging of paint. The casualties
mounted reeeaaalll quick. The areas between the stations were
constantly in motion and the paintballs were flying around A LOT!!
When there was about 15 minutes left in the game, I was stalking the OPFOR with Lord K'Mok when a decision was reached to go Rambo on the OPFOR, at which point we both charged down the road, screaming like Klingon Banshees, "Git Some!!!!" we bum rushed the enemy station firing many, many paintballs before we were stopped by the base defenders. Mind you, we were taken down after we lit up almost everyone there.
On the trip back, Lord K'Mok and I were limping back to our base to rez' and get reloaded and de-fogged. As we were walking up, I looked up the road just in time to see Lord K'Allen take our base single handed and as he was racing through, grabbed one of our cargo pods.
Before I realized what I was doing, I bolted after him and chased him almost all of the way back to his base. I dispatched him and grabbed the pod and returned it to our base.
Well, the glaring realization hit me, "Dummy, you were out and
couldn't do what you just did." I then picked up the cargo pod and returned it to our OPFOR with an apology for my bad call and for my adrenaline rush.
My motto: If you can't play with Honor, then pack your crap and go home. I.E. If I can't play right, I won't play.
It was right after I got to their base that the time ran out.
We moved back up to the camp and got some rest, re-hydrated and met up with the other players that were showing up.
Talley:
Kills: 13
Died: 3
We ate and drank water, then planned more games.
Game two: One on one speedball duels
I cant say much here, I got knocked out in my duel. I will say that I
was bent here, I had my opponent dead to rights and my marker jammed, at which point he lit me up.
Game three: Predator
Again, fast and furious. Not much on details here as it was a blur.
Talley:
Kills: 4
Game five: Ambush
This was fun. We set up 4 pods on the roads of the play area, invited the players at the base camp to come and join us. They had to come through, grab the pods and place them on a container upon the speedball field before the time ran out.
More blurs here, but I will give huge kudos to Lord K'Mok. He was the energizer bunny. He took more hits that Holyfield and kept on coming.
They ended up being one pod shy of total victory, but they gave us a serious run for our money.
Talley:
Kills: 6
Died: 1
After this we pretty much called it for the day. We were all VERY
whooped.
My problem of the day? Nothing but mechanical failure after
mechanical failure. If it wasn't marker problems, it was burst disk
ruptures or valve ruptures.
I had 4 of the 5 markers that I brought go down.
Well, it gives me something to do this week. I will do my equipment refit and repairs this week.
The ceremonies were great, and I will quote a line from a song I
heard on the way home,
"A replay of last night's events roll through my mind, Except a scene or two erased by sweet red "Blood" wine"
Man, it was Awesome!!
In closing, hats off to all who attended from all of the ships, teams
and states.
The IKV Bayou Serpent, the IKV Qin Vagh, The IKV deliverance, The IKV Melota, The IKV K'Vette, The Ghostwalkers and some from other teams whose names I cant remember.
Kai Kassai, Bayou Serpent!!!
Strength and Honor
B'alrahg
====================================================================================================
Venom Wars 5
Combat Tournament
28-30 March 2008
Choudrant, LA
Venom Wars 5 will forever be remembered as the Tournament of Malfunctions. While getting ready for the trip out K'Mok had a fuel pump go out. On the trip out Salek lost his alternator. Mike Beyer almost didn't get to make the trip after multiple ride-share plans fell through. As the combat began multiple markers failed (many seriously) and through the coarse of the day several CO2 tanks suffered containment failure. Add to the mix the cold nights, the warm day, and the surprise rain showers and one has the potential for a miserable weekend. Instead the warriors present pushed on and had a glorious time.
Representing KAG were five ships: the IKV Bayou Serpent (Louisiana), IKV Melota (Texas), IKV Qin Vagh (Texas), IKV Deliverance (Arkansas), and the IKV K'Vette (Louisiana) plus the Texas Ghostwalkers (a paintball group).
