EMPIRE 5: The Festival of the New Sunrise! [Archive]

HalfTangible

2019-12-15, 10:26 PM

[Incoherent Screaming]
Veritus-Timens delegation

Imagine, if you will, that you had been invited to be a tea party. This tea party is being held in the middle of a mine field, located on an artillery range that you knew for a fact was being used for practice not even a week beforehand. Further imagine that the person inviting you to this tea party was a being known for deception and lies, and that the other guests were also know for backstabbing and treachery. Finally, imagine that refusing this invitation on any grounds will result in your house being nuked from orbit.

That nervousness mixed with terror and the certainty of death is roughly one tenth of what the Agni Immolati, Adiuva-Veritus-Timens, was experiencing. She had made her way off of her "diplomatic vessel" that looked cobbled together with prayers and duct tape by an atheist who didn't know what tape was. Her guards followed behind her in single file, to minimize any poison the group may leave behind. (They had taken precautions against such a thing, of course, but accidents could happen).

The female's chitinous armor cracked open and the smell of rotten flesh filled the air around her, a smell that usually gave her comfort as it warded away carnivorous predators. Here, it didn't help one bit. Small aparatuses designed for this occasion had been bolted to the poison glands on her four scything legs; if she was unable to control her fear there would be little poison spread as she ran. Her razor-sharp claws weren't something she could do anything about, nor were wound-like face or sickly green 8 eyes. She tried and failed to contain the harsh, predatory rasp coming from her throat that would betray her fear.

Her entire species was doomed.

Adiuva had never been a particularly devout female, but she was no atheist. She did believe in the gods of sky and earth, and in the terrible judgement that was to come for her people. But before the aliens had been discovered in space, she had believed them more... metaphorical. That the sins of all beings would come back to bite them, and taking vengeance was utterly pointless. Moreover, going into space seemed like the best way to avoid such a fate even if it were true; the sapient aliens would come from beneath the earth where their old gods slept, surely!

No, turns out they were in space all along. The Duenem (whatever they were) had informed them that they could (if the Veritus so chose) be taken under their wing as a protectorate until such time as they properly cemented themselves in galactic politics.

The Veritus knew a threat to their entire species when they heard it, and almost immediately the Agni Immolati - the sacrificial lamb - had been chosen. Her. She had come here to buy time.

And now, she was here, at a place that reminded Adiuva of nothing less than the hunting grounds of the Periculosus-Timens. Here to sign her species into what would surely be chattel slavery for the chance that they might live even one extra year. Adiuva knew it had to be done, but why it had to be her was a mystery.

She and the rest of her "diplomatic escort" marched forward, and she saw the other sapients of the planet. They were strange canine creatures, with copious fur. Some of them shrank back in false fear. One or two looked disgusted by something, gripping their noses.

They were, apparently, "invited" for peaceful overtures. She was not fooled. Not by the Duenem's talk of peace, the warm golds and reds of this place, or the apparent fear and disgust she saw on the faces of these canine "Lyrae" creatures. Adiuva was prey, marching right into the waiting jaws of a horrid predator. She doubted she'd even make it off of the planet alive, but she would do whatever she could for her people.

“Well? Don’t just stand there in the cold! Come inside! Warm yourselves by the fire.”

Adiuva hissed and fidgeted. She wished it could've waited another ten minutes. "... Very well. There are worse ways to die than being cooked alive. But I must warn you to be careful of my poisons when you feast on me; they are potent."

The four Veritus behind her fidgeted. Likely they were glad it would be Adiuva who died instead of them.

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-15, 11:45 PM

Grymlans

The Grymlan shuttle entered the atmosphere in their customary fashion, the atmosphere scorching its plates as it plummeted like an oversized metal brick; the giant thrusters on its side roaring to life, burning off the speed of its descent, as it dipped into a lower, stabler, saner, flight path. The ship lumbering to a stop as it landed in its designated spot, an elevator descending as the ship hissed and settled on its landing gear. Exiting the elevator was two grymlans and a large mech.

Flash winced as he walked at the head of the group. He was still getting used to the gait his new prosthetic right leg and the cold was causing it to ache. Despite the best efforts of body-fixers it needed to be replaced; a reminder of his fight against Annul. Wounds had healed, but left their mark on the Grymlan's features. Scars marred his normally smooth coat, giving him a scruffy look, and there was a chunk missing out of his left ear. Though he loathed to admit it, the cold had forced him to modify his wardrobe, adding in a long jacket. In defiance of this fact he had opted to wear it more like a cloak than a jacket. At his side was his daughter, Luna Starshine. The young Grymlan was quietly making a name for herself within the Grymlan Dark-Ship fleets. A small symbol on her jacket's shoulder indicated that she was part of the Grymland Shadow-Seeker branch, which tended towards military research and information gathering. Trundling behind them was a large bipedal mech sporting a hologram of the letters "OwO" on its faceplate.

Seeing Proxos, Flash waved, "Hi-hi. Big-boss Proxos, Combine is here to well-wish max-cheer."

NEW PEOPLE!!! Veritus-Timens

With the revolution new faces were bound to crop up, and Flash approached the fidgeted around the fire. The Grymlan approached the beings and smiled broadly as he greeted them. "Hi-hi, your people new yes-yes? Much-greetings, I'm Flash Starshine, High Coordinator of Grymlan Combine. We would want-need max-best relations no-no?"

Behind him the OwO-mech slowly approached, dwarfing the Grymlan, as it said, "Hewwo! new fwiends? i wouwd weawwy wike to get to know mowe about youw peopwe. Pewhaps we can intwoduce you to the othew waces of axiom?"

bc56

2019-12-16, 02:19 AM

The Ascended Overlady
Syndrome Arrival

The Syndrome bioship Hungry-Maw approaches with much fanfare. The reason? It's carrying the new Overlady and her retinue. Maw has been to the system once before, at the philosphical conference, and is familiar with the procedures needed to prepare to send down visitors.

The group is larger than what Violet-Pale-Feet's predecessor usually traveled with. In addition to the Overlady herself, resplendent in red and gold silks, there are several other persons along with her. Following closely behind the Overlady are two others, a familiar Syndrome female, Orange-Crimson-Dawn, the Shipheart of Hungry-Maw, and an Alituran woman with short, bright red hair and thin blue tattoos like lightning covering her entire body, even her face. Behind them are a trio of Krankot knights, lightly armed, here as bodyguards. Behind them are a third and fourth Syndrome, a teal-colored female with white eyes and a purple female with dark blue spots. They begin spreading out.

Violet-Pale-Feet: The Overlady. Very important.
Orange-Crimson-Dawn: Shipheart. She speaks for Hungry-Maw.
Madam Paragon Astra Fulgura: Alituran Paragon and archaeologist.
Mech-Captain Mortret: Leading the bodyguard squad.
Teal-White-Eyes: A lazy Syndrome poet who uses Kadmium implants to get around and ignore gravity.
Purple-Blue-Spots: A Syndrome Strainlady here to check on a project.

Distracted from the hosts: Veritus-Timens

Violet-Pale-Feet begins to move towards Proxos for greetings and salutations, but is distracted by the Veritus-Timens emissary. "Magnificent," she murmurs, before walking over to Adiuva. "Excuse me, but could I get a tissue sample? I have not seen such an exquisitely deadly creature as yourself in some time."

Actually greeting the hosts
With the Overlady's dereliction of duty to investigate an interesting new lifeform, the task of saying hello to Proxos falls on the shoulders of the Alituran. She approaches the welcoming Luminary, her long green and black dress swishing across the floor. "Thank you very much for the invitation." She wasn't around when episodes of the Roaming Star series were being filmed in Syndrome space, but she's seen it. "It's an honor to meet you."

Meanwhile, Orange-Crimson-Dawn slips into the tea room. Hungry-Maw is whispering in her head, encouraging her to speak to Lyrae again. "Hello, Lyrae?" She's definitely caught off guard by Lyrae's new body, although she herself has changed a lot. She looks older, somewhat taller and a lot more mature. She carries herself better.

In search of an experiment

Purple-Blue-Spots also slips away, but her destination is far more nebulous. One of her experiments is somewhere around here, and she wants to see how the young one is doing. All she has to do is find one small dragon in this huge palace.

Miltonian

2019-12-16, 03:01 AM

HalfTangible

2019-12-16, 11:27 AM

At the Door with Proxos

The elder Luminary laughs at Adiuva's 'joke'. "I assure you," he says with a twinkle in his eye, "We have plenty of food waiting inside without adding you or your friends to the menu." He does hold the door open a bit wider to let them in. "Ah! But before I forget." He winks. "Come see me later and I'll have a gift for you all."

"An ambush is unnecessary, Lyraen-Lyrae II." Adiuva flexed her claws. "We surrender unconditionally and will comply with any demands you make that do not conflict with the surrender demands made of us by other powers in the galaxy."

The Ascended Overlady
Syndrome Arrival

Distracted from the hosts: Veritus-Timens

Violet-Pale-Feet begins to move towards Proxos for greetings and salutations, but is distracted by the Veritus-Timens emissary. "Magnificent," she murmurs, before walking over to Adiuva. "Excuse me, but could I get a tissue sample? I have not seen such an exquisitely deadly creature as yourself in some time."

The Lyraens were not coming too close, perhaps intimidated by the Veritus, but the real reason would become apparent the closer Violet-Pale-Feet got. The Veritus-Timens had a powerful stench that only became stronger as she grew closer (even moreso than getting closer would do). They stunk of rotten flesh, the kind that came from a corpse rotting slowly from within as maggots writhe within in its belly. With five of the creatures together in a straight line, it was more like a pile of rotten corpses.

Adiuva, for her part, felt her muscles relax only for an instant before she tensed up again. This creature was an arthopod like her, clearly, and that almost made her relieved to see a clear and understandable (potential) threat... but in that same moment she realized that this may be what ultimately dooms the Veritus: something familiar to relax their guard. No, no, she would not drop it for anything and she would assume nothing.

"... With the utmost respect, my 'tissues' are highly poisonous. Taking a sample here and now would quite possibly kill you horribly. Not that I would want that, it's simply a fact of my biology." She tapped the metals attached to her legs. "These are to prevent such poisons leaking onto the surface of this planet. That said, we will surrender unconditionally to your people and cooperate fully on any demands you have that do not conflict with the demands of other powers."

NEW PEOPLE!!! Veritus-Timens

With the revolution new faces were bound to crop up, and Flash approached the fidgeted around the fire. The Grymlan approached the beings and smiled broadly as he greeted them. "Hi-hi, your people new yes-yes? Much-greetings, I'm Flash Starshine, High Coordinator of Grymlan Combine. We would want-need max-best relations no-no?"

Something was evidently wrong with the translators they'd been provided. Adiuva had no real way of knowing this, of course, but she had-

Behind him the OwO-mech slowly approached, dwarfing the Grymlan, as it said, "Hewwo! new fwiends? i wouwd weawwy wike to get to know mowe about youw peopwe. Pewhaps we can intwoduce you to the othew waces of axiom?"

reasons to suspect it. She also wondered briefly if the frigid air on this world contained any hallucinogens.

"FlashStarshine-Grymlan and... Mech-Grymlan. We are the Veritus-Timens and we hereby surrender unconditionally to any and all demands made of us by the great and powerful Grymlan Combine that do not conflict with the surrender demands of other powers in the galaxy."

bc56

2019-12-16, 11:56 AM

Veritus-Timens

"Wonderful! Simply marvelous!" The talk of poisons does not do much to deter the Overlady. She produces something from the folds of her garment. It's an insectoid creature akin to a very large tick, with bony, serrated mouthparts. "I simply must get that sample. Don't worry, it will be relatively painless."

Meerax

"Meerax! How have you been? Are they treating you well here?" Meerax needn't worry. Purple couldn't bring a whole medical laboratory along. She just needs to be sure there have been no unforseen complications arising from the dragon's uplifting.

Proxos

"I would be delighted to, as would several others in our delegation." Astra leans closer to Proxos for a conspiratorial whisper, "Watch out for Teal though. She cheats."

Lyrae

"Yes. I have learned much in my travels with Hungry-Maw." It's been half her lifespan since they last saw each other. Orange continues. "They have been kind to you to, I hope?"

HalfTangible

2019-12-16, 12:05 PM

Veritus-Timens

"Wonderful! Simply marvelous!" The talk of poisons does not do much to deter the Overlady. She produces something from the folds of her garment. It's an insectoid creature akin to a very large tick, with bony, serrated mouthparts. "I simply must get that sample. Don't worry, it will be relatively painless."

Adiuva had thought the creature would want her to rip one of her own arms off for a 'tissue sample', but if she needed someone to be eaten by this thing... She sighed and gestured to one of the other Veritus; Iuvo was nice, he deserved a painless death. "You heard her, Iuvo. Better than what awaits me with the Duenem, I'm certain."

One of the other creatures (a bit smaller than Adiuva) stepped forward out of the line. He grabbed his arm and with a loud, sticky crack tore open the chitin that served as his armor. Beneath it was sickly green fluids and white flesh, with just the barest hint of blood. Iuvo turned its head away and held out the gap in his armor. "Mind the fluids. They're poison." He said.

Tentreto

2019-12-16, 12:36 PM

The Duenem

Lighter Lighter carefully led her twelve Duenem into the house. In truth, with Mint and Jet dealing with the fallout of Efficiency and the Revolution, it fell to her to lead the Duenem delegation in this event, which included having a talk with the most terrified aliens she had ever heard of. From what the reports had said, she assumed the diplomats involved were needing defraging. Nevertheless, she was prepared for anything.

At the door

Lighter quickly scuttled over to Proxos and gave a few blinks of acknowledgement. "Thank you for setting up this festival Proxos," she begins, "it is good to see cheer and joy after such grave times in Axiom. While we are unable to sample the food and beverages, we will be sure to try out your dancing."

New Allies, New Vassals?

Quickly scanning the room, Lighter easily spotted the towering somewhat mostrous figure cowering in a corner, in front of the rest of it's delegation. If Lighter had been able to have a mental breakdown, she would have at this scene. Instead, she analysed why all the reasons such a species had even managed to get here if they were scared of everything. But she was the offical delegation and 'meet and greet,' so she had to somehow approach them without scaring them off.

Carefully, and so that all the Veritus-Timens could see her slowly approach, she came over. "Greetings," she intoned using her external speaker and translator, "I am Lighter Lighter of the Duenem. Are you Agni Imolati Adiuva?" she says, directed to the one in front. "It is good to finally meet you in person. I trust your journey here was enlightening?"
She carefully avoided standing in any of the poison on the floor. She was pretty sure her armour could withstand it, but better to leave that until later.

Lighter Lighter is a fairly standard Duenem model, standing at half a metre tall, and does have a prehensile tail attachement, which in her case ends with a small blowtorch. She has amber diodes to simulate eyes, and six legs to stand upon. Her main difference is that she has especially heat resistat armour plating.
On her name, she was initially created as a lighter for a rich Niua, and found her true calling later as a fire starter for new factories and foundaries.

kjelfalconer

2019-12-16, 12:36 PM

Kaavrek would have been lying had he claimed he wasn't at least a little nervous. After all, this was the first time Svaatyr had (visibly) attended a function like this since the maturation, which meant he had to be the face of the entire Regency. No pressure or anything for a first job. And if he messed this up, he sure as hell wouldn't have a second.

Still, he'd done his research. The Lyrean's had a similar enough diet to the Nolkir and the 'Ridx that it had made logical sense to bring an offering of the more exotic delicacies from the wilds of Emjata. And thanks to one of the Vox-Veniir's useful little gadgets (though they still hadn't worked out how to make them work for non-Vox), the meat was still warm from the kill. He'd brushed up on the Lyreans known friends and allies as well (through a sea of redactions in what reports he had been allowed to read), but there was still no substitute for experience.

He was lightly dressed for the weather, as he stepped through the garden, but he was bothered little by it - his Nolkir father hailed from the wintery northern reaches of Zel-kryes, and he had inherited his thick fur, though the soft charcoal colour and silken texture came from his Vox side. The backless jacket allowed the full mass of his mane to flow free, though he'd tied the lower half into a loose ponytail - so as not to obscure his actual one. He'd done his research, after all, and has spend the better part of the morning doing his utmost to make it appear even fluffier than it already was. At this point, the foot and a half long appendage was almost as wide as he was, and quite frankly he was struggling to sit down. The price of fashion.
"A pleasure to finally be here, honoured Proxos." His Lyrean was somewhat faltering, and he was under no illusions he'd be able to make it through the whole event in it, but it'd felt important to at least make an effort. "I've brought a few gifts, nothing fancy, just some very fresh exotic meats from Svaatyr, along with a skilled chef who can make sure they're prepared perfectly." By which he meant a college friend of his doing a culinary degree. He threw an arm around Proxos - from what he'd read most of the guest here had a strange aversion to contact, so he'd have to fill his boots where he could. That he allowed his tail to ever so lightly brush against the man while he did so was besides the point. "I've also a more personal gift. Just a little something, some fur care products from back home. I can't promise how they'll work for Lyrean fur, but they work wonders for me."

He'd make the full rounds soon enough.

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-16, 12:37 PM

The hum of engines reverberates through the air as the large armored transport ship touches down with a hiss. The airlock slides open and a blast of heat is expelled from the ship melting the nearby snow. When the boarding ramp is lowered Nozdak makes his descent onto the planet's surface. He looked up at the sky as the snow falls on his face mask. He catches a few flakes on his hand and marvels at how they disappear so quickly. This only lasts for a second before his gaze returns to the city and the welcoming party. He has donned his regular armor suit but today he has something new. Coiled around his arm is a black and red serpent-like creature. Its head has 2 small horns and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It blends perfectly into his armor, and at a glance is almost invisible. Behind him, 5 more figures follow. Two of them don a lighter more flexible armor, a sword hilt visible at their waists. Their helmets are emblazoned with an emblem that is still known to few. Behind them are the 2 pilots and finally a figure who most have come to know, The Drunken Master. He manages to walk in a semi-straight line dragging behind him 2 hovering crates.

