DARK Illustrated, Year Three

Well, here it is.  DARK's February 1996 pack.  And it's a biggie.  This
is the result of a massive effort from all our members, and as you can see
it's the best yet.

The "newbies" section of this NFO has all the dirt on new members, and a
section of infamous quotes has been re-instated.

I'm afraid I'm short for words this month, partly because...

The autopilot light blinks off, and a series of beeps snap my attention
back from my daze of rage and sorrow.  A quick scan of the dash tells me
the cloaking device is still functional.  Score one for the Confed techies
back home.

Enemy ships.  So that's why the 'pilot disengaged.  I catch myself from
sending out a 'Break and attack'.  I sent Vagabond home at the last Nav
point.  This deep into Kilrathi space, I rather doubt he'll make it back,
the shape he's in.  And Flash and Flint...

Flint's scream still echoes in my ears.  I've been damned for sure.

I toggle through the targets, checking their numbers.  One, two, three,
fou--Bloodfang.  My vision goes red, despite the black and white haze
from the cloak.

Only one pilot flies the Bloodfang.  Thrakhath!

I growl the name under my breath.  Nervously I check the comm channels
to make sure it didn't get broadcasted.

Thrakhath!  For once, my luck is good.  I'm cloaked, and he doesn't know
I'm here.  Conditions for the perfect take-down.

Watching his flight plan, it becomes clear he's flying a basic patrol.
Cruise for one, two,... ten seconds, then bank to the right.  Cruise again
for ten seconds.  Predictable.  I could almost laugh, if the anger would
let me.

I set the throttle to match his speed, and cut across to fall in behind
his fighter.  Re-checking the remaining craft, none are of any threat.  A
wing of Paktahn.  Cannon fodder.  Not even and ace to act as backup.

Thrakhath banks; I follow.

You were lucky, the last time. I should've wasted you after you ejected,
the way your aces wasted so many of our pilots.  Lucky.  But not this time
you bastard.  This time I send you to oblivion, express.

I arm a full salvo of missiles.  Four remaining IRs.  And the T-Bomb.
It's armed.  Shit.  A minor adjustment to the salvo list fixes that.  Next
it's full guns.  Locking power to the engines, and pumping the rest of the
juice into the laser recharge. Shields are at full, fuel at three quarters
of a tank.  Perfect.

He banks again.  Time for the tour de force.  Ten seconds.

A kick of the afterburners launches me past him.  As the speeds resycnh,
I engage the autoslide.  With the speed locked, I swivel the ship around
a full one-eighty, sights trained on the cockpit.  Beautiful.

Seven seconds.

One finger rests near the cloaking toggle.  The other hand prepares to
to rain hell on the Bloodfang.  The irony of it all almost drives me
insane.

If only you knew, Thrakhath.  You'll die the same way those aboard the
Tiger's Claw died.  Quickly, and in shear terror.  Only this time, I'll be
more than happy to take the blame.

Three seconds.  Show time.  I only wish I could see his face.

I flip the switch on the cloaking device and grab the throttle in a
deathgrip.  As soon as the weapons come online, the flightstick is nearly
ripped off it's base as all triggers are hit.  The first two missiles rip
into his hull, followed by the blast of fully charged Tachyon and Reaper
guns.  Two volleys of laser fire vaporize what's left of his shielding.

He's only beginning to bank downward, to the right, as my second set of
rockets pierce the last of his armor, beginning the final chain reactions
that spell his doom.

Now for the coup de grace.  Releasing the autoslide, and slamming the
the throttle forward, the afterburners kick in once again, and I'm
pressed back into my seat as the Excalibur hurtles towards the crippled
'fang.

Vaquero's battle crycomes to mind,and I scream "EAT SHIT AND DIE,
GATOS", despite the closed comm channel.

The sounds of screeching metal drown out the echo of Flint's scream,and
if only briely.  My ship bucks and rocks, but the shields hold, though
the armor takes a little more damage.The Bloodfang is torn to shreds.
In the rear-view, I see a piece of the cockpit spinning madly.

No survivors.

A mad grin on my face, adrenalin once again pumping in my veins, I rush
at the escort, nearly frothing at the mouth with the thrill of the fight.

Guess who's been playing Wing Commander fanatically?  :>  I hate to say
it but I'm a total addict to the series, and when Wing Commander 4 hit the
stands, my entire schedule took a dive.  So don't be shocked if you see
nothing here from me.  Not like you would've noticed anyway.  *smirk*

Above is just an excerpt from a new feature I'm writing for my board and
and e-mag, called "Minotaur's Diaries".  Catch the latest storieson The
Lethal Aspect, or wait for the re-prints in Omyn magazine.

-Xypher Matryx, Internal Affairs / DARK Illustrated

"I remember when I was the guru of the scene."-  Carnifex

"Image [comics] is just ACiD and iCE put together."  -  Carnifex (again)

"Why me?!"  -  Generic comment by any Senior Staff member asked to make
a decision, or perform a duty required of their posting.

"Vortex : Coming Soon!"  -  Moby  =)(no, really, it's coming!)