Throughout Friday night and into the wee hours of Saturday the warriors trickled in. The sun rose Saturday on a cold group of shivering campers. The morning drizzle promised an interesting day. sQweezinart made a new flag for the Bayou Serpent. Since Ri'Par didn't bother to mention it... (you in trouble, brother)
Shortly before the first event the sun came out and the temperature started to rise quickly. The sudden heat caused most of the visors to fog over and many spent the morning half blind. The early combat was fast and vicious. Welts and bruises were common.
More warriors arrived.
The heat of the day was past casually with a "Speedball" competition. A curious form of one-on-one personal combat, this event gave each warrior the opportunity to display their prowess.
More warriors arrived bringing the final headcount to 31 (according to the e-mail from Ri'Par).
Only a handful opted for the Predator game. I observed. As it was explained to me - one shooter is selected as the "Predator". The rest are "Human". The Predator has a smaller kill zone and is thus harder
to take down. Each person shot by the Predator becomes a Predator also. The most difficult positions in this game are those of the first Predator and the last Human.
The last event was an ambush event. An ambush team placed four "trophies" throughout the woods. These were to be collected by the target team and placed at a designated receiving area. The combat was fierce. The target team had retrieved all four trophies and three had been placed in the receiving area when game time ran out.
We all limped back to base for a chili dinner graciously provided by Torsha of the I.K.V. Bayou Serpent (as if she didn't have enough to do...with that new baby and all). - Qapla'
The banners were gathered around the stage and the awards ceremony began. Kudos and trophies were given out to those that deserved them. New members of the Black Fleet were named, remembered and howled for. Special mention was made of the 10th Anniversary of the Bayou Serpent. As XO of the Melota (THE oldest Klingon ship in the region) the honor fell to me to preside over this part of the ceremony. Each current member of the Bayou Serpent was called forward and recognized.
The torches blazed, the blood wine was poured, and the stories were shared generously. One warrior was heard to say that the comradery after the ceremonies was the part of these gatherings that he liked best.
It was a glorious end to a glorious day...until the cloud-burst forced everyone to take cover.
Lt. Cmdr. K'Mok
1st Officer - I.K.V. Melota
===================================================================================================
On March 28-30,the IKV Bayou Serpent hosted it's 5th installment of
Venom Wars,our annual Klingon paintball war. I addition to this,it
was also our 10 year anniversary as a ship and this was celebrated as
well.
Turnout this year was ASTOUNDING! We had representatives from FIVE
KAG ships including the IKV Bayou Serpent,IKV Melota,IKV Qin Vagh,IKV
Deliverance,and the IKV K'Vette plus the paintball group from
Dallas/Fort Worth known as the Ghostwalkers. An estimated 25 people
were in attendance.The guests started arriving Friday with the IKV
Deliverance CO Mike Beyer arriving first.Weather was sunny and a
little too warm but cooled off nicely as the sun went down.Guests
trickled in all night and some arrived on Saturday.
Saturday was the actual combat day and started out chilly with light
rain but the players endured and played anyway.The rain stopped
pretty soon to sunny and a little too warm temperatures.First up was
the "Ferengi treasure hunt" game that we play every year.The field
was full of people,some playing,some filming,some just watching. The
fighting was more intense than any previous year,probably due to the
increased number of players.This was also the first year that the IKV
Bayou Serpent had a camera of their own in the field. The camera was
armored with the help of the Melota crew 2 months ago and that armor
got tested in this first game,first taking a glancing blow from a
paintball and then a full on shot from K'Mok of the Melota. I'm proud
to say that the workmanship was excellent and the camera didnt suffer
a scratch. With only minutes left in the game,K'Allen stormed the
base and retrieved one of the containers only to be shot by Balrahg
of the IKV Qin Vagh on the other team. Balrahg realized that he had
fired in error due to adrenaline and walked under a white flag to the
enemy base to give them the container,a very honorable thing to
do.This wouldn't be the first time that Balrahg's honor was shown.