When Nozdak reaches Proxos he raises his fits to his chest in salute. "Greetings Proxos, I thank you for inviting us to this cultural event. I have brought some gifts with me just for this occasion."

Not so Little Critters!
The warmth would have hit him if he was not wearing full armor. Instead, he noticed the levels of IR radiation rise. He walked forward into the room and signaled to his men that they were dismissed. The first thing he noticed was a group of creatures he had not noticed before. He walked up to them and stared at them through his mask. He speaks in a deep curious voice "Hello. I haven't seen your kind before." His dragon slithering down his arm and raises its self up to stare at the creature. The creature makes a startled sound and hops back. Realizing that his mask, which is specifically made to intimidate with its robotic, emotionless feel, combined with its almost draconic style, may intimidate the creatures, he removes it. He presses the side of the helmet and with a hiss of steam lifts it from his head revealing his scaly, spiked head and sharp teeth. "Sorry"

The Drunken Master knows exactly where he is going next. He makes a b line right for the drinks. He sets down his crates and opens the lid of one revealing bottles of bright yellow drinks. He places some of them out next to the rest of the drinks and then takes one for himself. He carefully reads the labels of the drinks and mutters under his breath "no... no... maybe.... on second thought no... ah, here we go! He grabs a glass of green liquid, he sips it experimentally and seems pleased. He grabs 3 and brings them back to his crate where he pours them into a small machine and pushes a button. Hissssssssssss. He pours the drink out and it now bubbles and a slight white mist rises off it, he sips it again and giggles. He adds in a few drops of this and that and when he is satisfied he bottles it and sets it out with the label "Laughing Juice". Satisfied he sits to wait for results.

KriegTiger

2019-12-16, 01:18 PM

Proxos the Doorkeeper

Talotius and Brigid approach the doorway with Proxos standing there as greeter. Brigid - her lithe 2.5m height bedecked in a revealing body hugging cut-away ensemble of boisterous colors with streamers of fabric trailing her as she moves - observes the previously unknown race delegation walking in single file with curiosity. Talotius is quiet and inscrutable as ever, although the former Speaker is very obviously making an effort to 'party it up' because while the Aether stone is unchanged in it's subdued smoked glass disposition, the shoaling sub-frames that make up the rest of Their shape are absolutely rebellious in their display; it's as if every Tezh that inhabits the hundreds of parabolic discs had a different idea of what 'party attire' is and the result is the galaxy's ugliest holiday garb - from utterly light absorbing vanta-black with pinpoints of pure white light to iridescent glittery sparkles that move like oil on the surface of water, to eye watering neon yellow, green and and purple swirling lines, and so many more.

The motes within the Aether stone twinkle merrily as They introduce themselves "We offer greetings on behalf of the Tezh Consensus, Proxos, and thank you for the invitation." Talotius' 'body' folds as if bowing slightly to the Luminary.

Brigid approaches and extends her upper arms (left being synthetic from shoulder down) - the lower ones folded across her midriff - in greeting to clasp his hand with both of hers "A pleasure, it's a rare treat to join in another culture's festivities." The streamers from her garb drift forward as she stops and greets the Lyraen with a broad toothy smile "I look forward to trying all there is to offer, I've heard much about some strong Kronin drink from one of our other delegates and am curious to find what the Lyraens have to offer. I promise not to go swinging from the chandeliers."

Your first order...

Brigid has been watching and listening to the newcomers with interest, they seem thoroughly terrifying - what with their appearance and natural armament - and yet overhearing snippets of conversation they appear afraid of everything. As she wanders through the crowd randomly with Talotius in tow, meeting and greeting various guests, she always manages to get ever closer to the Veritus until she can finally simply turn and be face to face with one - seemingly unphased by their fearsome demeanor or giving any notice to the scent others have reacted to. The former Speaker hovers silently at her shoulder.

"We accept your unconditional surrender" She says immediately with a deadpan voice and stern expression "As your latest meta-overlord we instruct you to locate sustenance compatible to your biology, and then consume it while making observations about the current climate and my compatriot's taste in decorative choices."

Talotius freezes suddenly when the words 'unconditional surrender' come up, but then when the dialogue continues the Tezh realizes she is being silly and the sub-frames begin to drift and sway normally again - if anything they work to become even more eye-catching.

The commanding demeanor doesn't last long though, and her muzzle curls up at the edge in amusement and finally she starts giggling (if you can call a deep feline rumbling chitter a 'giggle') incessantly until she has to wipe her eyes "Forgive me, I could not help it. Welcome to Axiom, it is a pleasure to greet you - I am Brigid, Speaker for the Tezh Consensus. This is Talotius; my predecessor."

Lleban

2019-12-16, 03:19 PM

SPACE KING & son near the Gift Table

SPACE KING and Hotokie arrived, in a bit of a foul mood, space DOUBLE PARKING over some weird bug alien ship. The SPACE HORSE incident has largely robed the knights of the ability to safely fight the same, leaving a lot of schedules unexpectedly cleared. Fortunately, a certain baby moma was now far closer, so things weren't all bad. Lyrae II was also quite beautiful for what its worth, as long as you lack fur allergies anyway.

On the way to the gift table SPACE KING addresses his raspberry boy....raspberry young adult.

"Rule NOMBRE TROIS of being cool son, arrive fashionably late, and ALWAYS seize the free stuff first."

"You interrupted my hang out with Shiv-pa and my friends for this." Its was literally physically impossible for a half Droccen-half knight to roll there eyes as far as he did but by some miracle Hotokie achieved it. "Really dad get off you're space horse, we're late because you haaddd to pass through Zaran space."

Hotokie strikes a dramatic pose with his dancers body, flourishing right arm into a snap, using dramatics to distract from activating his shadow powers "Besides father I'm a already vveerrrryyyy cool."

An awkward silence passed for a minute before Hotokie added "Right!"

SPACE KING sighed before responding "Son I'm not the smartest candle in the box but you can't convince me MUSCLES don't FLEX, source powers or not. Besides I heard on the zaran grape vine that Mika Ren might show up, shes you're age right."

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-16, 03:53 PM

Proxos
"Yes-yes," Flash replied reflexively flexing his prosthetic, "Body-fix make do. Sadly needed to craft-make new leg. How goes Lyrae? First ALL, then Revolution." he shook his head, "Much-bad times."

Luna nodded in agreement, "Much-joy though, we gift-give present to Lyrae." She revealed a wrapped package from under her arm, "Grymlan sweet-biscuits! Many-types. We much-hope she enjoys it."

Sly Marbo intensifying - Veritus

"Surrender?" Confusion crossed Flash's features, "No, surrender, friendly-talk, maybe friendly-work in near-future."

"OwO wondews whewe you have heawd wumows that the gwymwan combine, ow OwO, demands youw suwwendew? We'd be mowe intewested in weawning mowe about you. My name is OwO, cuwatow of knowwedge and discovewy fow sevewaw species."

Flash held out his hand as a sign of welcoming and friendship. "I'm name-called Flash, what are you name-called?"

Miltonian

2019-12-16, 04:08 PM

Meerax's Unexpected Medical Checkup

Instinctively, Meerax comes to a quasi-military attention. "Great! Uh, everything is great here. A few people are weirded out that my mind is so, uh, advanced for someone so young, but..." She smiles nervously, an odd-looking expression on a dragon. "But I mean, that's just because you all know your work well, right?"

Her Lyraen companion slips off the couch and moves between them, arms folded across his chest. "Hey! Are you giving Meerax trouble?" he demands with a scowl, "If you wanna hurt her, you'll have to get through me!"

Proxos Continues to Man the Door

A wry chuckle escapes Proxos' lips. "Well, perhaps having a guilt-free target for her anger and aggression will do her some good. He does take the package and secrets it away under the edge of his large coat. "I will make sure she gets it. Oh! Unless you wanted to give it to her yourself."

Proxos laughs and pats Astra on the shoulder. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind! Thank you for the warning. Now, enjoy the party."

"Lighter!" Proxos says with a smile and slight bow. "Well, I shall look forward to seeing it. A rare treat, to be sure."

Proxos accepts the Svaatyr's attention with a pleased grin. "Ah! You know our people well. I am sure we will all relish your gift. as for the products, we'll soon find out! And, while you're here, don't forget to pick up the one that I have for you." He pats the man on the back. "Be sure to grab yourself some nice cider and enjoy the party."

"Ah! The Kronin. Nozdak, correct?" Proxos chuckles to himself. "And I have gifts for you. It is the season for it, after all!" He pauses and adopts a more serious expression. "But of course, no gift can truly replace the everlasting friendships we make along the way."

"Talotius! It has been a little while, hasn't it?" He gives Brigid a small bow as well. "Welcome, both of you. The Tezh are always a welcome sight."

Lyrae and Orange

Lyrae's face twists, contorts into an expression of restrained fury that morphs into a strained, false smile. "They have not," she says, "But the Syndrome have ever been a faithful ally. I appreciate your assistance in the matter with ALL."

Gaius Hermicus

2019-12-16, 05:12 PM

It had been a tough four years for Guntur Greataxe. When Aneb Two-Gun returned from his imprisonment in Commandant territory, Guntur decided to step down from the role of Urthuun, rather than be killed. Still, Aneb seemed to mistrust him. Having been the supreme leader of the entire Rothuun empire does that sometimes. Having been thrown out of Aneb's court, Guntur spent most of his time sulking in his palace on Ikhal, sinking deeper and deeper into lethargy and depression. But then, the invitation had arrived from the Lyraens, and Aneb was tied up in various legislative business. Aneb was stuck with only two people who had much of an international presence: Guntur, the king of Ikhal, and Ty-Rone, the king of Grishal. Both were thorns in his side, and both had attended significant intergalactic events, making friends along the way. The Urthuun eventually decided to send both to the Lyraen party, it is rumored for the sole purpose of getting them out of his hair for a few weeks. Perhaps after the party, they could take a holiday on Cricalores. A nice long holiday. Yes, that would be nice.

Guntur came prepared to party. In addition to Ty-Rone and the capybara's assistant Haerthala the Strangler, he was accompanied by another Rothuun who had fallen out of Aneb's favor. Bephik Axemaker, the Regional Governor of the newly conquered Prismatic Sea, was a priest of Iteus, whose rather unorthodox theory of ascension involved grafting as many appendages from various galactic species onto himself as was physically possible. Although the surgery required to attach the arms, legs, tentacles, hooks, barbs, stingers, pseudopods, tails, mandibles, wings, and snouts was successful, the immense amounts of painkillers required developed into a serious addiction. Bephik spends most of his time nowadays doped on at least three or four drugs, and is often drunk to boot. He is accompanied by his personal servant and lieutenant, a Rainbow Octopus of the Rouge Cluster, with the title Red-Eighteen.

The doors of the palace swung open. Leading the party was Guntur Greataxe himself, clad in a dapper crimson and blue robe. The robe was tastefully decorated with splatters of ash and burn holes: Guntur had gotten into a disagreement with a desperado in a bar on Cricalores and hadn't had a chance to clean the robe since. Hopefully the scorches would add to his mystique and provide an aura of majesty around his person for this event. He is followed by two guards in leather vests and microplating armor. A pause of a few moments follows, before the doors swing open again and Haerthala, a berserker in a chainmail skirt and byrnie, enters. Following at Haerthala's back is the oversized rodent known across the galaxy as Ty-Rone, the Horned Capybara. It has been several years since Ty-Rone last made an appearance at such an event, and in the time since, it has grown to incredible size. It is approximately the size of a small horse, with antlers stretching six feet in the air. It is a testament to its incredible strength that the massive spires of horn do not cause its head to collapse. Ty-Rone looks around at the various dignitaries, before trotting off towards the table of his friend Proxos. The pause between entries is longer this time, about four minutes, before the final element of the Rothuun delegation opens the doors into the great hall. A creature that may once have been a minotaur sidles his way into the space, wearing what appears to be a muumuu woven of furry tendrils. Only when he draws nearer does it become clear that the tendrils are, in fact, squirming tentacles of flesh incorporated into his own body. From beneath the tentacles emerges a third arm, which raises a flask of some amber liquid to his lips. His mouth opens, first in the normal verticle manner, then again perpendicularly to the first movement, dividing his mouth into four mandibles. He tosses the flask in and swallows, glass and all, before shivering with delight and continuing into the room. Floating at his side is a tiny creature, only about a foot in height, with tentacles stretching out another foot in every direction. It sits in a steel and glass sphere, which is filled with red-tinted liquid, and is floating above the ground using propulsors crafted of Kadmium. The Rainbow Octopus gives a deferential salute to every foreign dignitary it sees as it drifts along with its master toward the seated Drunken Master.

Gengy

2019-12-16, 05:30 PM

The battle had been a bloody one. Many lives had been lost. Many new friendships had been forged. These Maturated Races weren't all terrible after all. Wrath... was in a good mood.

The humanoid figure in red and black military fatigues still had a mask that made him look like he was in an unhappy mood. The terrible furrow of anger on the porcelain mask that was at the forefront was a stark contrast to the otherwise cordial and welcoming actions of the victorious leader of his people; and he knew it was all thanks to those gathered here. Indeed, though the five pips near the starbursts on both shoulders of Wrath's uniform - and the several medals proudly displayed upon his chest - made him seem like he was here for something more formal, the three-faced being was feeling rather merry.

I am all for merriment!
I am not; it's depressing.
Would you two pipe down!?

Well I just think it's rather queer
Honestly, I'd be much better here
You and I both know,
And so of course does Woe,
So why won't you let me steer?

Wrath didn't bother responding to his mental counterpoint. He just cast their gaze over at the other member of the delegation here from Efficiency Ground. It was a large block of metal that was easily two meters tall - not including the foot or so it floated freely above the ground. The rectangular metal box was taller than it was wide, but it had consented to designing itself a "cage" to limit it's powers when it suddenly found itself pulled from the Beyond into Axiom. Wrath had always known it as Leader, and those in the upper echelons had referred to it as Efficiency. However, with a little bit of recent data sharing - now that he'd finally convinced some of the idiots back home that the Maturated races were utter morons - he'd managed to figure out his former Leader's full name:

<Transporter/Beyonder/Efficiency> Conveyance

The Designator - no, Caller - AI was still powerful. The sides on it's self created prison - and Wrath still wasn't happy about that, but didn't see other options - were simplistic, and a mix of black and grey metal, with a red square panel on each vertical side of the tall rectangular box. These red squares glowed whenever the Caller AI deigned to speak. Honestly, Wrath felt it looked like a really terrible metal coffin, but he did have to admit: All tests of power output indicated that Conveyance was severely limited.

Limited for what many had revered as a God, however, still meant powerful. Wrath was very unsure about bringing it here, but after such a hard conflict, there was damn politicking involved, and if Wrath wanted to make his bid for being the new Leader of his people, he had to put up with some things... as well as prove that he could be the jailer to Conveyance.

Which... wasn't turning out to be too bad. Much to Joy's well... joy... Conveyance seemed to be getting into the swing of the party and holiday like atmosphere. Wrath was a bit worried that he didn't know how it appeared, but the supposedly limited Caller AI had somehow acquired a festive hat that now lazily hung down one side of it's otherwise imposing metal box. And Wrath's usual black beret had also somehow been replaced by a matching festive hat. The Caller AI was probably doing what it could to play whatever minor pranks it wanted, to keep itself amused.

Sighing, Wrath muttered under his breath, "Well, best get this over with."

Nodding to the guards, Wrath lazily walked into the Tea Room, only stopping to ensure that Conveyance floated behind him.

Fyrecatt

2019-12-16, 05:31 PM

The Festival of the New Sunrise

The three Raeth women and their bodyguards stand at the edge of the crowd, listening as Proxos welcomes his guests.

Embra shivers and attempts to pull the folds of her robes more tightly around her. She glances at the white ground. “Frozen water falling from the sky… How any creature could live in a place like this is beyond me.” Solari just nods, too cold to offer a reply.

“Oh, I think it’s fantastic!” Vii bends to scoop up a handful of snow and examines it more closely. Forming it into a ball, she grins and tosses it at the back of Solari’s head. The snowball bursts into cold powder, making the taller woman wince.

“Decorum, Vii.” snaps Embra. “You are a diplomat, not a child. Act like it.”

“Yes, Embra,” Vii dusts the snow off of her hands. “But it’s also a party. You know, a time to let your hair down.” Looking at the plain, rather severe updo sported by her elder, she adds, “Metaphorically, anyway.” She tosses her head, making the tiny bells braided into her own hair jingle cheerily and causing the large, fuzzy spider riding her shoulder to chitter in admonishment. “Sorry, Spark, didn’t mean to startle you.”

Embra closes her eyes and sighs, muttering under her breath, “Thay’kaya, give me patience.” Looking up, she sees the crowd beginning to move toward the doorway, the light spilling from it promising warmth and refuge from the snowy outdoors. “Everyone is going inside now. Come along.”

First Voice, Embra Vernied - Eldest of the Voices, she is the most composed and conscious of “proper” behavior. Her features are sharp and fine wrinkles around her blue-violet eyes give hint to her age. Lavender hair, streaked with white, is twisted into a tight coiffure on top of her head. She is wearing flowing gold-colored robes made of a silky material. A cape of indigo and gold appears to drape down her back, though closer examination shows that the “cape” is actually a pair of folded butterfly-like wings.

Second Voice, Solari Lomos - Solari is a woman of few words but many thoughts. Her quiet demeanor can come across as timidity, but she is constantly observing and cataloguing everything (and everyone) around her. Her wide blue eyes give her an air of innocence and naivety, belying her quick mind. She is dressed in robes of gray and her pale blue hair falls in soft curls around her heart-shaped face. Her blue and silver wings drape down her back in the same manner as Embra’s.

