The Ballad Of Hal Words and music by Catherine Faber © 1 March 2012By human connections, our customs and laws The EOTO called for help for its POS Their system besieged by an enemy sworn A pirate alliance―the so-called “Reborn.” So the RCS pilots geared up and flew hence To enter a wormhole and aid the defense But many would perish, too slow to detect Assault from a quarter they didn't expect. The stars hiss and mutter, their warble and screech For one who has listened too long, or too hard, Can eerily take on the cadence of speech To a mind that in loneliness lowers its guard. Who can imagine what blasphemous hack The POS might have suffered, alone in the black? Anathema pilot Ebeneezer the Jade The first brave defender the POS guns betrayed He uncloaked to scan―he had just time to say “I think that the POS--” as his ship burned away. Bold Brain McGeek, must have lingered too long, Fixing whatever POS setting was wrong, For something he altered blew up in his face; His Cyclone dispersed to the thin winds of space. The stars hiss and mutter, their warble and screech For one who has listened too long, or too hard, Can eerily take on the cadence of speech To a mind that in loneliness lowers its guard. Who can imagine what blasphemous hack The POS might have suffered, alone in the black? Not half an hour later, Gudlaugur would dare To switch to a Tempest the guns to repair. The POS then attacks, and the poor Tempest runs-- To seek the POS forcefield to baffle its guns. Rejoic tried to aid his good friend to survive By repping the Tempest, but couldn't contrive To balance the damage the POS wouldn't stop Despite his best efforts, the Tempest went “pop!” The stars hiss and mutter, their warble and screech For one who has listened too long, or too hard, Can eerily take on the cadence of speech To a mind that in loneliness lowers its guard. Who can imagine what blasphemous hack The POS might have suffered, alone in the black? Kohy did not have the password invoked; He bounced off the forcefield and promptly decloaked Which fatally somehow offended the POS; His Cheetah was quickly destroyed for the cause. Zakarisz Ghent in a Stabber there stood-- Fitted for speed tank that did him no good; For no nanofibers will end the affair, When the POS can bring multiple webbers to bear. The stars hiss and mutter, their warble and screech For one who has listened too long, or too hard, Can eerily take on the cadence of speech To a mind that in loneliness lowers its guard. Who can imagine what blasphemous hack The POS might have suffered, alone in the black? Torvald was walloped―we couldn't say when At some point, poor Kohy was blown up again. But we still held the system, when counting was done; The POS didn't beat us. And―oh yeah―we won. The beaten Reborn destroyed five for their cause, RCS, Seven, and Eight for the POS. We never learned why―and I doubt that we shall; The last thing I heard, they were calling it HAL. The stars hiss and mutter, their warble and screech For one who has listened too long, or too hard, Can eerily take on the cadence of speech To a mind that in loneliness lowers its guard. Who can imagine what blasphemous hack The POS might have suffered, alone in the black?