Second game up was speedball but not in the traditional "spray and
pray" method. Combatants started out with no ammo and had to run to
bunkers to retrieve pods containing 10 shots each. This was done one-
on-one in a single elimination tournament.After some interesting
matches,including Ni'Vek of the Bayou Serpent THROWING paintballs at
an advancing enemy after getting pinned down,the game was won by
K'Allen of the Bayou Serpent.I had to start work on the ceremonies so
the group went out and played a couple more games without
me,including a predator hunt and an ambush type game.
After everyone started getting tired and hungry,we sat down for a
Trek trivia game with the prize being a collection of Trek VHS
tapes,along with a few other movies. Ni'Vek walked away with this one
easily.Dinner was then served by ship XO Torsha who didnt get to play
due to both cooking the hearty chili and tending to Kahless,son of
K'Allen. We very much appreciated her big role in the event.
Ceremonies started just after dark and the new "official" Bayou
Serpent flag created by sQueezinart of the Melota made it's first
stage appearance.We can't thank enough for it. It's amazing! The
bloodwine was opened and the first dips were given to the QC and then
the senior rep of each ship or group.Next was the Klingon prayer and
death howl for a long list of fallen warriors.I took the
stage,thanked everyone for showing such support for our ten years of
service and passed out the trophies.Awards were given as such:
Least bruised: Bear of the Ghostwalkers with no bruises (sQueezinart
of the Melota deserves recogition here as well since she wasn't
bruised either but Bear played more games)
Worst single bruise: Balrahg with a nasty head shot (this would be re-
examined later)
Speedball: K'Allen of the Bayou Serpent
Tournament Da'har: Mike Beyer of the Deliverance (tough choice!)
We then started the 10 year part of the ceremony with myself again
thanking everyone for their help and support over the years to help
make our ship great and gave a short history of our 10 years. It
really touched us that so many of you came out to show your love!
Don't ever forget that! Ten year pins were handed out to Bayou
Serpent members and I asked the senior member of the only ship
present that was older than us to do the honor. That honor fell to
Lord K'Mok of the Melota.Thank you for your help with that.The
ceremonies were then drawn to a close and the best part of all events
began...the drinking and fellowship! I believe we would have stayed
up til the wee hours but the rain had other plans and put us to bed
around 11pm.
The next morning saw the soreness of combat and the sunburns showing
their ugly faces. After having several hours to settle,the bruises
were shown again with RotoQ of the Qin Vagh having one of the worst
bruises I've ever seen from paintball. Balragh once again put his
honor first.After asking my permission,he presented RotoQ with
the "Worst single bruise" award. Slowly,everyone started to head out.
This is always the worst part of any event. Once again,thanks to the
Melota,Qin Vagh,Deliverance,K'Vette,and Ghostwalkers for our best
tournament ever! Qapla!!!
Commander Ri'Par sutai-bortaS
IKV Bayou Serpent commander and ship's brewer
=====================================================================================================
AH yes. One of my favorite times of year; the annual IKV Bayou Serpent's Venom Wars. I loaded up my newly christened Dragonship, departed my local planetary system at 1200 hours terran time, and set my cruise on low warp for the choudrant quadrant (Low warp you say? Dang straight: Those out of area tickets can be killers).
Arrived Choudrant around 1730 hours roughly, and set to fellowshipping and waiting for other warriors to arrive (Was sleeping in the Dragonship so had no real unpacking to do). There were beings from Arkansas, Ft. Worth, Louisiana (Well duh! It was a La. based event after all), and all points between. Those of us there decided to retire around 2300 as we had a full day of fighting planed for the next day.
And then it hit...Armageddon. The day of reckoning was at hand. I was on the blue team for the Ferengi treasure hunt, and defended home base and the treasure from all who would dare take from us. Couldn't see half the time fue to fogged lenses, but made do. Made Lord Balrahg do a Matrix version of the peepee dance (But didn't know for sure until after that it was him because I couldn't see squat). BTW...I absolutely loved the Rambo charge at the end. I lit up K'mok, and T'Kai lit me up. Gotta love it. After that was speedball, where I was paired up againt Lord K'Mok. Was BARELY able to eliminate him by a very lucky shot in the ribs. Unfortunately it was a too close shot (Thankfully forgiven in the heat of speedy battle) and was somewhat painful. MY apoligies milord: You are truly a formidable foe. Then we kinda got hot and tired, went for a break and lunch. Some played on alter, wuite a few GhostWalkers arrived mid afternoon and set up a predator game and a pod search ambush game. Was my first time to shoot with/against the Ghost Walkers and let me tell you, they are scary good.