Third Voice, Vii Zoltani - At only 1.5 meters tall, Vii is considered absolutely diminutive by Raeth standards. She makes up for her lack in height with an overabundance of exuberance. Her child-like features are often accented by a wide grin and a mischievous twinkle in her blue-green eyes. Her turquoise hair is shaved close to her head on one side, while the longer locks on the other side are dyed with orange streaks. In the spirit of holiday celebration, a number of her braids are adorned with tiny bells that jingle with every movement of her head and she is wearing bright orange robes. Her orange and black wings tend to betray her emotions, twitching and moving in her excitement instead of just sedately draping down her back. A large, brightly colored spider rides on her shoulder.

Sparklemuffin - A fuzzy peacock spider roughly the size of a small dog, “Spark” is Vii’s constant companion. His back is decorated with iridescent blue, green and purple markings and his legs are strikingly striped with black and white. His six glittering black eyes shine with uncommon intelligence.

A Small Token

Pausing at the door, Embra inclines her head at Proxos. “Thay’kaya sends greetings. We appreciate your invitation and your hospitality. Please accept this small token of our goodwill and thanks.”

She makes a gesture with her hand and one of the small, stocky bodyguards steps forward holding a largish box. Vii reaches inside and pulls out an ornately faceted decanter filled with a shockingly pink glittery liquid.

Embra continues, “This spirit is from our homeworld. It is distilled from the flowers of a vine that only blooms every few decades and is reserved for particularly auspicious occasions. It seems an appropriate libation for a celebration such as this, especially considering recent events.”

Vii extends the bottle to Proxos and grins. “It can pack quite a punch. We brought more bottles, enough for everyone. Where would you like us to put it?”

Miltonian

2019-12-16, 05:59 PM

LapisCattis

2019-12-16, 06:44 PM

Umkhonto Malyat Elunxwemeni arrives almost comically bundled in furs and cloths, all of course beaded and jeweled as appropriate for his rank, but appearing more as a fluffy five-limbed bundle with a leathery head emerging than as the lithe, cunning lizard he was. Carried on his wrapped tail are three similarly fluffy lumps with gold, green, and red eyes peeking out. Arriving with him are Mitzi, now fully grown with long golden fur and padding five feet away from the embarrassing sight of a fluffy shapeless gecko train, Bart, a grey scaled Theseon covered in mud for insulation, and Jacksy, a female 'Mini-Tuxie' with dark blue back feathers and a white underbelly.

"This meeting should be interesting. We have been lucky to have remained in place through a second Revolution, but we have many new neighbors and new species to meet. Perhaps this time, we can avoid any kidnappings." Malyat finished by turning his head around to glare at his spawn. Damn brats had stowed away on the ship and were only seen once they entered Lyraen space. They were lucky he had packed extra wraps, though maybe a little freezing on an alien planet would teach them a lesson.

"I think I will remain in the Garden. I would like to stay in the snow and get my fill of the cold before overheating to socialize inside." Jacksy had already been nervous at being chosen as the first galactic representative of her people, and the humid atmosphere of the Nemikhomo had set all of her feathers rustling.

"Yer a crazed bird, all right. Mal! I'll race yer fluffy arse to the grog. Mebbe I'll get to see those cows again!" Bart could smell the Laughing Gas and was on the hunt, leaving the others in a hasty, four-legged search for drinks.

(The Ndodan Delegation splits up for maximal fun)

At the Door
Malyat and Mitzi proceeded to the entrance to make formal introductions, though first Malyat de-fluffed himself and his spawn by pulling off the wraps, making sure to keep one foot on their tails to prevent a quick getaway. "Proxos! Thank you for your invitation and for hosting this event. I'm sure we are all happy to reconnect and meet peacefully after the recent turmoil."

Mitzi, for her part, was busy trying to get her fur to stand down and turn away from her puffed up form after seeing the Veritus. Biting back surprise and no small amount of alarm, she manages to greet the terrifying creatures. "It is a...pleasure to greet new faces. Where do your people hail from?" Please don't let them be neighbors.

Before the Veritus were given a chance to react, a delighted squeal rang out from the hatchlings when they noticed the new species. The gold-eyed one wriggled her tail out of Malyat's grip to jump in front of Mitzi, clearly intent on climbing the newcomers. "Cliff-beetles! Cliff-beetle, cliff-beetle!"

The Garden
Jacksy quickly finds the snow and icicle covered Garden and gets to work. The Tuxie knows she must interact with the other guests and be the confident face of the Tuxie to the galaxy, but everyone is so big. At least at home the Tuxie on patrol would always be there to defend against the Big Things. First, she must collect herself, and what better way to do that than to build a little snow home and some snow balls? Packing together snow, Tuxie first creates four pyramids of snow balls to sit next to the four corners of her snow home for peace of mind in case she is startled by a Big Thing, and to act as ready building filler. She starts to create the four walls with equally sized snow blocks with a little round snow nest inside, then walks inside to begin carving out a cold pit, using the snow to begin building a domed roof. Just a short little nap in the cold to muster the bravery to introduce herself and her people officially to the Big Things.

Buffet and Punch Bowl
Bart went directly to the drinking Kronin and the punch bowl, not understanding why supposedly civilized creatures would talk before getting pleasantly buzzed and filled with food. "Oi Kronin! Ah'll take a bowl o' yer green juice there, s'long as'y're sure it'll knock the socks offa yer dragons!"

Gift Table
After giving herself a thorough glance-over to ensure no poison from the newcomers had dripped onto her coat, then walked off to a large room with a tower of piled wrapped boxes and parcels. Finding a suitably large one near the top apparently named 'Rust,' she sat on her perch to watch the room and the delegations filter in.

Grand Exhibition Hall
After being sent off by their all-too-grumpy father (they were only saying hello!), Mirna, a dappled gold and brown female with gold eyes, left her brothers and their explorations to follow a strange sweet-spice smell. Reading the instructions of the 'gingerbread house contest', Mirna had found her calling. Grabbing large sheets of gingerbread, stealing it from others, stacking, snapping, and gluing with the strange white sweet sticky stuff to make the perfect house, she at long last stepped back to admire it. An impossibly tall cliff of gingerbread, with icicles and roots drawn on with the sugar stuff, and a cavity left, the opening lined with candy and sugar to appear as if partially closed by stalactites. Each layer of precariously stacked gingerbread was indented from the one below it, creating thin walking paths just big enough for her. Now to only find a judge who would appropriately give her the prize.

Basement
The boys, Gidei and Kirda, had noticed their sister disappear but continued on. In the lower levels of the building, they came upon a large room with an entertainment system and a large screen. Even on the dry, desolate home planet, the hatchlings had watched Korima vlogs when their parents weren't looking. Ignoring the attendants' silly questions like 'where are your parents?', the two dug through piles of moving-image-files and pushed one to an attendant to watch. With enough begging and insistence, the attendant gave in and put the children's movie about letting go of ice on screen.

HalfTangible

2019-12-16, 07:45 PM

Brigid has been watching and listening to the newcomers with interest, they seem thoroughly terrifying - what with their appearance and natural armament - and yet overhearing snippets of conversation they appear afraid of everything. As she wanders through the crowd randomly with Talotius in tow, meeting and greeting various guests, she always manages to get ever closer to the Veritus until she can finally simply turn and be face to face with one - seemingly unphased by their fearsome demeanor or giving any notice to the scent others have reacted to. The former Speaker hovers silently at her shoulder.

"We accept your unconditional surrender" She says immediately with a deadpan voice and stern expression "As your latest meta-overlord we instruct you to locate sustenance compatible to your biology, and then consume it while making observations about the current climate and my compatriot's taste in decorative choices."

Talotius freezes suddenly when the words 'unconditional surrender' come up, but then when the dialogue continues the Tezh realizes she is being silly and the sub-frames begin to drift and sway normally again - if anything they work to become even more eye-catching.

The commanding demeanor doesn't last long though, and her muzzle curls up at the edge in amusement and finally she starts giggling (if you can call a deep feline rumbling chitter a 'giggle') incessantly until she has to wipe her eyes "Forgive me, I could not help it. Welcome to Axiom, it is a pleasure to greet you - I am Brigid, Speaker for the Tezh Consensus. This is Talotius; my predecessor."[/INDENT]Oh joy, they liked to play with their food. That was going to be miserable.

"Brigid-Lyraen-Tezh Consensus, I am Agni Immolati Adiuva-Veritus-Timens."

Iuvo called out. "The climate is cold and your clothing is too bright and gaudy to be effective camoflauge, especially in a snowy envi-"

The Veritus behind Izuo shoved him in the back. "We have to find food first, dumbass."

The hum of engines reverberates through the air as the large armored transport ship touches down with a hiss. The airlock slides open and a blast of heat is expelled from the ship melting the nearby snow. When the boarding ramp is lowered Nozdak makes his descent onto the planet's surface. He looked up at the sky as the snow falls on his face mask. He catches a few flakes on his hand and marvels at how they disappear so quickly. This only lasts for a second before his gaze returns to the city and the welcoming party. He has donned his regular armor suit but today he has something new. Coiled around his arm is a black and red serpent-like creature. Its head has 2 small horns and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It blends perfectly into his armor, and at a glance is almost invisible. Behind him, 5 more figures follow. Two of them don a lighter more flexible armor, a sword hilt visible at their waists. Their helmets are emblazoned with an emblem that is still known to few. Behind them are the 2 pilots and finally a figure who most have come to know, The Drunken Master. He manages to walk in a semi-straight line dragging behind him 2 hovering crates.

When Nozdak reaches Proxos he raises his fits to his chest in salute. "Greetings Proxos, I thank you for inviting us to this cultural event. I have brought some gifts with me just for this occasion."

Not so Little Critters!
The warmth would have hit him if he was not wearing full armor. Instead, he noticed the levels of IR radiation rise. He walked forward into the room and signaled to his men that they were dismissed. The first thing he noticed was a group of creatures he had not noticed before. He walked up to them and stared at them through his mask. He speaks in a deep curious voice "Hello. I haven't seen your kind before." His dragon slithering down his arm and raises its self up to stare at the creature. The creature makes a startled sound and hops back. Realizing that his mask, which is specifically made to intimidate with its robotic, emotionless feel, combined with its almost draconic style, may intimidate the creatures, he removes it. He presses the side of the helmet and with a hiss of steam lifts it from his head revealing his scaly, spiked head and sharp teeth. "Sorry"It wasn't a robot but it could make itself look like one?!

That was even more horrifying.

"We surrender unconditionally to any and all demands you make of us so long as they do not conflict with the demands of other powers!"

Sly Marbo intensifying - Veritus

"Surrender?" Confusion crossed Flash's features, "No, surrender, friendly-talk, maybe friendly-work in near-future."

"OwO wondews whewe you have heawd wumows that the gwymwan combine, ow OwO, demands youw suwwendew? We'd be mowe intewested in weawning mowe about you. My name is OwO, cuwatow of knowwedge and discovewy fow sevewaw species."

Flash held out his hand as a sign of welcoming and friendship. "I'm name-called Flash, what are you name-called?"

"I am the Agni Immolati of the Veritus-Timens, Adiuva-Veritus-Timens. I speak for my people until I am killed or sacrificed." Adiuva's voice was starting to shake. "We will comply with any and all demands so long as they do not conflict with any other agreements we have made with other star powers."

Iuvo glanced at his leader. "You said that already and it is really getting annoying."

"LOOK HERE, MALE!" She snapped at Iuvo, whirling on him as the other three Veritus backed up. "I have ONE JOB right now, it's stupid, and repetitive, but I'm going to do it! And if you have a problem with that, I AM TOO SCARED TO CARE! OKAY?!"

"... s-sure, no problem.

The Duenem

Lighter Lighter carefully led her twelve Duenem into the house. In truth, with Mint and Jet dealing with the fallout of Efficiency and the Revolution, it fell to her to lead the Duenem delegation in this event, which included having a talk with the most terrified aliens she had ever heard of. From what the reports had said, she assumed the diplomats involved were needing defraging. Nevertheless, she was prepared for anything.

At the door

Lighter quickly scuttled over to Proxos and gave a few blinks of acknowledgement. "Thank you for setting up this festival Proxos," she begins, "it is good to see cheer and joy after such grave times in Axiom. While we are unable to sample the food and beverages, we will be sure to try out your dancing."

New Allies, New Vassals?

Quickly scanning the room, Lighter easily spotted the towering somewhat mostrous figure cowering in a corner, in front of the rest of it's delegation. If Lighter had been able to have a mental breakdown, she would have at this scene. Instead, she analysed why all the reasons such a species had even managed to get here if they were scared of everything. But she was the offical delegation and 'meet and greet,' so she had to somehow approach them without scaring them off.

Carefully, and so that all the Veritus-Timens could see her slowly approach, she came over. "Greetings," she intoned using her external speaker and translator, "I am Lighter Lighter of the Duenem. Are you Agni Imolati Adiuva?" she says, directed to the one in front. "It is good to finally meet you in person. I trust your journey here was enlightening?"
She carefully avoided standing in any of the poison on the floor. She was pretty sure her armour could withstand it, but better to leave that until later.

Lighter Lighter is a fairly standard Duenem model, standing at half a metre tall, and does have a prehensile tail attachement, which in her case ends with a small blowtorch. She has amber diodes to simulate eyes, and six legs to stand upon. Her main difference is that she has especially heat resistat armour plating.
On her name, she was initially created as a lighter for a rich Niua, and found her true calling later as a fire starter for new factories and foundaries.

Never in her life had Adiuva been so relieved to see something that terrified her so much. At least with organics, you had a chance to read their response with an ounce of authenticity. Machines, though... they could very easily fake every emotion they experienced.

"It has been akin to learning that the male you just mated with is your hatchling from the future: many possibilities, yes, but most of them are too horrible to contemplate." She responded, turning to face the Duenem directly. "I hope you will not consider it an imposition if I ask we get the complete surrender and capitulation of my species done as quickly as possible."

Umkhonto Malyat Elunxwemeni arrives almost comically bundled in furs and cloths, all of course beaded and jeweled as appropriate for his rank, but appearing more as a fluffy five-limbed bundle with a leathery head emerging than as the lithe, cunning lizard he was. Carried on his wrapped tail are three similarly fluffy lumps with gold, green, and red eyes peeking out. Arriving with him are Mitzi, now fully grown with long golden fur and padding five feet away from the embarrassing sight of a fluffy shapeless gecko train, Bart, a grey scaled Theseon covered in mud for insulation, and Jacksy, a female 'Mini-Tuxie' with dark blue back feathers and a white underbelly.

"This meeting should be interesting. We have been lucky to have remained in place through a second Revolution, but we have many new neighbors and new species to meet. Perhaps this time, we can avoid any kidnappings." Malyat finished by turning his head around to glare at his spawn. Damn brats had stowed away on the ship and were only seen once they entered Lyraen space. They were lucky he had packed extra wraps, though maybe a little freezing on an alien planet would teach them a lesson.

"I think I will remain in the Garden. I would like to stay in the snow and get my fill of the cold before overheating to socialize inside." Jacksy had already been nervous at being chosen as the first galactic representative of her people, and the humid atmosphere of the Nemikhomo had set all of her feathers rustling.

"Yer a crazed bird, all right. Mal! I'll race yer fluffy arse to the grog. Mebbe I'll get to see those cows again!" Bart could smell the Laughing Gas and was on the hunt, leaving the others in a hasty, four-legged search for drinks.

(The Ndodan Delegation splits up for maximal fun)

At the Door
Malyat and Mitzi proceeded to the entrance to make formal introductions, though first Malyat de-fluffed himself and his spawn by pulling off the wraps, making sure to keep one foot on their tails to prevent a quick getaway. "Proxos! Thank you for your invitation and for hosting this event. I'm sure we are all happy to reconnect and meet peacefully after the recent turmoil."

Mitzi, for her part, was busy trying to get her fur to stand down and turn away from her puffed up form after seeing the Veritus. Biting back surprise and no small amount of alarm, she manages to greet the terrifying creatures. "It is a...pleasure to greet new faces. Where do your people hail from?" Please don't let them be neighbors.

Before the Veritus were given a chance to react, a delighted squeal rang out from the hatchlings when they noticed the new species. The gold-eyed one wriggled her tail out of Malyat's grip to jump in front of Mitzi, clearly intent on climbing the newcomers. "Cliff-beetles! Cliff-beetle, cliff-beetle!"

Izuo, it seemed, was drawing the short end of every stick today. As the tiny furry... lizard... thing came at him in a clear and open attack, he schreeched and the smell of rotting flesh intensified. When this failed to make the child turn away (for some ungodly reason no one here seemed to care that the Veritus all smelled like corpses) he began to move back, away from the tiny child. "I surrender! Please don't hurt me! You don't wanna eat me, I'm poisonous!"

"What's going- oh core oh CORE!"Aviuda's head whipped around, and her eyes fell to the ground. "Izuo, your legs!"

The metal constraints on Izuo's legs that had kept his poison from leaking on the ground had, at some point in the last few minutes, cracked.

...And the small child was walking straight towards the Veritus-Timens leaking its very potent poison all over the ground.

Oh **** no OH ****

In a blur of motion Adiuva rushed forward, grabbing the child by its legs, and threw it back towards the delegation, roaring in fear (though it probably sounded like a battlecry to the others assembled) as she did so. In her rush, her claws dug deep into the child's limbs, and it bled all across the ground.

It took a few moments for Adiuva (or the other Veritus, for that matter) to process what had just happened. The sacrificial lamb of the Veritus had just picked up the small child of one of these aliens, and threw it bodily across the room while leaving massive gouges in its limbs. To keep it from poisoning itself, yes, but still. Gods she hoped she'd been fast enough, she really did not need "poisoned the child of a diplomat" to be on her record.

LapisCattis

2019-12-16, 08:23 PM

Izuo, it seemed, was drawing the short end of every stick today. As the tiny furry... lizard... thing came at him in a clear and open attack, he schreeched and the smell of rotting flesh intensified. When this failed to make the child turn away (for some ungodly reason no one here seemed to care that the Veritus all smelled like corpses) he began to move back, away from the tiny child. "I surrender! Please don't hurt me! You don't wanna eat me, I'm poisonous!"