"Union is back."  -  Anonymous (generic)

"Union is dead."  -  Anonymous (generic, one week later)

"DARK is dead!"  -Shivan Bastard (while frothing at the mouth.  Heavy
sedation wouldn't help this lad.  A psychotherapist
might, though we doubt he's worth it.)

Armageddon Donut
This ansi artist formerly of Fire joins the Darkansi department.
His wacky toony styles show anoriginal edge that continues to
redefine toons.

Corinthian
A local ansi artist who came out of nowhere andtook us by storm.
His style is very crisp, andhe shows great potential, someone to
watch forin the very near future.

Dark Aggressor (The)
The Dark Aggressor, another local artist has usbuzzing with
excitement.  His great initiativewith the group is a valued
additionto our ansidepartment.

Enigma (The)
The Enigma joins Dark after a brief stint withPlain and Toon.His
style is fresh, and isjust visually great to look at.

Essential Obscenity
Our VGA department got a real big boost thismonth with the
addition of this local.  Hisjpg's are sure to knock your socks
off! (both ofof them!)

Firestone
A logoist who joins our ansi department, Firestoneexcels at
originality in his logos.  Something thatjust isn't seen these
days.

Green Hornet (The)
The Green Hornet rejoins Dark after a couple ofmonths.  He was
greatly missed, and it's greatto have you back TGH!

Grindstone
Another logoist, his style varies and shows greatdetail.
Something very hard to do in logo work.Our ansi department
welcomes this unique artist!

Mage
Our Music department, a division that hasn't seenas much growth as
the other areas of Dark gains agreat musician.  Mage's workis
just awe-inspiring.

Master of Darkness
This guy joins our Telecom division, in a time whenit was much
needed.His initiative is exceptional,and I wonder if there's
anything he can't do.

Nihilist
The Nihilist joins our ansi department with hisunique style.
His works make you take a double take.He reminds me of the older
daysof ansi, when qualitywas looked for, and not quantity.

Nootropic
Nootropic rejoins Dark after some time off.  Hisdistinct styleis
happily welcomed back!  Great tosee an artist of such calibre
return to where hestarted!

Oxygene
A coder who's been working hard on a new appgen,Oxygene shows us
his awesome abilities.  Watch forthis guy!

Polarity
Polarity, an ansi artist joins as a pic artist.  Hisold school
styles bring us diversity and depth.  Ican't wait to see more!

Shamanize
An ex-Toon artist and ex-CiA artist with greattoon skills comes
to Dark, finally!  His fresh styleis a change from the usual,
and is pure laughs!

Shrike
Another musician, who rejoins our group after a smallhiatus.
His work keeps your head ringing, and isa treat to listen to!

Trash
Another ansi artist to join Dark this month.  Trash'swork showed
great promise, and we hope that you allsee what we saw in his
skill.

Tribal Siege
A new fontist to the group, with a style reminiscent of Spaceman
Spiff (so far).Found lurking on the tundra's of the south, we
still considerhim to be a part of the true north.

Veediot
An established artist in the scene today, Veediot joinsthe Dark
side.  His work is great, and we're veryexcited about having him!

Compiled by The 4th Disciple, ANSI Dept. Head / DARK Illustrated

Mon amour... keez me.

Special request from a good pal'o'DARK.

A happy, romantic (and granted, belated) Valentines, from
Gypsy Death to his girlfriend Jennifer.

And remember, that's an 11pm curfew!

If you're looking for the latest DARK information, and pack, youcan Web
on over to http://www.io.org/~drasiland veg.

There's also an FTP site, atarppegio.res.cmy.eduto grab packs.Look
under /othersupport/dark.Special thanks to Halaster for this one.

Filenames work like this: XXXXX-##.DRK

XXXXX -
five characters we hope represents an artists name adequately.

2-digit number representing the number of releases this artist
has had since 01/96.  (The counter has been reset).

The Lethal Aspect has an online DARK-chive with all past packsavailable
for download.   You can also grab releases from theFTP site or web page
listed above.

DARKVIEW currently has a few bugs in it.  Most annoying of which is it's
inability to display .JPGs properly.  We're working on anew edition of
the viewer, so bear with us.  Please and thanks.

Member Boards!

The Lethal Aspect   World Headquarters      Xypher Matryx
Sight & Sound   Member Board      Drone-Fly
Demesne   Member Board      Deaccession
Realm of Darkness   Member Board      Master of Darkness
Components   Member Board    David Tym
Free CokeMember BoardGrindstone
TundraMember BoardTribal Siege
Jive SodaMember BoardNootropic

After months  of argument and debate,  the matter of sites has been
resolved.  Distribution sites for art groups have become a thing of
the past,  in our opinion.  Thanks to the Internet,  getting a pack
from one end of the globe to the other isn't nearly as difficult or
costly.

We thank all those who've supported  DARK on their BBSes,  and hope
they'll continue to carry our packs.

I think it's only fitting to dedicate this pack to one of our hardest
working members.  4th Disciple, please stand and take a bow.

(roar of applause)