Then it was time for the all important ceremonies and 10th anniversary celebration. The IKV Bayou serpent was founded by one man with a vision, Allen Cook (Who was unfortunately unable to be there due to RL obligations at work), and is carried on most honourably by Lord's Ri'par and K'Allen. I am honored to be a friend and fellow warriorn with these men, and if I gotta walk will be at EVERY future Venom Wars that RL will allow. The ceremonies were good, the death howl was most appreciated (And thanks to Lord Balrahg for mentioning Lord Ka'Min: He was the best of the best). Thanks for the bloodwine Ri'Par. The partying was exceptionally great, until Mother Nature butted in with rain. Anyway, until next time. QAPLA!
Robert (Tony) Christensen
Lt. Commander Dragen vestai-BoS'ra
1st Prince of House BoS'ra
Security Chief/Officer IKV Qin Vagh
CTF Weapons Guild Master
Master java Brewer
=====================================================================================================
AER: Venom Wars V
DAMN!!! This was a serious, hard core event. The IKV Bayous Serpent had
its best turnout ever. Normally the IKV Bayou Serpent is working with
two teams of 5 or 6 for Venom Wars. This time the IKV Bayou Serpent had
6 orange non-combatants just watching for fun while two teams of 12 (or
greater) were battling for supremacy. And on top of this there were two
combat videographers working to bring you future videos. The IKV Bayou
Serpent had about 25 Warriors (and guests) present at any one time. But,
they also had a revolving door of Warriors and guests coming and going.
I'm inclined to believe (and someone can later confirm the actual
figure) that some thirty some-odd Warriors (and guests) were ultimately
present at Venom Wars V.
There were five separate KAG ships present, a mundane paintball club,
and a commercial/professional group all revolving through this weekend.
With so many players, the combat was heavy. With two videographers
present, the IKV Bayou Serpent and the IKV Melota collected in one game
more good footage than in a couple of years of prior Venom Wars events.
The IKV Bayou Serpent now boasts its own Combat Videographer (last year
they introduced their own Ship's Brewer) with an armored camcorder. I'm
not aware of any other KAG vessels with armored combat videocamcorders.
Ripar and I are planning that future videos starting with VW5 shall
become long distance collaborative efforts. We shall share footage and
ideas to bring more and varied ideas to Internet for the benefit of KAG.
The Ceremonies were short, sweet, and to the point. There was our usual
klingon prayer. Then we all Howled for the Dead and a regrettably long
list that was. Awards were given out. Then the 10th Year Anniversary
portion of the Ceremonies occured with Lt. Cdr. Kmok, representing the
IKV Melota (CRQ's oldest ship) giving out 10th year Anniversary pins to
the membership of the IKV Bayou Serpent.
Various stories were told on the stage to enlighten our guest Warriors
of the traditions ensconced in IKV Bayou Serpent tradition. The story of
the mini Bloodwine cup. The story of Ripar's first morning after the
Bloodwine. Problems with inertial dampers after a few mugs of Bloodwine.
These were all related with relish as well as the story of the 2008 Most
Bruised Award and from whence it cometh.
On the stage it was noted that the Northern KAG ships really have the
numbers. And, against this we cannot compete. But, here in Dixie, we
have the activities! We may have small ships, but we really get around
with driving distances that really mean complete states for others in
order to fellowship with each other.
The Cold Revenge Quadrant Ships present (5) at Venom Wars V saluted the
AERs and efforts of all of the Klingon Assault Group. To thee we say Qa'Pla!