"What's going- oh core oh CORE!"Aviuda's head whipped around, and her eyes fell to the ground. "Izuo, your legs!"

The metal constraints on Izuo's legs that had kept his poison from leaking on the ground had, at some point in the last few minutes, cracked.

...And the small child was walking straight towards the Veritus-Timens leaking its very potent poison all over the ground.

Oh **** no OH ****

In a blur of motion Adiuva rushed forward, grabbing the child by its legs, and threw it back towards the delegation, roaring in fear (though it probably sounded like a battlecry to the others assembled) as she did so. In her rush, her claws dug deep into the child's limbs, and it bled all across the ground.

It took a few moments for Adiuva (or the other Veritus, for that matter) to process what had just happened. The sacrificial lamb of the Veritus had just picked up the small child of one of these aliens, and threw it bodily across the room while leaving massive gouges in its limbs. To keep it from poisoning itself, yes, but still. Gods she hoped she'd been fast enough, she really did not need "poisoned the child of a diplomat" to be on her record.

All Mirna wanted to do was play and climb the fun looking cliff-beetle. Her short life flashed before her eyes as her playful pounce turned into a dizzying spiral, somehow in the opposite direction?? and pain seared along her arms and legs. Even before she hit the strangely fluffy ground, she heard her father roar at the delegation and the clack and skitter of claws as he faced the not-so-fun cliff beetles and her brothers scattered. This might've been a not-fun bad idea.

Umkhonto Malyat Elunxwemeni had felt his heart stop when his daughter's tail escaped him, then the ghost of his mate screaming at him for being such a useless lowlife when he saw her body hurtle through the air through his peripheral vision. He registered Mitzi racing to catch Mirna, cut off the pleasantries immediately and whirled around, crest raised high, teeth bared, tail lashing, and claws outreached to ingrain in these child-harming beasts the wrong they had just done, and he was intent on unleashing the wrath of every old god, spirit, and parent on these beasts.

"HOW DARE YOU HARM MY HATCHLING"

His daughter should not have charged at an unknown species, but her punishment would come later after she had healed. Please, gods, let her heal and stay with me.

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-16, 08:26 PM

Poison and stuff!

Nozdak Is taken aback at the creature's reply. He took a few steps back to show he meant no harm. He did not understand what he had done to frighten them. "I wish you no harm. I am just curious to learn what you are." It was at this moment the Ndoda arrived. He turned to welcome his allies. "Welcome Ndoda. We are glad you could make it." He then heard behind him "oh **** no OH ****". He whirled around to see the Ndoda child being lifted and thrown across the room by the Veritus, a green arc following the child's path. His hand dropped to his gun and he was about to draw and fire when he noticed the fear on their faces and the sizzling pool of poison forming on the floor. He drops his gun back in his holster and walks over to the spill. He looks up at the Veritus, "You really should be more careful with this." He taps a button on his gauntlet and aims his fist at the puddle. He pauses and presses a different button. A small vile pops out of his gauntlet which he uses to scoop some of the toxin up. He taps the button again and a greyish white mist sprays out of his gauntlet covering the poison which begins foaming and eventually turns into a pale bluish-white powder. He places the vile in his utility belt. He then takes out a tool from his belt, looking at the Veritus with the cracked plating. "Mind if I seal that up? I don't want any more accidents happening."

Miltonian

2019-12-16, 08:35 PM

Gaius Hermicus

2019-12-16, 08:35 PM

HalfTangible

2019-12-16, 08:47 PM

Haerthala:

A scream rang out from across the room. The Ndoda child was shrieking as the Veritas-Timens sank its claws viciously into its body, and hurled it across the room. Haerthala moved like a flash, one moment next to Ty-Rone, the next slamming the Veritas-Timens leader against the wall, one meaty gloved hand clutched around its throat, the other pulling a viciously barbed dagger and waving it menacingly in the insectlike creature's face. As the creature struggled for breath, Haerthala spat in its face;

<What the hell do you think you're doing? You try something like that again, and I'll break you like a twig! If you want to fight somebody, pick on someone your own size, why don't you?>

She steps away, dropping the gasping creature on the ground and cracking her knuckles in preparation for a brawl.

Poison and stuff!

Nozdak Is taken aback at the creature's reply. He took a few steps back to show he meant no harm. He did not understand what he had done to frighten them. "I wish you no harm. I am just curious to learn what you are." It was at this moment the Ndoda arrived. He turned to welcome his allies. "Welcome Ndoda. We are glad you could make it." He then heard behind him "oh **** no OH ****". He whirled around to see the Ndoda child being lifted and thrown across the room by the Veritus, a green arc following the child's path. His hand dropped to his gun and he was about to draw and fire when he noticed the fear on their faces and the sizzling pool of poison forming on the floor. He drops his gun back in his holster and walks over to the spill. He looks up at the Veritus, "You really should be more careful with this." He taps a button on his gauntlet and aims his fist at the puddle. He pauses and presses a different button. A small vile pops out of his gauntlet which he uses to scoop some of the toxin up. He taps the button again and a greyish white mist sprays out of his gauntlet covering the poison which begins foaming and eventually turns into a pale bluish-white powder. He places the vile in his utility belt. He then takes out a tool from his belt, looking at the Veritus with the cracked plating. "Mind if I seal that up? I don't want any more accidents happening."

Izuo was standing stock-still. The rest of the delegation had backed off, closer towards the exit. They were glancing between the various delegations, trying to spot who would be making a move against them. So far it seemed those who had noticed were too shocked to do anything.

Adiuva glared directly into the monster's eyes. The fear that had come to define the Veritus remained, but it had been joined by new emotions: resignation, and resolve. This was what the Agni Immolati - the Sacrifice - was for. She would die and the rest would run; and if she was lucky perhaps her poisons would claim her murderer. The others would hurry back to the homeworld and, if they could, prepare for the coming retaliation. There would be no surviving, but that did not mean they would not try.

"If you're going to kill me, do it and be quick." She growled. "The 'hatchling''s injuries are my doing and no one el-"

The Incident

In a moment, the fun, festive atmosphere is shattered. Lyraen security officers pop out of every conceivable place they could have been hiding. Those with 'Earth' elemental implants pop out of the ground, forming a barrier the Veritus and everyone else. Others descend from above, held aloft via the power of miniaturized tornadoes. White-suited Lyraens rush over to where Mirna is, already pulling out medical supplies. The Lyraens were nothing if not prepared.

Proxos appears in the middle of the chaos, having skipped the intervening space between the door and the middle of the courtyard entirely. In times like this, it was crucial to take charge quickly. "Everyone!" he shouts, "Everything is under control. Or it will be, assuming you let these fine wolves do their job. Please, any guests not immediately involved in this, head on inside. Have some cider! I am sure we will sort this out and be joining you shortly."

With that, he lets the guards handle the crowd. As for himself, he turns towards the Veritas, eyes literally blazing. "So..." he says, "EXPLAIN."

All Mirna wanted to do was play and climb the fun looking cliff-beetle. Her short life flashed before her eyes as her playful pounce turned into a dizzying spiral, somehow in the opposite direction?? and pain seared along her arms and legs. Even before she hit the strangely fluffy ground, she heard her father roar at the delegation and the clack and skitter of claws as he faced the not-so-fun cliff beetles and her brothers scattered. This might've been a not-fun bad idea.

Umkhonto Malyat Elunxwemeni had felt his heart stop when his daughter's tail escaped him, then the ghost of his mate screaming at him for being such a useless lowlife when he saw her body hurtle through the air through his peripheral vision. He registered Mitzi racing to catch Mirna, cut off the pleasantries immediately and whirled around, crest raised high, teeth bared, tail lashing, and claws outreached to ingrain in these child-harming beasts the wrong they had just done, and he was intent on unleashing the wrath of every old god, spirit, and parent on these beasts.

"HOW DARE YOU HARM MY HATCHLING"

His daughter should not have charged at an unknown species, but her punishment would come later after she had healed. Please, gods, let her heal and stay with me.

"The Veritus leak a very potent poison under stress; that is what the apparatuses on our legs are there to prevent." She pointed to the poison on the ground that the Kronin was currently gathering up. "Izuo's, it seems, had cracked. The hatchling would have died had I let it keep going towards him."

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-16, 08:52 PM

Drama - Veritus and others

Everything was happening too fast and Flash cursed his injuries dulling his reflexes, slowing him down. Perhaps with some luck the kid would live, he wasn't sure what would cause the Veritus to attack and getting information out of them was proving... tedious. It didn't help that the Rothuum, in their typical fashion, was doing more to escalate things by pulling out a knife.

There was movement at the door as Luna quietly slid in, snow powdering the cuffs of her jacket. She had obviously heard the commotion and her purple eyes narrowed at Haerthala waving her knife about. With a grunt she hurled the small globe of packed snow at the Rothuun, nailing her in the back of the head, as she yelled out. "Typical Rothuun, come-bring with knife to snow-ball fighty-fight!"

LapisCattis

2019-12-16, 08:57 PM

The Incident

In a moment, the fun, festive atmosphere is shattered. Lyraen security officers pop out of every conceivable place they could have been hiding. Those with 'Earth' elemental implants pop out of the ground, forming a barrier the Veritus and everyone else. Others descend from above, held aloft via the power of miniaturized tornadoes. White-suited Lyraens rush over to where Mirna is, already pulling out medical supplies. The Lyraens were nothing if not prepared.

Proxos appears in the middle of the chaos, having skipped the intervening space between the door and the middle of the courtyard entirely. In times like this, it was crucial to take charge quickly. "Everyone!" he shouts, "Everything is under control. Or it will be, assuming you let these fine wolves do their job. Please, any guests not immediately involved in this, head on inside. Have some cider! I am sure we will sort this out and be joining you shortly."

With that, he lets the guards handle the crowd. As for himself, he turns towards the Veritas, eyes literally blazing. "So..." he says, "EXPLAIN."

Haerthala:

A scream rang out from across the room. The Ndoda child was shrieking as the Veritas-Timens sank its claws viciously into its body, and hurled it across the room. Haerthala moved like a flash, one moment next to Ty-Rone, the next slamming the Veritas-Timens leader against the wall, one meaty gloved hand clutched around its throat, the other pulling a viciously barbed dagger and waving it menacingly in the insectlike creature's face. As the creature struggled for breath, Haerthala spat in its face;

<What the hell do you think you're doing? You try something like that again, and I'll break you like a twig! If you want to fight somebody, pick on someone your own size, why don't you?>

She steps away, dropping the gasping creature on the ground and cracking her knuckles in preparation for a brawl.

Malyat snarls and slaps Haerthala away from the Veritas with his tail and shoves his way past Proxos. "If ANYONE is questioning these child-harmers, it will be ME."

"The Veritus leak a very potent poison under stress; that is what the apparatuses on our legs are there to prevent." She pointed to the poison on the ground that the Kronin was currently gathering up. "Izuo's, it seems, had cracked. The hatchling would have died had I let it keep going towards him."

Malyat snarled and pushed his face into Adiuva's. "That IT is my DAUGHTER. And that does NOT excuse YOUR claws tearing her APART."

Mitzi pads up to the fuming father and the Veritus, careful to only step on the neutralized poison. "The poison that Mirna touched has been neutralized and the Lyraens are working on her. There should be no permanent damage and she should be able to make a full recovery. I sent the boys outside in their wrappings to play to get them out of the way." Twitching her whiskers at the Veritas, she continued with a glare. "If you knew you had such lethal poison, why did you risk war and harm to others with such feeble apparati?"

Miltonian

2019-12-16, 09:11 PM

Fyrecatt

2019-12-16, 09:17 PM

Just as Vii is about to suggest to Embra and Solari that they “divide and conquer” (all in the name of diplomacy, of course!), a commotion draws their attention. It’s hard to see precisely what’s happening, but the screeching and raised voices don’t sound friendly. The sudden appearance of several Lyraen security officers confirms that whatever is happening has gotten out of hand. The voice of their host rings out across the crowd.

"Everything is under control. Or it will be, assuming you let these fine wolves do their job. Please, any guests not immediately involved in this, head on inside. Have some cider! I am sure we will sort this out and be joining you shortly."

Vii bounces on the balls of her feet a couple of times, trying to get a glimpse of *something*, but to no avail. “I hate being so short.” she grumps. Resigned, she turns to the others and composes her face. “As I was saying, I think we should split up and mingle. I’m going to head over to the buffet. I’m famished.”

Solari raises an eyebrow. “You’re always hungry. You have the appetite of a troll. I honestly don’t know where you put it.”

“High metabolism,” Vii quips. Before Embra can chime in, Vii turns and quickly begins walking towards the smorgasbord. She waggles her fingers in Embra’s general direction. “YesIllbehaveseeyoulaterbye!”

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-16, 09:23 PM

Nozdak rolls his eyes at the creature and leans over with the tool. A few bright flashes later and the leak has been sealed. He stands up and walks away.

He turns towards the door. He steps out into the cold air of the garden, the snow still falling. He reaches up to take his helmet off when POW! something slams into his helmet. He turns to the left just in time to see his lieutenant and one of the Ndoda children hide something behind their backs. He marches up to his lieutenant. "What the hell was that?" he growls. The lieutenant responds, "It must have been one of the Rothuun sir". Though he couldn't see the lieutenant's face he thought he detected amusement in his voice. "Don't let it happen again" He said, A hint of his own amusement seeping through. He turned back around just to get pegged in the face by the tiny Ndoda. He was quite impressed with the kid's ambush technique. He immediately reached down grabbing his own handful of snow. This time he was ready. He ducked to the side just as another shot whizzed past his ear and he took shelter behind a snowy mound. He popped up and fired a few snowy spheres back at his attackers who were now hunkered down in a fortress of snow. Nozdak saw a sphere of snow float into the air and hover there for a few seconds before launching its self at him. He fired his own just in time to intercept the incoming projectile, creating a small explosion of white in the air. He smiled to himself. I see my troops are making good use of their new power.

Meanwhile, inside near the fire, The Drunken Master was mixing up a few more concoctions.
Drinks made by the Brewmaster (Drunken Master):
Mystery Brew: A potent concoction, it tastes great and is somehow exactly potent enough to get whoever drinks it fully drunk
Ion Beer: A wonderfully electric drink, good for everyone and great for getting robots drunk!
Brandy Eggnog and Peppermint Schnapps: A comforting drink that can calm even the craziest and high strung of creatures. It's also hella festive!!!
Laughing juice: A fizzy and nonalcoholic beverage, carbonated with Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas). It is fun for everyone and relatively harmless.

HalfTangible

2019-12-16, 09:26 PM

"I saved your daughter's life!" She snapped. "If you'd rather I just let her die instead of try to prevent it then-"

The other delegate spoke, and Adiuva took a breath before continuing.

"We came because our presence here was demanded. They are weak because frankly we had little time and have no metals sturdy enough to stop us from ripping them apart." Adiuva growled. "We took every precaution. Our people have marched in single file since we came off of our ship to make any leakages minimal. We have avoided initiating interactions with the other delegations. We intended to surrender to the Duenem as promised and go home."

The Incident

And this was what happened when you didn't move fast enough. Proxos only had himself to blame. He laid a paw on Hraethala's shoulder and said, "Thank you, but as your host I must insist on handling this myself. Please, go on inside."

He glances over at the medics, who give him a nod, and moves back into the middle of the confrontation. "Your daughter will be fine," he informs Malyat, "Ever since the incident at the Auction when Rhia saved Guntur, our medics have made it a point to be well-versed in xenobiology. Now, your affairs on your own, but from my perspective, I expect she will be up and walking in a few minutes and maybe will want her father to hold her rather than be too busy screaming and declaring war."

To the Veritus, he says, "However, if this poison is so dangerous, we cannot allow it in the middle of a crowded party when your protections against it are clearly...inadequate. And while, with regards to death, injury is the lesser of two evils, it is still an evil." He turns to the guards. "If one of you is a Shaper, mend the broken...sock. Then find something to reinforce ALL of theirs with. I will not have this happen again."

A Lyraen guard steps forward and says to Izuo, "By your leave."

"We are aware of the danger we pose. The only reason we even considered going in is because you told us to come inside." Adiuva growled.

Izuo did not move in the slightest as the shaper mended his... 'sock', as they called it. He grasped fully how bad this situation was, in no small part because of him. Partly because he'd been the one to nearly poison the child, but also because they were his design. He'd done what he could, but his regular and rapid movement had been too much too quickly, and the design too hastily assembled. He'd needed more time... but they had none.

LapisCattis

2019-12-16, 11:13 PM

The Incident

And this was what happened when you didn't move fast enough. Proxos only had himself to blame. He laid a paw on Hraethala's shoulder and said, "Thank you, but as your host I must insist on handling this myself. Please, go on inside."

He glances over at the medics, who give him a nod, and moves back into the middle of the confrontation. "Your daughter will be fine," he informs Malyat, "Ever since the incident at the Auction when Rhia saved Guntur, our medics have made it a point to be well-versed in xenobiology. Now, your affairs on your own, but from my perspective, I expect she will be up and walking in a few minutes and maybe will want her father to hold her rather than be too busy screaming and declaring war."

To the Veritus, he says, "However, if this poison is so dangerous, we cannot allow it in the middle of a crowded party when your protections against it are clearly...inadequate. And while, with regards to death, injury is the lesser of two evils, it is still an evil." He turns to the guards. "If one of you is a Shaper, mend the broken...sock. Then find something to reinforce ALL of theirs with. I will not have this happen again."

A Lyraen guard steps forward and says to Izuo, "By your leave."

"I saved your daughter's life!" She snapped. "If you'd rather I just let her die instead of try to prevent it then-"

The other delegate spoke, and Adiuva took a breath before continuing.

"We came because our presence here was demanded. They are weak because frankly we had little time and have no metals sturdy enough to stop us from ripping them apart." Adiuva growled. "We took every precaution. Our people have marched in single file since we came off of our ship to make any leakages minimal. We have avoided initiating interactions with the other delegations. We intended to surrender to the Duenem as promised and go home."

Not ignoring Mitzi's meaningful look either, Malyat forced his crest down with a growl. "Thank you for pushing her out of the way of the poison," he acknowledged, "But you have still done harm to her. See that the leaks are fully sealed, and stay away from my hatchlings." he warned the Veritas before stalking off to surround Mirna with his body, careful to not impede the doctors but unwilling to remain far from his daughter, who was currently wide-eyed and interrogating the doctors about the snow and if it damaged the rocks on this planet. Mitzi, in her turn, decided to check on the other young ones and bring them back inside now that the poison and blood had been cleaned and the sight of their sibling was less likely to panic them and worsen the situation.

On second thought, the two males seemed happily engaged with a snowball fight with the Kronin delegation. As she watched, Nozdak crouched behind a snowbank to defend from one hatchling, while the other seemed to have recruited Jacksy from the Garden and were sneaking up behind him with as many snowballs as they could carry. Before Nozdak noticed, the two mischief makers opened fire, pelting the Kronin with no less than a dozen snowballs before he dodged again.

Mitzi slipped her way through the snow to Jacksy. "Mirna was injured by another delegate. She's alright, but best keep these two occupied and give Lizardman some time to cool off." Mitzi informed the little Tuxie. "I can do that. I heard there's a little entertainment center that shows games and pictures downstairs. I'll drop hints to the little ones after this, get them out of the way and someplace quiet." Jacksy was fond of egglings herself, but dealing with two chicks larger than she was for much longer would be impossible.

Meanwhile....

The Drunken Master
Bart had drank 3 glasses of the 'green giggles' mixed with the spiked punch and had rubbed off almost all of his mud in laughter-driven spasms. "Yer nae bad for a Kron!" he crowed. "Gimme one each o' yer new concoctions, and then we can talk business." If this was the leader of the Kronin delegation, he'd have to make sure he showed his appreciation for the drinks and was properly drunk before starting any negotiations. He'd heard screams and scented blood and had almost breached polite courtesy to investigate, but a subsequent roar of his lizard-companion and the lack of weapons fire seemed to indicate all had been settled.

bc56

2019-12-17, 12:10 AM

Proxos

"Of course. Thanks again." Astra disappears into the crowd in the direction of food.

Lyrae

"I was not personally involved, but I can convey your thanks to those who were. They will be glad to hear it.

Meerax
"You already have a little bodyguard? Don't worry, little one. I won't harm Meerax at all. She is not unlike a daughter to me." Purple turns to Meerax again. "Yes, you are magnificent workmanship, but your intelligence is a credit to yourself too. Many people are so gifted, but choose not to apply their intelligence." The Strainlady begins rummaging in the folds of her clothes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a few measurements. It would be the last checkup for a long time."

The Drunken Master
Teal-White-Eyes hovers over to the Drunken Master's impromptu drink stand. The Syndrome female reaches down and grabs a glass of Mystery Brew. "I hope you don't mind."

Adiuva

"Thank you." The Overlady gently presses the tick's mouthparts against the exposed flesh, and it draws out a small quantity of blood before being gently detached from the Veritus. "I won't waste any more of your time. Farewell!"

Wrath/Conveyance

The Overlady spots Wrath and Conveyance and dodges her way through the crowd to them. "Ah. Two people I wanted to see. Congratulations on your victory, Wrath. May I ask some questions of Effi... I mean Conveyance?"

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-17, 12:28 AM

When internal screaming becomes external - Veritus
Flash waited as the flurry of activity ended in regards to the child's health, before he approached the Agni Immolati again. "Hey-hey, big-think idea Immolati. You work for Combine. Seek-find answers yourself. Meetgreet people and other star powers. You see-hear they not max-bad."

Dynasty

After the incident with the Veritus ended Flash and OwO left the antsy insectoids to their own devices as they mingled with the other races. His awkward gait brought him before the Dynasty delegates. They had recently just established embassy relations, but this was the first time that he had to meet them face to face. Flash greeted them warmly, "Hi-hi. It is much-good to meet-greet people of Thayqel. I much-hope you enjoy-joy your time here. I have hear-talk good-good things from Grymlans in your space. If you want-need, your people can hab-join in Combine."

Gengy

2019-12-17, 12:48 PM

Proxos Mans the Door...Again!

As Wrath and Conveyance (a name which can only properly be said if you use the tone of voice most like a brick striking a slab of granite) move to pass by, Proxos calls to them, "No, no. Hold on a minute." He steps in front and studies Conveyance, paw under his chin and rubbing the slightly longer patch of fur that looks vaguely like a goatee. "It needs something more. Ah!"

He snaps his 'fingers' and an oversized, white 'beard' appears on the 'front' of Conveyance's coffin. It hangs down from the top and, in combination with the hat, makes the powerful machine look at least twice as festive as before. Proxos turns to Wrath and says, "You, on the other hand, are perfect. Very dashing. I rather fancy the military look myself."

Wrath barely stopped himself from sighing, and instead reached his third arm up around from his back to adjust the new beard on his charge's "face". Really, any of the vertical sides were a face for Conveyance. When Joy judged it to be the most comical, he let his hand drop.

"Thank you. You are the... Luminary, Proxos, yes?"

Wrath turned his head to have his unhappy forward face look at his rather jolly host. That it also let the very sad mask on the right side of his cowl of masks look directly at Conveyance was inconsequential.

What was of note was Conveyance choosing that time to speak, "Subject Proxos. Luminary. Original location: J26. Original disposition: Not funny. Latest updates: Capable of travel through Lyraen Embodiment. Disposition much improved. Murder tendencies reduced by 63.45%. Databases updated."

Wrath/Conveyance

The Overlady spots Wrath and Conveyance and dodges her way through the crowd to them. "Ah. Two people I wanted to see. Congratulations on your victory, Wrath. May I ask some questions of Effi... I mean Conveyance?"

"Overlady Violet-Pale-Feet." Wrath nodded. He was glad that Joy had bothered to juggle some of their memories so that he could learn the Maturated VIPs. Yet, at the same time, Wrath was rather neutral to those whom had sent - at best - a token amount of support to the Free Thinkers Alliance. Still, he was trying to be polite.

And also... direct. The lack of Empathic Chi in most species in the Galaxy was seriously a barrier to communication. Universal Translators were built to be able to handle spoken word, not a form of emotional energy. Which was the problem for the warning provided during the first Revolution. So he spelled things out the new warning very carefully, "You should be aware. Conveyance agreed to come here. I nominally have control over the confinement, but getting it to do something it doesn't want is still... difficult would be an understatement. So I am cautioning you now: It wants to speak with people. And it has a sense of humor that only it and the Designator - the Caller - that created it can seem to fathom. Maybe one of it's other fellow Caller AI siblings might be able to explain more. Still, ask your questions. Just know that keeping it interested in your questions is in your best interest."

The floating box that held Conveyance loomed. And then the metal on the side closest to the Overlady shifted, as the red square panel moved to be at an eye-level height with her, giving her a look inside. The Overlady saw that the red panels were a translucent glass-like crystal, with circular patterns that created a groove that almost shined in the light. On the inside of the box, through this new window, Violet-Pale-Feet could see... an egg. A familiar egg. The Overlady is reminded of the reports of the Simulacrum, when Overlady Yellow-Coat-Stripes was staring at a very similar egg. Guardian.

https://i.ibb.co/hgSjvLW/Caller-AI-Convey.png

Except... it wasn't Guardian. The "eye" was a slightly different color, and it didn't have the unusual calmness that the other Caller AI seemed to radiate; a feeling that was memorable even to this day for the few Syndrome that had been in it's presence. No, Conveyance was different. There was a quickness about the AI, and the Overlady felt a bit more energetic just looking at the "egg" inside the box. She could feel herself wanting to shift her feet back and forth, to move, to act.

The red panel glowed when the inhabitant inside spoke, "Syndrome. Classification: Biological. Specific individual: unknown. Disposition: Lacks humor. Emotionally stunted. Suggested course of correction: Better hats."

Tentreto

2019-12-17, 01:25 PM

"Lighter!" Proxos says with a smile and slight bow. "Well, I shall look forward to seeing it. A rare treat, to be sure."

"We have also brought a few nutrients of our own if you can show us where to put them. Observe:" With that, a slightly taller Duenem steps from behind Lighter and stands next to her. Lighter promptly moves her tail over to him and blowtorches his midsection.
"Do not worry," she states, "they are almost ready." Indeed, after another second, Lighter retracts her tail and the topside of the slightly smoking Duen opens up to reveal a small oven with all sorts of nuts inside, now nicely roasted.

Never in her life had Adiuva been so relieved to see something that terrified her so much. At least with organics, you had a chance to read their response with an ounce of authenticity. Machines, though... they could very easily fake every emotion they experienced.

"It has been akin to learning that the male you just mated with is your hatchling from the future: many possibilities, yes, but most of them are too horrible to contemplate." She responded, turning to face the Duenem directly. "I hope you will not consider it an imposition if I ask we get the complete surrender and capitulation of my species done as quickly as possible."

Before the Incident

"If that is what you wish," Lighter replies camly. She carefully pulls out a small piece of paper from a comprtment as well as a pen, and extends them upwards. "Just sign on the dotted line. In doing so, the Duenem will act as defenders and guides for your people until you decide otherwise. This will be in effect from the moment you sign." she lets her diodes 'blink' for a second. "And please, calm yourself, the galaxy may have dangers, but most of the powers will respect any who stand up for themselves, and each have their own..." she points her tail at OwO, "excentricities. Also, note, if you sign, you will be part of the Duenem, and therefore entitled to vote in Taskmasters, and vote in matters concering the whole."

After the Incident

Ten minutes. It had taken ten minutes for the Veritus to cause a diplomatic incident. Luckily cool heads had prevailed, but hopefully it wouldn't become a regular occurance.

Quickly, Lighter goes back over to Adiuva. "So," she says, "you are scared of children and you cower from everything, yet you still act to save others, and give yourselves up for the greater good." It is evidently not a question, but a statement. " I will be blunt, you probably will need better containment and a better ship on the future to help prevent this kind of incident happening again, but you acted with heroism and selflessness, and acted as an individual to help the whole." Lighter pauses for a second, being deathly silent.

"I will be honest, I never thought we would find a race with such a value for life as ourselves. You have certainly done yourself proud Adiuva. Please try to ensure it doesn't happen again though."

Wrath and Conveyance

Well, so much for being the sideshow. Once again, the backup delegate would have to deal with Wrath and one of the most dangerous things in the whole of Axiom. Luckily, she was pretty sure that Wrath at least somewhat liked the Duenem, as they had turned up to fight for him, and had met multiple of the aspects. But it was something she would have to invoke individualism to ask questions, as this was far outside her normal remit.

Carefully, she walks over to them, looking up. "It is an honour to meet you both in person," she speaks, using her external speakers, although she does also transmit it electronically. Who knew how the Caller AI worked. "I hope things are now clearing up at your home after the...four?" she thinks for a second. "Four of you sorted out affairs. Am I cleared to ask you all questions?"

The Drunken Master

After everything had quietened down, and nothing was going wrong, Lighter makes her way over to the Drunken Master and his drinks. All she does is hold out a grasper. "I have been told you have beverages capable of getting a machine drunk." she states, in a voice that sounds slightly stressed. "Please provide me some, as I am about five levels above my task level at the moment, and I need to get some experimental experience."

KriegTiger

2019-12-17, 01:28 PM

Wrath & Conveyance

Talotius notes the pair enter the festivities and quietly excuses themselves from Brigid's conversation over the fascinating history of liquor among various star-faring cultures; a flight of various liquids on the table in front of her as she listens to tales and brewing/distilling methods of all manner with rapt attention.

The former Speaker approaches Wrath and the 'captive' AI and waits politely for a moment of their time, it's difficult to tell whether the Tezh is simply being the ever-polite diplomat even at a party or whether the last interaction with Wrath - where he called them all pretty much worthless idiots, idiots that just happen to be the only reason he succeeded against Efficiency, plays a part in the aloofness.

"We offer greetings to you and your counterparts" having pieced out the multitiplicity of Wrath's identity some time ago and getting it confirmed with the corrupted datagram "It is a pleasure to see you under less stressful circumstances."

The Aether Stone pivots slightly as if to visibly regard Efficiency, though the action was not strictly necessary "Conveyance." the choral voice intones singly "We appreciate that your actions were not as pernicious as they could have been. If such activities are truly in the past We would enjoy having the opportunity to converse with you as We have with Guardian - and hopefully more such entities in the future."

"In the meantime, this is a celebration and it is good to observe you both participating in it with Our other Elevated Siblings."

Fyrecatt

2019-12-17, 01:42 PM

Flash

Solari smiles and nods once at the Grymlan. “We are pleased to see you here as well. We, of course, heard of the recent events and are glad that you made it back to your homeland. In times such as these, a good leader is crucial to the survival and prosperity of a people. We are happy that the Grymlans did not lose theirs. And we thank you for the welcome and openness to exchange between our cultures.”

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-17, 06:33 PM

Drinks All Around!

The Drunken Master suddenly finds himself surrounded by people all wanting a taste of his drinks. Not surprising, I am one of the best brewers around! He thinks to himself. I was not named a general for my battle prowess.. He turns to the first customer. A familiar species, Ndoda, now giggling hysterically. He smiles, "Like the drink, this one is quite fun. Makes ya giggle." He downs a drink himself and feels his senses leave him. "Hehehehehehe ooooohh thatsh a good one." He looks over at Proxos talking to the Not Happy Masky Man. "Oh hehe what funny things on the head, little hearing bits, hahaha hehe. He slowly returns to his normal tipsy state and slides the Ndoda another drink. This will knock your shocks off.

He turns to the Syndrome, "The drinksh are for everyone. Dish ish a party!" He hands her a red and gold party hat and a tiny confetti popper.

He holds out a glass to the Duenem. "Tish will fixsh you right up." The glass holds a pale yellow liquid that hums softly, the occasional flash of a small arc passing through the liquid. "Drink up my friend"

The Angry Man and the Jolly Box

After his intense snowball fight with the Ndoda children and his Lieutenant, Nozdak returns inside to take care of some business. He walks up to Wrath and salutes. "I believe we have met before, Wrath right? If I am correct, I believe you may be one for the few people who may have extensive knowledge of the SAME or at least know more than I do. During the recent battle, we captured one of the same core. What can you tell me about it? I feel that I need more information before I plot a course of action. Most importantly can it be hacked or reprogrammed. I would like to decern its prime objective and as much other data about the SAME I can get.

PepperP.

2019-12-17, 10:22 PM

Galactic Droccen Imperium

LSD

At the Gift Table

Empress Sai had gazed in wonder at the beautiful white landscape around her as she disembarked onto Lyrae II.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Mika Ren watched her mother twirl in the lightly falling snow.

"It's cold." She pulled up her hood. Kuro put his hand out to catch a few flakes and studied it as it melted in his large metallic palm.

"Mika Ren is right." Sai made a face.

"We are both right. Come on, let us greet our hosts." They passed by the gift table and Sai pulled her gift for Lyrae out of Kuro's midsection compartment.

"There we are." Sai set the box on the table. A soft humming could be heard coming from inside. The Empress glanced around sheepishly.

"It's harmless, I promise..."

KNV

"Jacques!" Empress Sai embraced the Space King warmly as she greeted him.

"It's been too long. Have you seen Korima? Is she well? I don't like her being so far away from me." Sai's brow furrowed as her displeasure with the recent Revolution was apparent.

"Not that I mean to complain. I know Droccen was lucky. Again." The pout turned back into a smile as Mika Ren surprised Hotokie from behind.

"Hey cousin." She smiled as she watched carefully to see if she had startled him. She could feel the familiar essence about him and her playfulness turned more solemn as it ever did.

"The shadows grow stronger around you." She regarded him approvingly. Sai's smile was ephemeral, she didn't quite know what to make of her daughter's idiosyncrasies.

"Jacques, we were thinking about finding Wrath. Would you care to join us? Perhaps we could teach him how to meditate. It might be good for his temper."

Miltonian

2019-12-17, 11:30 PM

“High metabolism,” Vii quips. Before Embra can chime in, Vii turns and quickly begins walking towards the smorgasbord. She waggles her fingers in Embra’s general direction. “YesIllbehaveseeyoulaterbye!”

The buffet is laden with foods of all kinds, mostly Lyraen dishes, but a few from around Axiom. There is a strong preference for meats, but other things are available as well. A few sharply-dressed Lyraens stand around, ready to serve.

"We came because our presence here was demanded. They are weak because frankly we had little time and have no metals sturdy enough to stop us from ripping them apart." Adiuva growled. "We took every precaution. Our people have marched in single file since we came off of our ship to make any leakages minimal. We have avoided initiating interactions with the other delegations. We intended to surrender to the Duenem as promised and go home."

"We are aware of the danger we pose. The only reason we even considered going in is because you told us to come inside." Adiuva growled.

Izuo did not move in the slightest as the shaper mended his... 'sock', as they called it. He grasped fully how bad this situation was, in no small part because of him. Partly because he'd been the one to nearly poison the child, but also because they were his design. He'd done what he could, but his regular and rapid movement had been too much too quickly, and the design too hastily assembled. He'd needed more time... but they had none.

Proxos' ears lay back a bit. He clears his throat. "For future reference, then," he says softly, "You do not have to show up to a party when invited if it is too much trouble. This is supposed to be fun, for everyone, including you."

Lyrae

"I was not personally involved, but I can convey your thanks to those who were. They will be glad to hear it.

Meerax
"You already have a little bodyguard? Don't worry, little one. I won't harm Meerax at all. She is not unlike a daughter to me." Purple turns to Meerax again. "Yes, you are magnificent workmanship, but your intelligence is a credit to yourself too. Many people are so gifted, but choose not to apply their intelligence." The Strainlady begins rummaging in the folds of her clothes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a few measurements. It would be the last checkup for a long time."

Lyrae

"See that you do so," she says with a nod. She takes her cup once more and takes a long sip. "Oh! But I am being a bad hostess. Would you care for any refreshments?"