Five KAG ships, and two mundance groups all gathered around the flares,
firepits and lanterns to relate to one another. We of the IKV Melota had
a grand time with all present. The distance and expense of days off and
petrol for vehicles is prohibitive of doing this more often. However, we
all state that this should be done more often.
Strength and Honor, Y'all
Cdr. Salek, Sutai
Ship's Brewer
=====================================================================================================
Venom Wars 5
Posting from a Ghostwalker perspective, even though I have been
associated with varios Klingon ships as the Vulcan Buroq.
Venom Wars 5 Debriefing
In attendance from the Ghostwalkers: Bastitch, Balrahg, Bear,
Chicken Plucker (plus his kid Caleb, who has been shooting with us
for years), and Rotoqk (and his wife Kat). Also in attendance: Mad
Ivan, Edie from the Wolf Pack, and a couple that I have seen often
at DFWAP but whose name I have totally spaced even though we talked
about it and I had them repeat it twice. Osiris and Predator were
last minute withdrawals due to work or medical conflicts.
Unfortunately, because of road hazards Bear and his crew didn't
arrive till after lunch Saturday.
Also present were two dozen various Klingons from 5 separate fan
clubs representing Louisiana (IKV Bayou Serpent – our host, and IKV
K'Vette), Texas (IKV Melota & IKV Qin Vagh – Balrahg's ship), and
Arkansas (IKV Deliverance - Chicken Plucker's Ship)
Total head count was around 30 – 35 revolving door participants.
Friday night was camp setting and bumming around, meeting and
greetings, that sort of thing. Some light overnight showers and
fairly cool conditions made for a creaky morning Saturday. Once
suited up and moving it got better.
Game one was an hour long Ferringi treasure hunt, where both sides
had two containers to guard and two to steal. The containers had a
random mix of stuff worth various points so it was possible to win
with only one box – if it was the right box. No one knew what the
contents were till after the fighting was done. We were shooting
with critical kill rules – arm and leg shots didn't count only head
and torso shots that broke – that allowed for some more aggressive
play with a little more risk taking. We paired off into two teams
(Rotokq and I were Blue team; Balrahg and Chicken Plucker were not).
There were two trails between each post, and fighting along the
wider more open trail was heavy. I forayed down this road half a
dozen times, meeting K'mok, T'Kai, and Chicken Plucker each time,
with assorted other nameless green shapes (not wearing my glasses).
Each time I would take out two or three people before taking a hit
myself. Chicken Plucker and I had flatline / apex markers so we had
had lots of fun facing off against each other. I also went down the
smaller trail 3 or 4 times meeting smaller groups of resistance, but
no less challenging. I managed to take out one or two to each of my
hits, again mostly because of the Apex. Then I ran out of paint and
had to switch to the pistol. Another half dozen forays into the
breach had more even kill ratios – pretty much one to one. As a side
note I found myself in the unusual (for me) position of trying to
use hand signals – to no avail. One of my forays down the smaller
road I skirted into the trees and had worked up even with the OpFor
sniper watching their trail and was about to take him out when a
blue team shooter comes jogging down the trail – despite my near
frantic waves she failed to see me off to the left in the brush, and
was barrel tagged by the sniper, who then got the second blue
shooter coming along right behind. I got a small pod of paint after
that and returned to wreak what havoc I could, only to gas out three
steps into my shooting charge. That was somewhat annoying. The rain
that fell on us for 20 – 30 minutes during the shoot did little to
help, causing some gun malfunctions (except for my Tippmann – of
course) and a LOT of mask fogging – but we all persevered and kept
shooting. The OpFor did a very good job covering their base, and
pushed blue team back to our own base more than once. For a bunch of
scattered individuals lumped together with 30 seconds of team
building, both sides did a great job. Our own Rotoqk was Blue team
commander, and was personally responsible for the final kill shot
against the Balrahg/K'mok/T'Kai suicide Rambo-like charge against
blue base. Good Job Paul. End result – Blue team had three pods to
their one, and we took the game on points.