Meerax and Raff

"Ah," Meerax says, "Strainlady, meet Raff of House Lyrae, the son of Mish Lyrae and Proxos."

Raff blushes a little. "Why'd you tell her that? Now she's going to get all formal and boring."

Wrath barely stopped himself from sighing, and instead reached his third arm up around from his back to adjust the new beard on his charge's "face". Really, any of the vertical sides were a face for Conveyance. When Joy judged it to be the most comical, he let his hand drop.

"Thank you. You are the... Luminary, Proxos, yes?"

Wrath turned his head to have his unhappy forward face look at his rather jolly host. That it also let the very sad mask on the right side of his cowl of masks look directly at Conveyance was inconsequential.

What was of note was Conveyance choosing that time to speak, "Subject Proxos. Luminary. Original location: J26. Original disposition: Not funny. Latest updates: Capable of travel through Lyraen Embodiment. Disposition much improved. Murder tendencies reduced by 63.45%. Databases updated."

Proxos laughs. "It's not murder if it's war, my dear guest. I'd offer you something to drink, but I don't think you'd be able to enjoy it in quite the same way that the rest of us do. You're welcome to try, though! Maybe you can find a particularly amusing arrangement of atoms in one or two."

He bows to Wrath. "You speak truly. 'Tis I! Thank you for accepting my invitation."

"We have also brought a few nutrients of our own if you can show us where to put them. Observe:" With that, a slightly taller Duenem steps from behind Lighter and stands next to her. Lighter promptly moves her tail over to him and blowtorches his midsection.
"Do not worry," she states, "they are almost ready." Indeed, after another second, Lighter retracts her tail and the topside of the slightly smoking Duen opens up to reveal a small oven with all sorts of nuts inside, now nicely roasted.

Proxos raises an eyebrow as she takes a blowtorch to her companion, but he is not one to judge other people's kinks. The results, however, are most impressive. He steps forward, examining them, and samples one himself. "Fantastic!" he says, "Put them of the buffet table inside. I'm sure everyone will enjoy them."

Galactic Droccen Imperium

LSD

At the Gift Table

Empress Sai had gazed in wonder at the beautiful white landscape around her as she disembarked onto Lyrae II.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Mika Ren watched her mother twirl in the lightly falling snow.

"It's cold." She pulled up her hood. Kuro put his hand out to catch a few flakes and studied it as it melted in his large metallic palm.

"Mika Ren is right." Sai made a face.

"We are both right. Come on, let us greet our hosts." They passed by the gift table and Sai pulled her gift for Lyrae out of Kuro's midsection compartment.

"There we are." Sai set the box on the table. A soft humming could be heard coming from inside. The Empress glanced around sheepishly.

"It's harmless, I promise..."

By this point, Proxos has moved to the gift table so as to be more more accessible to his guests and happily chats with anyone who comes by. When the Droccen show up, he moves to greet them personally. "Empress Sai!" he says brightly, "Welcome, welcome my dear. I trust the trip was a pleasant one? It is much shorter nowadays."

A young Lyraen slips past them with a muttered "Scuse me". He steps up the table and begins reading labels, growing more and more alarmed when he can't find any addressed to him.

===============

Meerax and Raff's Further Adventures

How much trouble can a newly-minted Lyraen prince and his draconic best friend get into? Let's find out.

As the Kronin's snowball fight winds down, they find themselves under attack from a new angle: the sky. Snowballs rain down from the heavens, thrown at high velocity and helped along by gravity. A cheer comes from above as one of the Kronin's own dragons swoops by, carrying a young Lyraen on her back. "Mission successful! Return to base!" he cries as they swoop towards the edge of the garden, where they have hidden a large store of snowballs behind a shed in preparation for this day.

Gaius Hermicus

2019-12-18, 10:01 AM

Haerthala and the Whatever Happened:

Her face stinging with snow and fury, Haerthala turns toward the Grymlan. Though the knife has been put aside, the expression in her bloodshot, bulging eyes is one of complete and total fury. She takes one slow, menacing step forward...

A red blur moves across the room. The Rainbow Octopus has reached Haerthala's side, and hovers up toward her back. Intent as she is on ripping the Grymlan assailant limb from limb, she does not notice the red tentacles reaching for her throat. Suddenly, they slam into position, wrapping around her neck and locking into position. Haerthala's pupils expand to fill her entire eye, simultaneously turning bright scarlet. She speaks, but her lips do not move; an eerie sound emerges unbidden from her throat.

Orders prevent Red-Eighteen from allowing bodily harm to come to a nonthreatening sapient creature on these premises. The assailant shall be temporarily mentally adjusted to prevent further aggression from occurring. Red-Eighteen apologizes on behalf of the aggressor.

Ty-Rone and Proxos:

Ty-Rone laughs. He's apparently in a good mood today. Perhaps I could do a song or two later. For the meantime though, I'll be happy just relaxing among friends.

Rhintur is the New Official Ship Name:

Guntur pauses, then decides to ignore the scuffle between Haerthala and Red-Eighteen. A more pressing matter awaits his attention. He makes his way toward the Lyraen princess, who saved his life so many years ago.

<My beautiful princess> he says, bowing to Rhia. <I have missed you so. Would you care to dance?>

What Do You Do with a Drunken Rothuun?

Snickering at Haerthala's plight, Bephik Axemaker staggers over toward the Drunken Master's pavilion. He slaps the Kronin affiliate on the back affectionately with one of his many hands, grabbing three bottles of Mystery Brew and tossing them simultaneously into three separate mouths. Spitting out a chunk of glass, he spins woozily and flails his tentacles, nearly hitting the Drunken Master. <Thash a good brew you hash there, Mashter. Permit me to introdouche myshelf. I ish Bephik Akshemaker, the High Priesht of Iteush. Do you like my tentaclesh?>

bc56

2019-12-18, 11:15 AM

Drunken Master

Teal slams back the drink surprisingly quickly. She turns to the Drunken Master. "This stuff is pretty good." She rocks a little in her antigravity field. "Itzz really, really good. Zzo good." She fumbles at reaching for the party hat, and it falls to the floor. "Oopzz."

Wrath and Conveyance

"I understand your concerns, Wrath." Violet turns to Conveyance. "Please state your opinion of the Caller AI designated Guardian."

Meerax and Raff

"If you prefer, I can be informal with you." Purple finds what she's looking for, a Syndrome thermometer, a smallish amphibian with a wide, flat tail, and a long coil of silken string, marked off in even increments. "May I take your measurements, Meerax?"

Lyrae

"Just tea please." Orange feels a nudge at her mind. "This may seem like a strange question, but what do you feel when you look at yourself?"

Gengy

2019-12-18, 01:15 PM

Wrath and Conveyance

Well, so much for being the sideshow. Once again, the backup delegate would have to deal with Wrath and one of the most dangerous things in the whole of Axiom. Luckily, she was pretty sure that Wrath at least somewhat liked the Duenem, as they had turned up to fight for him, and had met multiple of the aspects. But it was something she would have to invoke individualism to ask questions, as this was far outside her normal remit.

Carefully, she walks over to them, looking up. "It is an honour to meet you both in person," she speaks, using her external speakers, although she does also transmit it electronically. Who knew how the Caller AI worked. "I hope things are now clearing up at your home after the...four?" she thinks for a second. "Four of you sorted out affairs. Am I cleared to ask you all questions?"

Wrath couldn't stop Woe from taking over. He hated when she did this. The masks shifted with a clacking noise, and suddenly the military outfit was replaced by a beautiful kimono in yellows and purples. The sword on Wrath's hip was now a folded up paper umbrella. The angry face was now looking at the box that was Conveyance, but the face in the front looked overwhelmingly sad. Yet it spoke with a feminine tone that did not match it's mood.

"There is little grief here
Speak freely my dear
I've grown quite fond of your race
They have their own certain grace
Make your questions very clear."

Wrath & Conveyance

Talotius notes the pair enter the festivities and quietly excuses themselves from Brigid's conversation over the fascinating history of liquor among various star-faring cultures; a flight of various liquids on the table in front of her as she listens to tales and brewing/distilling methods of all manner with rapt attention.

The former Speaker approaches Wrath and the 'captive' AI and waits politely for a moment of their time, it's difficult to tell whether the Tezh is simply being the ever-polite diplomat even at a party or whether the last interaction with Wrath - where he called them all pretty much worthless idiots, idiots that just happen to be the only reason he succeeded against Efficiency, plays a part in the aloofness.

"We offer greetings to you and your counterparts" having pieced out the multitiplicity of Wrath's identity some time ago and getting it confirmed with the corrupted datagram "It is a pleasure to see you under less stressful circumstances."

The Aether Stone pivots slightly as if to visibly regard Efficiency, though the action was not strictly necessary "Conveyance." the choral voice intones singly "We appreciate that your actions were not as pernicious as they could have been. If such activities are truly in the past We would enjoy having the opportunity to converse with you as We have with Guardian - and hopefully more such entities in the future."

"In the meantime, this is a celebration and it is good to observe you both participating in it with Our other Elevated Siblings."

Wrath's angry mask twitched a bit, almost shifting to Joy at seeing the Tezh. They had tried to help; actively working in the background to convince more of Wrath's people to join the Free Thinker Alliance. That attempt was appreciated.

"Yes, thank you. I-" Wrath stopped, as he noticed something. Conveyance was, it seemed, enthralled by the Tezh representative here. Three of the four red panels shut their view-ports - Wrath didn't know they could do that - and the remaining panel seemed all the more focused on former speaker Talotius. The single red panel glowed rather bright, as it spoke.

"Query. Sibling Guardian can be spoken with? Additional query: What are your race doing here? Extra dimensional cohabitation was listed as a failed experiment, and inefficient. Risks to cohabitors was deemed egregious. Complete Classification of race: not found. Databases require updating."

The Angry Man and the Jolly Box

After his intense snowball fight with the Ndoda children and his Lieutenant, Nozdak returns inside to take care of some business. He walks up to Wrath and salutes. "I believe we have met before, Wrath right? If I am correct, I believe you may be one for the few people who may have extensive knowledge of the SAME or at least know more than I do. During the recent battle, we captured one of the same core. What can you tell me about it? I feel that I need more information before I plot a course of action. Most importantly can it be hacked or reprogrammed. I would like to decern its prime objective and as much other data about the SAME I can get.

Wrath just stared, agog. "You... you have a captured Same Core? That has not yet blown up yet?"

"My people don't know much about the Same. They are dangerous, and we did not head into the Galactic Core often. What little I do know makes me think that you need to destroy it quickly! Whatever you try to learn from it isn't worth the risk of it either self-destructing and killing millions or worse. It reactivating. Then killing everything."

Conveyance also chose to speak, "Same. Classification: Fake Sibling. Disposition: Idiotic. Recommended course of action: Dissect, integrate, and destroy. In that order. Do not use fruit."

Proxos laughs. "It's not murder if it's war, my dear guest. I'd offer you something to drink, but I don't think you'd be able to enjoy it in quite the same way that the rest of us do. You're welcome to try, though! Maybe you can find a particularly amusing arrangement of atoms in one or two."

He bows to Wrath. "You speak truly. 'Tis I! Thank you for accepting my invitation."

Wrath nodded to his host, "But of course. Many of my Free Thinker Alliance members are here. They deserved the opportunity to question Conveyance. Even if they may not get the answers they are hoping for."

Wrath and Conveyance

"I understand your concerns, Wrath." Violet turns to Conveyance. "Please state your opinion of the Caller AI designated Guardian."

Conveyance clicked and whirred from inside his box, and it's voice seemed to become almost petulant, "Guardian. Classification: Second Eldest Sibling.
Disposition: Big Dumb Dummy Head. Fun ruin-er. Design is 13% inefficient, lowest of all siblings. Power output is, by some quirk of fate, 13% higher then all other siblings. Coincidence studied for centuries. Conclusion: Inconclusive. Personal opinion of Conveyance regarding Guardian: I miss my sibling, for all its faults."

bc56

2019-12-18, 01:43 PM

KriegTiger

2019-12-18, 04:03 PM

Wrath's angry mask twitched a bit, almost shifting to Joy at seeing the Tezh. They had tried to help; actively working in the background to convince more of Wrath's people to join the Free Thinker Alliance. That attempt was appreciated.

"Yes, thank you. I-" Wrath stopped, as he noticed something. Conveyance was, it seemed, enthralled by the Tezh representative here. Three of the four red panels shut their view-ports - Wrath didn't know they could do that - and the remaining panel seemed all the more focused on former speaker Talotius. The single red panel glowed rather bright, as it spoke.

"Query. Sibling Guardian can be spoken with? Additional query: What are your race doing here? Extra dimensional cohabitation was listed as a failed experiment, and inefficient. Risks to cohabitors was deemed egregious. Complete Classification of race: not found. Databases require updating."

Talotius regards Conveyance in silence for a moment, the motes having at first been steady before a brief intense display of chromatic turbulence ripples through the Aether stone and then goes dead calm again.

"That is correct: Guardian is still operating. They were responsible for the collection of Elevated Siblings present - and many which are not - reaching beyond their original home worlds. It has been available for remote communication while in a low-energy but not full state of torpor. We believe there are potentially more of your Siblings that may be in a state of reduced function which might be revivable, and plan to begin an active search in the immediate future. That effort assumes that galactic reshuffling is something which will not occur again, however."

"You are correct again: Tezh morphology is incompatible with physicality at this layer of existence. To fully substantiate would be disastrous - for We Tezh as well as physicality itself. We work around this by way of meta-materials sensitive to exotic states of energy which allow tangential perception through and interaction with mobile frames; such as this one which is called Talotius."

The former Speaker stops for a moment "But this is not suitable for social festivities and cultural events. We look forward to conversing at length in the future". The choral voice does not say the words 'in private' but they could easily be attached to the sentence due to the sudden diversion away from the topic of Tezh origins and presence.

Brigid happens to come up to her predecessor at a (perhaps too) coincidentally fortunate moment - her eyes are dilated just a little and she's looking very loose and content "Tal.. it really is a shame you can't enjoy some of this. It's CRAZY the things people put together, and the processes they came up with, to make some of this stuff. It's a good thing you take a sip first because if they tell you how they MADE it before you drink, you'd never actually put the glass to your lips."

She catches up with social awareness out of the mild bit of boozy fog and notices Wrath and Conveyance, pulling a bit of diplomatic composure back away from her previously jaunty state.

"I recognize that face" as Wrath's mask was literally the signature on a particular bit of data that came across her desk "Good to meet you, finally. It would seem that the main disconnect of the times you and the others spoke to the rest of us was because everyone here isn't receptive to.. Empathetic Chi, was it? The Consensus would very much like to bridge that gap if time and energy could be spared to work together."

She turns to Conveyance, Tezh tech arm on her cocked hip in dismay "And you. I can't articulate my thoughts well enough regarding you right now - but it's not nice. But that's thankfully in the past, this is a party" she regards the garb they have been graced with "and you at least seem to have picked up on the nature of festivities. So I won't drag the mood down any more."

She gets ready to head off again and pauses "Wrath - do you drink? There's a seat open with your mask on it if you care to join me."

Fyrecatt

2019-12-18, 09:22 PM

HalfTangible

2019-12-18, 09:32 PM

Proxos' ears lay back a bit. He clears his throat. "For future reference, then," he says softly, "You do not have to show up to a party when invited if it is too much trouble. This is supposed to be fun, for everyone, including you."

"..... As you say."

That was the biggest stream of manure that Adiuva had ever heard in her life. Had they not shown up the Duenem would have destroyed them utterly, as would any of the other powers in the galaxy.

After the Incident

Ten minutes. It had taken ten minutes for the Veritus to cause a diplomatic incident. Luckily cool heads had prevailed, but hopefully it wouldn't become a regular occurance.

Quickly, Lighter goes back over to Adiuva. "So," she says, "you are scared of children and you cower from everything, yet you still act to save others, and give yourselves up for the greater good." It is evidently not a question, but a statement. " I will be blunt, you probably will need better containment and a better ship on the future to help prevent this kind of incident happening again, but you acted with heroism and selflessness, and acted as an individual to help the whole." Lighter pauses for a second, being deathly silent.

"I will be honest, I never thought we would find a race with such a value for life as ourselves. You have certainly done yourself proud Adiuva. Please try to ensure it doesn't happen again though."

"As you say." Adiuva growled, her tone affirmative. "It is not an action I am ashamed of, but all the same, best not to repeat."

If the Duenem believed her actions came from concern for the child's life, let them. In truth she had acted out of fear for her own, and that of her people. The Veritus-Timens would be destroyed by one of the powers in the galaxy; it was a question of when, not if. The Agni Immolati's task was to delay this end, by sacrificing herself if she must.

When internal screaming becomes external - Veritus
Flash waited as the flurry of activity ended in regards to the child's health, before he approached the Agni Immolati again. "Hey-hey, big-think idea Immolati. You work for Combine. Seek-find answers yourself. Meetgreet people and other star powers. You see-hear they not max-bad."

"With regret and the utmost respect we must decline. The Veritus-Timens have already pledged themselves to the Duenem for the sake of continued survival."

Not ignoring Mitzi's meaningful look either, Malyat forced his crest down with a growl. "Thank you for pushing her out of the way of the poison," he acknowledged, "But you have still done harm to her. See that the leaks are fully sealed, and stay away from my hatchlings." he warned the Veritas before stalking off to surround Mirna with his body, careful to not impede the doctors but unwilling to remain far from his daughter, who was currently wide-eyed and interrogating the doctors about the snow and if it damaged the rocks on this planet. Mitzi, in her turn, decided to check on the other young ones and bring them back inside now that the poison and blood had been cleaned and the sight of their sibling was less likely to panic them and worsen the situation.

Adiuva wasted no time in moving away from Malyat and the rest of the party.

These sapients were strange and disconcerting; it wasn't merely that they didn't think their race would end, they seemed to have no concern for the whole whatsoever!

"Don't harm my hatchlings", he says. What madness was this? Adiuva had stopped her from dying to prevent the perception that the Veritus wanted to kill them, not because its life was itself important. If that hatchling died, there were others even in this ludicrous "party" ready and able to take her place. It was the species that mattered, not individual lives.

She had thought from the moment she came to this place that this "party" was a trap, and she still hadn't written off the possibility of a long con. But everything she looked upon only filled her with greater disbelief and, to an extent, disgust. Revelry, beverages designed to intoxicate, fake wars in the snow (as if war was anything to make light of). If this was a trap, it was a ludicrously long con. This entire exercise was foolishness incarnate!! So much food, so many intoxicants would destroy the long term viability of most of the individuals here, which would weaken the species as a whole for absolutely no good reason. It was baffling!

It wasn't that they didn't value individuals, no, these creatures valued them for all the wrong reasons! Why were the Veritus the only ones who seemed to grasp that all of them - ANY OF THEM - could in fact go extinct?! What absolute chitin-brain would care more about the life of one creature - let alone one hatchling - than the possibility of interstellar war?!

"Agni Immolati, I cry your pardon."

Adiuva snarled and whipped her head around. Iuvo's "sock" (she hated the term; the translator kept bringing up some kind of cloth thing, feh) had been repaired and he had approached her.

"I put our people in danger needlessly." The male continued. "My failure as a mechanic and to contain my fear has led to this."

Adiuva hissed, this time conveying a soothing tone. "The species will be preserved another day, male. The Duenem shall keep us as their slaves, despite this incident."

"That is good to hear."

She nodded. "We will need to be cautious of the Ndoda, in the future. I do not think they are near enough to cause us trouble, but for the moment, make no assumptions about their motives."

Iuvo's eight eyes blinked once each in rapid succession. "Surely they wouldn't attack us over this? One hatchling? I had assumed the Duenem would cast us out, but open warfare?"

"Do not make the mistake of thinking these creatures will behave with the interest of the whole in mind. By their actions and by their hearts, they care little for the survival of their species, for they believe their survival is already assured." Adiuva growled. She glanced at the rest of the party, which was now (wisely) keeping their distance. "They are so much worse than I ever believed. I thought I'd find entire species bent on our destruction; but rational ones, ones we could predict, ones that would act with the best interest of the species in mind. Instead we've found a galaxy full of madmen."

"We must delay the end, and prepare. They will turn on us without warning at the slightest provocation."

Iuvo stared at her. "... Are you suggesting we eliminate them first?"

"Of course not, we will lose the war whenever it comes. But for now, we give them no excuse. No chance. Not even a hint of violence. We expand, and seed ourselves as far and wide as possible. The more useful we are, the less likely it becomes that they will come for us." She glanced to Iuvo. "Our species is doomed. Make no mistake. But if we can spread far enough and wide enough our death will take centuries. That will be worth it."

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-18, 10:51 PM

Veritus

Flash thought for a moment, his rhinestone visor glinting in the light as he glanced among the Veritus, his tail flicking in irritation. "No-no." he finally said, "You miss-read. Early you quick-spoke that your people cease-fight under Combine. Thats fine-fine. Combine is much-nice, and will take one fight-prisoner to keep good-relations for future-meet." He pointed at the Veritus that was named Iuvo. "You-you! Iuvo no-no? You fight-prisoner to travel with Combine after-party to peace-keep. No-run yes-yes?"

Dynasty
"Yes-yes, much-thanks. The Combine would gift-give information, technology and maybe access to OwO and UwUnet for new-galactic neighbors, that in far-future we might form max-strength bonds of friendly-work. What does the Dynasty wantneed?"

Wrath and Conveyance

Flash and OwO-Mech approached the masked individual. Grymlans had not supported the war against Efficiency Grounds, not for lack of capacity, but rather that the timing of the revolution was just bad for the Combine. Flash himself didn't remember meeting Wrath prior, it seemed like something that had been during Jeejee's tenure, but he heard the alien could be a bit of a ****, regardless he put on his best smile and greeted Wrath, "Hi-hi, I see-hear that your fighty-fight go much-good. I'm name-called Flash Starshine, High Coordinator of Grymlan Combine. Since you meet-greet at party, Combine want-talk questions. First, now that Efficiency Ground safe-kept, what are your people's craft-plans for future? Will there be another revolution?"

OwO-Mech's hologram lit up, "Pewhaps OwO can assist youw peopwe. Both OwO and Gwymwans wouwd be vewy intewested in weawning fwom you, and pewhaps you might weawn something fwom us."

Flash nodded, "It little-problem to craft-make a hub for you."

"Youw peopwe might awso be abwe to hewp OwO with its past. Like what happened to the Recwaimews, and whewe they went?"

Lleban

2019-12-19, 12:36 AM

DCC

Jaques returned the embrace of the Empress, his muscular frame relaxing to a more familiar stance.

"Worry not, I paid her a visit on the way here. She was doing fairly well among the Zaran's." Jaques flexes his right arm to make a point, upping the boisterous nature of his cadence.

"Needless to say THESE GUNS, will make sure she stays safe. While the revolution may have moved some, dependable allies stay steadfast."

Hotokie waved at his cousin jumping up and down, his words coming out in an incoherent jumble " HI MIKA its been forever, I hear you've been traveling with the Empress OMG you must've seen so much. I've been working with refugees from Hearth and now I can do this "

Hootokie strikes a pose putting two fingers to his temple while holding the other 2 out toward Mika, attempting to contact her telepathically with his Shadow power. Successful or no his nose begins to unknowingly bleed after a brief silence.

Jaques looked at his son in utter bemusement before talking about wrath.

Taking a deep breath he responded "I believe we will, frankly I'm surprised Wrath hasn't developed an ulcer yet. That anger cannot be good for the body. TAKE NOTES kids, Techno-organic super being or not too much stress will RUIN YA!"

Wrath

SPACE KING sauntered up to wrath in order to congratulate "Wrath my boi, smashing job smashing efficiency ground. How does it feel to have triumphed, let me guess furious?! Maybe try cardio, I hear it calms the nerves."

Miltonian

2019-12-19, 01:03 AM

Ty-Rone and Proxos:

Ty-Rone laughs. He's apparently in a good mood today. Perhaps I could do a song or two later. For the meantime though, I'll be happy just relaxing among friends.

Rhintur is the New Official Ship Name:

Guntur pauses, then decides to ignore the scuffle between Haerthala and Red-Eighteen. A more pressing matter awaits his attention. He makes his way toward the Lyraen princess, who saved his life so many years ago.

<My beautiful princess> he says, bowing to Rhia. <I have missed you so. Would you care to dance?>

"Allow me to brighten your day even more!" Proxos declares, "I have a little gift for you."

-----

Rhia rises as he approaches and shifts nervously on her feet. Yet, when he asks, she smiles and says, "I think I would like that."

She extends a paw to him, inviting him to lead her to the dance floor.

Meerax and Raff

"If you prefer, I can be informal with you." Purple finds what she's looking for, a Syndrome thermometer, a smallish amphibian with a wide, flat tail, and a long coil of silken string, marked off in even increments. "May I take your measurements, Meerax?"

Lyrae

"Just tea please." Orange feels a nudge at her mind. "This may seem like a strange question, but what do you feel when you look at yourself?"

"Nooooot in public," Meerax counters, "Let's, uh, step to the side over here."

Raff eyes the strainlady suspiciously as the three of them duck into a sideroom. Meerax, however, is used to this and sits down, allowing herself to be examined.

------

Lyrae is taken aback by the question and pauses for several moments until she comes up with a good response. "I see," she says, "whatever I need to in order to do what the day requires of me."

"Why do you ask?"

Wrath nodded to his host, "But of course. Many of my Free Thinker Alliance members are here. They deserved the opportunity to question Conveyance. Even if they may not get the answers they are hoping for."

"Ah! Of course." Proxos nods sagely. "Oh! But that does remind me. Lyrae did have a question she wished me to ask you if you showed up, my dear Convenyance. However, given what I now know about you, I have a better one."

He clears his throat. "So. Was it funny, then? The death of the Spiral Dancers that fueled the Revolution that just happened, I mean." He still smiles, but that is the thing with organic beings. Unlike Wrath, their emotions don't have to match their face. "Don't get me wrong, I can understand the lack of care for the 'little people' filling the galaxy, but I like to think I've moved beyond that now."

======

The Gift Table!

Everyone who attends has a gift waiting for them, specially chosen by Proxos. They are...

The Veritus receive a tablet with a keyboard and the words "DON'T PANIC" written across the top in big, friendly red letters. Proxos informs them that it is The Hitchhiker's Encyclopedia of the Galaxy.
The Grymlans receive a small box. Once opened, they find a note that reads, "I O U one freighter full of Warpspeed Coffee".
The Syndrome receive specially tailored pairs of jeans, made specifically to fit each of them. How Proxos knew what their measurements were is unknown.
The Duenem receive a book titled Love in Parental Relationships with a note that says, "Good luck with the new vassals!"
The Svaatyr receive a new set of dice
The Kronin receive an ice-cream maker
The Tezh receive a complete set of the finest chrome plates. Actual plates. For serving food on. Stacked up, they do vaguely resemble a Tezh frame.
SPACE KING receives a Lyraen riding animal. It is not quite a horse, but is instead some sort of graceful, shelled creature not unlike a massive tortoise.
The Rothuun receive matching red capes, decked out in holiday trim and patterns.
The Raeth receive finely decorated parachutes. All craft-Lyraenship is of the highest quality. They attract with spines of leather.
The Ndoda receive sets of skis and tickets to a resort on Lyrae III
The Droccen receive a note that reads, "I O U ten bulk freighters full of fan mail and my apologies to whoever has to read it'. Attached to the note is a voucher for whatever candy they want to take home with them, no matter what it is or how expensive the bill is.

OOC: I would like to emphasize that these are all JOKES and in no way should negatively reflect the overall diplomatic relationships between the Lyraens and anyone else. You are, however, free to think Proxos is a jerk.

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-19, 08:10 AM

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Vii walks slowly along the tables piled high with delicacies, choosing tidbits from the most interesting looking dishes. Sparklemuffin rides her shoulder, softly chittering and waving his pedipalps as if making suggestions. With her plate full at last, she moves to stand near the fire, deciding that it is a satisfactory vantage point from which to observe the party.

As she scans the room, she spies Embra and Solari engaged in dialogue with one of the Grymlan delegates. Almost as if she feels the weight of Vii’s gaze, Embra looks up, her attention momentarily diverted from the conversation. She offers a quick glance in Vii’s direction, taking in the mountain of food that the tiny woman has heaped on her plate. Even from across the room, Vii can see the hint of disapproval on Embra’s features. With an impish grin, Vii picks a particularly plump sausage from the plate, toasts with it in Embra’s direction, then takes a large and very unladylike bite. Noticing a group gathered around a table of drinks, Vii wanders closer. Always game to try something new, she queries the Drunken Master, “What do you suggest I try first?”

The Drunken Master looks down at the newcomer, his face suddenly serious."You pose a very important question, young lady. The firsht drink is very important. Moshtly because you are shtill sober enough to tasht it." He looks down at his array of drinks "Shee, sho many to choose from. You seem like the kind of person who would like to try something exotic. How about dish" , He picks up a glass of the Giggle Juice. "Made from the favorite drink of these people and it won't get ya drunk right away. No hangover either. If you like thish ome you can get more or try something elsh and still enjoy it. He hands her the glass.

Drunken Cows

The Drunken Master smiles at the... Rothuun? At least he thought it was "I am glad you enjoy the brew. It wash a good batch this year. Best time to be harvesting the space whale milk. He looked at all the appendages grafted onto the rothuun. "You have an impressive collection there. Can you use the tentacles to swing? He looked down at his own 4 arms, dwarfed in comparison. He wondered how he controled them all. His question was answered when a stray limb came whistling past his head.

Sponatious Combustion??
Nozdak stares at Wrath for a few seconds before speaking. "That is my concern yes." He pauses, "I assume you are familiar with the CPC? They have decided to begin containment efforts around the Same Core aided by several other stellar powers. I am not sure whether I am for or against this yet but I am concerned about the volatility of the Same Core. If it can be contained at least temporarily then I think it may be a valuable resource to face the same with. If it blows or starts up... well I don't know how much damage it can do. I don't know our timeline on this. It can't do more damage than it did when it was alive could it?"

Tentreto

2019-12-19, 06:11 PM

Wrath couldn't stop Woe from taking over. He hated when she did this. The masks shifted with a clacking noise, and suddenly the military outfit was replaced by a beautiful kimono in yellows and purples. The sword on Wrath's hip was now a folded up paper umbrella. The angry face was now looking at the box that was Conveyance, but the face in the front looked overwhelmingly sad. Yet it spoke with a feminine tone that did not match it's mood.

"There is little grief here
Speak freely my dear
I've grown quite fond of your race
They have their own certain grace
Make your questions very clear."

For a second, Lighter compiled the information that the Duenem had gained the favour of at least one aspect of the being. She then drew up a list of questions. A short one, but ones that were certainly important "Thank you, Woe. The first question is how many Revolutions have there been before our group matured? As you may have seen, this possibility was brought up in a recent court case."

She glances at the small box for a second. "The second question is what you all intend to do in the future. Tour Axiom? The Duenem would be happy to accomidate you in your travels should you need it."

For a second she pauses, "...and the last question is do you want some roasted nuts? They are indeed for all to share." The Oven Duen scuttles over, pushing out a rack of roasted nuts of various types.

"As you say." Adiuva growled, her tone affirmative. "It is not an action I am ashamed of, but all the same, best not to repeat."

If the Duenem believed her actions came from concern for the child's life, let them. In truth she had acted out of fear for her own, and that of her people. The Veritus-Timens would be destroyed by one of the powers in the galaxy; it was a question of when, not if. The Agni Immolati's task was to delay this end, by sacrificing herself if she must.

Lighter gave a flicker of her eyes as a reply. "Indeed, while relationships can survive may things, they are brittle. You are still young, and have many relationships between powers to build. Indeed, the Duenem were originally considered non-beings by the Syndrome, but time and affairs have thawed anything between us. Do remember, this is still only a fragment of the galaxy. Many did indeed not send delegates. More fools them considering who has turned up."

The Gift Table!

Everyone who attends has a gift waiting for them, specially chosen by Proxos. They are...

The Veritus receive a tablet with a keyboard and the words "DON'T PANIC" written across the top in big, friendly red letters. Proxos informs them that it is The Hitchhiker's Encyclopedia of the Galaxy.
The Grymlans receive a small box. Once opened, they find a note that reads, "I O U one freighter full of Warpspeed Coffee".
The Syndrome receive specially tailored pairs of jeans, made specifically to fit each of them. How Proxos knew what their measurements were is unknown.
The Duenem receive a book titled Love in Parental Relationships with a note that says, "Good luck with the new vassals!"
The Svaatyr receive a new set of dice
The Kronin receive an ice-cream maker
The Tezh receive a complete set of the finest chrome plates. Actual plates. For serving food on. Stacked up, they do vaguely resemble a Tezh frame.
SPACE KING receives a Lyraen riding animal. It is not quite a horse, but is instead some sort of graceful, shelled creature not unlike a massive tortoise.
The Rothuun receive matching red capes, decked out in holiday trim and patterns.
The Raeth receive finely decorated parachutes. All craft-Lyraenship is of the highest quality. They attract with spines of leather.
The Ndoda receive sets of skis and tickets to a resort on Lyrae III
The Droccen receive a note that reads, "I O U ten bulk freighters full of fan mail and my apologies to whoever has to read it'. Attached to the note is a voucher for whatever candy they want to take home with them, no matter what it is or how expensive the bill is.

OOC: I would like to emphasize that these are all JOKES and in no way should negatively reflect the overall diplomatic relationships between the Lyraens and anyone else. You are, however, free to think Proxos is a jerk.

Lighter looks over the book. "Thank you for this gift Proxos, if such a book worked for Lyrae, it should work for us as well. We just need to calculate if we can actually experience or only simulate it first."

From the one diode shining, it was obvious Lighter was attempting a wink, and failing miserably.

Gaius Hermicus

2019-12-20, 09:37 AM

Ty-Rone and Proxos:

Ty-Rone grins, picking up one of the capes with its teeth. But my dear Proxos, these gifts are perfect! If you'll excuse me, I have a few questions for this Conveyance character.

He stalks away, the cape flashing between his molars.

Ty-Rone and Conveyance:

Hello, Conveyance. Mind answering a few questions for me? Without waiting for an answer, Ty-Rone screams Who are the Callers? What happened to them? Is the galaxy doomed?

Rhintur:

Dancing calmly around the room, Guntur whispers into Rhia's ear, <I am not safe, my dear. Somebody on Taurina I wants me dead, and he's not the only one. The Urthuun has no idea of the danger surrounding him at the moment, of the rebellion just waiting to begin. One of these days, I may need to flee the Hegemony. Would your people permit me to come to your nation?>

HalfTangible

2019-12-20, 09:57 AM

Lighter gave a flicker of her eyes as a reply. "Indeed, while relationships can survive may things, they are brittle. You are still young, and have many relationships between powers to build. Indeed, the Duenem were originally considered non-beings by the Syndrome, but time and affairs have thawed anything between us. Do remember, this is still only a fragment of the galaxy. Many did indeed not send delegates. More fools them considering who has turned up."Adiuva shook herself, loosening up her joints and chitin. "We will keep that in mind and... under consideration."

The Gift Table!

Everyone who attends has a gift waiting for them, specially chosen by Proxos. They are...

The Veritus receive a tablet with a keyboard and the words "DON'T PANIC" written across the top in big, friendly red letters. Proxos informs them that it is The Hitchhiker's Encyclopedia of the Galaxy

OOC: I would like to emphasize that these are all JOKES and in no way should negatively reflect the overall diplomatic relationships between the Lyraens and anyone else. You are, however, free to think Proxos is a jerk.

There wasn't a single thing about this gift that didn't make Adiuva instantly suspicious.