After a break we did one-on-one elimination duels on a speedball
course. I drew Salek of the Melota, who used to shoot with the
Ghostwalkers as Were-Gerbil back when we were Wetwerxx. Unlike
standard duels, there were 6 pods placed on top of bunkers with ten
rounds in each, and we started with empty hoppers – a unique and
enjoyable variation. I got all three pods closest to me and in my
hopper before any of the shooting really started, while Salek had
acquired two. Keeping a light trigger finger (limited ammo) I
managed to keep Salek in one spot for a few then got greedy and
headed for pod four. Salek nailed my gut twice with a double tap and
I called myself out. Unfortunately, I keep thinking I still have
those tight washboard abs from high school – if I had looked I would
have seen both shots had bounced off my Buda belly and I could have
continued shooting. Doesn't matter – they were good clean shots and
it was a fun shoot. Congratulations Salek. Bear and Ivan and a few
more showed up during the duels.
After a break, we went into the brush after some kids who were antsy
and shooting at each other. After a brief (and I suspect unwanted)
ambush we formed up for a predator game. Chicken Plucker was "IT"
and trotted off into the brush. After a few we followed, Balrahg
leading, me on back up, and the rest fanned out behind. Balrahg was
turned pretty quick, and I got his legs and back side as he dove for
cover (I was slower than usual in shooting Balrahg post predator).
Falling back we formed into a skirmish line with Ivan calling
directions. I ended up far right flank and found myself in another
very unusual position for me – behind the OpFor without them knowing
it. Unfortunately, I was also only one of two remaining humans.
Unable to resist the temptation I unloaded on a group 4 predators
who thought they were out of the fire fight – I went down pretty
quick after that. My bad – I should have taken better cover and gone
for the larger group instead. My bad. Joining up with the pack they
were getting ready to call it and give it to the last remaining
human who was hiding somewhere – That I could very plainly see
myself (skinny grey shirt kid). That old color blind gift again. I
could have opened fire and goggled the crap out of him, but the
general consensus was to call it and let him live.
Final game was a pod hunt, with 4 pods on a trail that we guarded,
while the OpFor had to retrieve and deliver to a location we also
guarded. T'Kai and I were assigned guard on the delivery station,
Chicken Plucker, Balrahg, and Eddie went on pod watch. Most of the
fighting took place on the trails but once the pods were claimed the
small forays into my domain started. I took out K'Mok and Dragen a
couple times each, and the skinny grey shirt four times before the
game ended. 3 of 4 pods were delivered so as far as I'm concerned
the OpFor carried the game on points if not overall objectives. They
did a great job on offense, and T'Kai did a great job in defense.
Our hosts did a wonderful job making everybody feel at home, even
bringing in a port-a-potty so Bear wouldn't have to crap in the
woods. I'm sure he appreciated that. Torsha, the lady of the house,
made three or four HUGE pots of really good chili for all us
carnivores and we feasted on spiced meats Saturday night. Beer and
Star Trek trivia ensued. The Klingon ships held a ceremony, in
uniform, and we broke up into an evening of tall tales and little
bladders. Bear, by the way, was nominated to represent the
Ghostwalkers on stage during the ceremonies since he was the biggest
and scariest looking guy we had. He seemed to fit right in amongst
the Klingons. Thanks Bear, for stepping up like that. Bear took the
award for "Least Bruising", Chicken Plucker took the equivalent of
MVP, and Balrahg took "Best Bruise" for a scalp wound – but the next
morning after everybody's injuries had time to ferment he turned it
over to Rotoqk for his shoulder bruise the size of a hubcap. It was
pretty, and Chicken Plucker had a bicep bruise that also topped
Balrahg's head injury. I took pictures of the ceremonies, and will
be getting my hands on some great fight footage – they had two
camcorders in combat all day. We'll share ASAP.
Even with the weather, mechanical failures, and various minor trials
and tribulations the event was a blast. The Bayou Serpents did a
terrific job hosting and organized a fun shoot with creative twists.
I look forward to next year.