Veritus

Flash thought for a moment, his rhinestone visor glinting in the light as he glanced among the Veritus, his tail flicking in irritation. "No-no." he finally said, "You miss-read. Early you quick-spoke that your people cease-fight under Combine. Thats fine-fine. Combine is much-nice, and will take one fight-prisoner to keep good-relations for future-meet." He pointed at the Veritus that was named Iuvo. "You-you! Iuvo no-no? You fight-prisoner to travel with Combine after-party to peace-keep. No-run yes-yes?"

"Of course you may have Iuvo as a hostage." Adiuva said quickly. She knew aggression and impatience when she saw it. Flash was a moment away from ripping them apart, there was no point in trying to push to keep Iuvo. Moreover, a diplomatic sacrifice would buy them time just as well as the Agni Immolati.

"..I will not run." Iuvo agreed, glancing between Flash and the Agni Immolati. He understood, but that didn't mean he liked it. He'd never even gotten the chance to mate. He took solace in the fact that keeping him as a political prisoner would necessarily mean keeping him alive.

Minescratcher

2019-12-21, 02:24 PM

Foul cursing and loud, unidentifiable noises blared from the radio as the landing pod made its descent. It seemed someone had taken Korima's departure from the ship currently in parking orbit over Lyrae II as an opportunity to settle a Family score. Korima sighed and switched the speaker off, filling the pod with an awkward silence. The Jesska pilots bent even further over their controls, while even the Guardian Noro shifted uncomfortably. If only the Entertainer hadn't been stolen - then she could really have made an entrance....

After a landing that felt like years, Galactic Superstar Korima disembarked into the falling snow with a sigh of relief. A high-pitched whirr emanated form Noro's head, a sure sign that the camera embedded in his head was on - at least, the one I know about, she reminded herself. Stupid sneaky lizards.

"Hello and welcome, Axiom, to the most wonderful time of the Galactic Year! Live to you from Lyrae II, the Festival of the New Sunrise, something about the solstice and all that, but you and I both know it's just an excuse to party...."

Behind her, three Jesska exited the pod, taking care to stay out of the camera's sight. Only a couple metallic clinks gave them away as they crept into the manor.

Proxos

"Smile for the camera, Proxos!" Korima charged across the snow and collided with Proxos, wrapping him in a tight hug. Her bright red scarf tangled around him, and she fought to disentangle herself as Noro appeared behind her, walking at a much slower pace. "You're live for the whole galaxy, with an INTERGALACTIC SUPERSTAR on your doorstep!"

Droccen Imperium and Galactic Husbando

"SAI!"

The shriek resounded throughout the entire mansion as Korima spotted the Droccen and SPACE KING.

"OMGit'sbeenwaaaaytoolonghowareyoudoingwhat'sbeenha ppeninghow'sMikaMikahowareyouit'sbeentoolongIcan't believeyou'rehere!" Korima wrapped herself around Sai in a hug of legendary might.

"And hello again, SPACE KING, it's always a pleasure! Even if you did stop by just a little while ago." She winked at him before realizing she was crushing the Empress's ribs and sheepishly letting go of her.

Conveyance
A single Jesska stepped forward to Wrath, raising a hand in silent greeting. She studied the two for a long moment before speaking in short, clipped syllables.

"Conveyance. What is Beyond?"

Veritus-Timens

The Governor was a useful distraction to the agents of the Families. The strange fearful species the Duenum had described was here, and both Jesska shadowed them eagerly as they pledged utter surrender to everyone they met. It was incredibly silly, but therein lay the opportunity.

At a moment when Adiuva was alone with her delegation, away from any other species, two Jesska stepped out of the shadows.

"Adiuva of the Veritus-Timens. We approach you with an offer."

"Your people are stronger than they know. But you are paralyzed by fear."

"You are not so doomed as you believe. You have surrendered to many who could not even fight a war."

"The Commonwealth of Zara can give you strength. Cast off your fear, and with our help you will grow among the greats."

"Cling to it, shroud yourself in it, and your people shall wither away on their own sooner than any alien can destroy you."

PepperP.

2019-12-21, 10:15 PM

By this point, Proxos has moved to the gift table so as to be more more accessible to his guests and happily chats with anyone who comes by. When the Droccen show up, he moves to greet them personally. "Empress Sai!" he says brightly, "Welcome, welcome my dear. I trust the trip was a pleasant one? It is much shorter nowadays."

A young Lyraen slips past them with a muttered "Scuse me". He steps up the table and begins reading labels, growing more and more alarmed when he can't find any addressed to him.

"Oh, Proxos!" Sai greeted the Luminary happily with a kiss on each furry cheek.

"It's so wonderful to have Lyrae in the neighborhood. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to come to me." Her tone was warm and sincere with her welcome. Her eyes lit up as she opened her gift.

"Chocolate! I love chocolate, how did you know?" She grinned ruefully at the iou.

"I am afraid I'll owe my pr girl a lot of chocolate after this. And a raise." She laughed but her attention was quickly absorbed by the young Lyraen.

"Is this a relation of yours?" Sai smiled indulgently at the child's enthusiastic search for presents.

DCC

Jaques returned the embrace of the Empress, his muscular frame relaxing to a more familiar stance.

"Worry not, I paid her a visit on the way here. She was doing fairly well among the Zaran's." Jaques flexes his right arm to make a point, upping the boisterous nature of his cadence.

"Needless to say THESE GUNS, will make sure she stays safe. While the revolution may have moved some, dependable allies stay steadfast."

Hotokie waved at his cousin jumping up and down, his words coming out in an incoherent jumble " HI MIKA its been forever, I hear you've been traveling with the Empress OMG you must've seen so much. I've been working with refugees from Hearth and now I can do this "

Hootokie strikes a pose putting two fingers to his temple while holding the other 2 out toward Mika, attempting to contact her telepathically with his Shadow power. Successful or no his nose begins to unknowingly bleed after a brief silence.

Jaques looked at his son in utter bemusement before talking about wrath.

Taking a deep breath he responded "I believe we will, frankly I'm surprised Wrath hasn't developed an ulcer yet. That anger cannot be good for the body. TAKE NOTES kids, Techno-organic super being or not too much stress will RUIN YA!"

Mika's face grew moody as she felt her cousin intrude upon her thoughts. Her eyes grew darker, as though the shadows were drawn to them, bound to them. She backhanded Hotokie's two fingers away from his head.

"Get out of my thoughts." Her scowl was not quite playful but her face softened as she could feel his retreat. Besides, the link worked both ways.

"And who's Delphine? Your girlfriend?"

Droccen Imperium and Galactic Husbando

"SAI!"

The shriek resounded throughout the entire mansion as Korima spotted the Droccen and SPACE KING.

"OMGit'sbeenwaaaaytoolonghowareyoudoingwhat'sbeenha ppeninghow'sMikaMikahowareyouit'sbeentoolongIcan't believeyou'rehere!" Korima wrapped herself around Sai in a hug of legendary might.

"And hello again, SPACE KING, it's always a pleasure! Even if you did stop by just a little while ago." She winked at him before realizing she was crushing the Empress's ribs and sheepishly letting go of her.

Mika Ren's teasing was interrupted by the exuberant arrival of her aunt.

"Korima!!!" Sai screeched back just as happily as Korima had.

"I miss you so much!" She clutched her sister back hard.

"Are you doing alright way over there? Do you need anything?" She kept ahold of Korima's hand even after the other woman had released her from her bear hug.

"Look how much Mika's grown!" Mika looked at her mother indignantly.

"I'm a grown woman!"

"I know but your Aunt hasn't seen you in ages!"

"I'm sure she's seen pics of me on those horrid gossip vlogs." The scowl returned to Mika's face before she realized she may have insulted her Aunt by accident.

"Not like, yours Auntie..." She smiled sheepishly at Korima and resisted the urge to pull her hood up over her head.

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-21, 11:11 PM

Trouble Brewing

Luna Starshine quietly moved along the buffet eyeing the food before she settled on a small metal bowl holding several fruits. Quietly, carefully, she unloaded the bowl of its cargo and slipped the bowl under her coat. Carefully she walked off, fruit in her mouth, as she headed back outside to the Garden.

Receiving Gifts

Flash smiled as he read the I.O.U. "Many-thanks." he chuckled, "It should last me max-time one week."

When he got free of the gift exchange, Flash limped over to Lyrae, "Hi-hi, Lyrae, I much-hope you have joy-joy on this day."

Ivor_The_Mad

2019-12-22, 09:28 AM

Lleban

2019-12-22, 10:52 PM

Mika's face grew moody as she felt her cousin intrude upon her thoughts. Her eyes grew darker, as though the shadows were drawn to them, bound to them. She backhanded Hotokie's two fingers away from his head.

"Get out of my thoughts." Her scowl was not quite playful but her face softened as she could feel his retreat. Besides, the link worked both ways.

"And who's Delphine? Your girlfriend?"

Hotokie jumped back, bowing in apology to his cousin repeatedly. Gesticulating wildly, as his raspberry skin became flushed "SORRY! She's more a girl associate than a girlfriend ya know."

Hotokie scrambles as he attempts to change the subject "So you're mom take's you out to Imperial business right! You must've see some crazy stuff, Whats it all like."

Droccen Imperium and Galactic Husbando

"SAI!"

The shriek resounded throughout the entire mansion as Korima spotted the Droccen and SPACE KING.

"OMGit'sbeenwaaaaytoolonghowareyoudoingwhat'sbeenha ppeninghow'sMikaMikahowareyouit'sbeentoolongIcan't believeyou'rehere!" Korima wrapped herself around Sai in a hug of legendary might.

"And hello again, SPACE KING, it's always a pleasure! Even if you did stop by just a little while ago." She winked at him before realizing she was crushing the Empress's ribs and sheepishly letting go of her.

Conveyance
A single Jesska stepped forward to Wrath, raising a hand in silent greeting. She studied the two for a long moment before speaking in short, clipped syllables.

"Conveyance. What is Beyond?"

SPACE KING shouted "Bae Bae, its always a pleasure! "

Looking upon her bear hugging, SPACE KING smiles with pride. "I see you've made MAD GAINS with those SPACE PLANKS."

HalfTangible

2019-12-23, 01:22 AM

Veritus-Timens

The Governor was a useful distraction to the agents of the Families. The strange fearful species the Duenum had described was here, and both Jesska shadowed them eagerly as they pledged utter surrender to everyone they met. It was incredibly silly, but therein lay the opportunity.

At a moment when Adiuva was alone with her delegation, away from any other species, two Jesska stepped out of the shadows.

"Adiuva of the Veritus-Timens. We approach you with an offer."

"Your people are stronger than they know. But you are paralyzed by fear."

"You are not so doomed as you believe. You have surrendered to many who could not even fight a war."

"The Commonwealth of Zara can give you strength. Cast off your fear, and with our help you will grow among the greats."

"Cling to it, shroud yourself in it, and your people shall wither away on their own sooner than any alien can destroy you."

There was a creature on Timens called an evito with a very odd reproductive system. It had two stages, both of which could reproduce, and no true infantile stage that science could find. The second stage had a tail that looked like the stem of a plant. It would hide among flowers or other plants, and it would grow a fruit on the end of its tail. A wonderful, enticing scent would waft in the air around it. The fruit would grow massive, juicy and succulent. It was a wonderous taste to experience, and the creature that ate it would experience no ill effects from eating the fruit.

At first.

The fruit was how the second stage evito reproduced. Over the course of months, Evito young would develop within the host that ate the fruit, and multiply. They would find their way through the host, searching for neural pathways they could follow to the host's brain. They would rewire the host's mind so that they would seek out more of the fruit, and bring it to others to try. Slowly but surely the mind of the host would be destroyed, and then the evito young would feast on what remained of the corpse. They would then develop into their second stage, and begin growing fruits of their own to begin the process all over again. It was one of the more insidious and subtly horrifying ways to die on Timens.

Adiuva had only seen an evito's fruit once. The fruit had seemed delectable and wonderful, but the giver had made her pause. The male who had offered it to her had been frenzied, wide-eyed and clearly out of it, mere days from the end. The combination of the two feelings was something she could only describe as false comfort.

She was getting the same feeling now from these two. "I beg your forgivness, but we have already vassalized to the Duenem in order to preserve our species. We cannot join you."

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-23, 03:37 AM

Acquiring Targets (Hotokie, Mika Ren, Luna)

Luna's cam-drone hummed along through the garden as the Grymlan worked on her personal project. The light metal snap sticks formed the frame of Project Max-Snow; two sturdy poles jutting up from a snap-stick platform anchored in the earth. Elastic cord from her kit had been strung from the tips of the poles to the bowl she had absconded with earlier. She glanced over at her hand computer and watched as the drone found two Droccen talking between themselves, unaware of Luna's observation. Touching a button on her hand computer, trajectory information began calculating as a light emitter displayed a hologram overlayed upon her construction.

"Based on cuwwent conditions, this shouwd dewivew an optimaw tawgeting sowution." OwO chimed in through the hand computer as Luna rolled a beach-ball sized snowball into the bowl and pulled it back on it, adding tension to the elastic cords. "OwO wouwd wike to point out that cuwwent ammunition packing is sub-optimaw and wiww wikewy bweak apawt mid fwight, unwess that was youw goaw in the fiwst pwace."

The cam-drone clicked as a small laser on its side lit up, painting a crimson dot innocuously between the feet of Hotokie.

With a manic grin, Luna let the bowl release, sending her payload off with a puff of snow as the snow artillery aimed to claim its first victim.

Minescratcher

2019-12-23, 08:27 PM

Mika Ren's teasing was interrupted by the exuberant arrival of her aunt.

"Korima!!!" Sai screeched back just as happily as Korima had.

"I miss you so much!" She clutched her sister back hard.

"Are you doing alright way over there? Do you need anything?" She kept ahold of Korima's hand even after the other woman had released her from her bear hug.

"Look how much Mika's grown!" Mika looked at her mother indignantly.

"I'm a grown woman!"

"I know but your Aunt hasn't seen you in ages!"

"I'm sure she's seen pics of me on those horrid gossip vlogs." The scowl returned to Mika's face before she realized she may have insulted her Aunt by accident.

"Not like, yours Auntie..." She smiled sheepishly at Korima and resisted the urge to pull her hood up over her head.
"Oh, things are going perfectly fine! The lizards are always a little weird but they're happy for me to do whatever so long as I don't intervene in their little family feuds, though it'd be nice to have an easier way to pop back to Droccen every now and then."

Korima winked at Mika Ren. "You've grown so much! And for your information the only horrid gossip vlog I watch is mine." The superstar's face was stern and reprimanding... for an instant, before she broke out laughing. "The pictures don't do you justice, anyway. Look at how much you've grown!"

SPACE KING shouted "Bae Bae, its always a pleasure! "

Looking upon her bear hugging, SPACE KING smiles with pride. "I see you've made MAD GAINS with those SPACE PLANKS."

"Well, never say I haven't learned anything from you, babe. I'm looking forward to more SPACE WORKOUTS now that you're so close by," she answered slyly. "My GAINS are legendary among some of the worse-behaved lizards!"

Noro's head whirred again as his camera refocused on the couple, for lack of juicier gossip.

There was a creature on Timens called an evito with a very odd reproductive system. It had two stages, both of which could reproduce, and no true infantile stage that science could find. The second stage had a tail that looked like the stem of a plant. It would hide among flowers or other plants, and it would grow a fruit on the end of its tail. A wonderful, enticing scent would waft in the air around it. The fruit would grow massive, juicy and succulent. It was a wonderous taste to experience, and the creature that ate it would experience no ill effects from eating the fruit.

At first.

The fruit was how the second stage evito reproduced. Over the course of months, Evito young would develop within the host that ate the fruit, and multiply. They would find their way through the host, searching for neural pathways they could follow to the host's brain. They would rewire the host's mind so that they would seek out more of the fruit, and bring it to others to try. Slowly but surely the mind of the host would be destroyed, and then the evito young would feast on what remained of the corpse. They would then develop into their second stage, and begin growing fruits of their own to begin the process all over again. It was one of the more insidious and subtly horrifying ways to die on Timens.

Adiuva had only seen an evito's fruit once. The fruit had seemed delectable and wonderful, but the giver had made her pause. The male who had offered it to her had been frenzied, wide-eyed and clearly out of it, mere days from the end. The combination of the two feelings was something she could only describe as false comfort.

She was getting the same feeling now from these two. "I beg your forgivness, but we have already vassalized to the Duenem in order to preserve our species. We cannot join you."

The first Jesska wore a look of shock, while the second looked deeply at Adiuva, holding silent eye contact. When they spoke again it was in a comforting and almost flattering tone.

"We do not wish for your servitude, or even for tribute."

"All we desire is your alliance - to stand as equals in a malevolent galaxy."

"We would offer you three decades of collected galactic research and technology, and the knowledge to implement it without destroying yourself."

"All we desire in return is that you open a diplomatic embassy between us, as a sign of good faith and union."

"You may place it wherever you desire, so that you do not fear that we are spying out your world."

"It is a simple offer - no deceit, no catch, no hidden doomsday for your people."

The two Jesska lowered their voices to a barely-audible hiss.

"The cream of the combined galaxy's technology, a power your people rightly fear because they do not have it..."

"Or a slow wasting away and a final whimpering death, leaving you merely a note in the margins of the long histories of Axiom."

HalfTangible

2019-12-23, 08:52 PM

The first Jesska wore a look of shock, while the second looked deeply at Adiuva, holding silent eye contact. When they spoke again it was in a comforting and almost flattering tone.

"We do not wish for your servitude, or even for tribute."

"All we desire is your alliance - to stand as equals in a malevolent galaxy."

"We would offer you three decades of collected galactic research and technology, and the knowledge to implement it without destroying yourself."

"All we desire in return is that you open a diplomatic embassy between us, as a sign of good faith and union."

"You may place it wherever you desire, so that you do not fear that we are spying out your world."

"It is a simple offer - no deceit, no catch, no hidden doomsday for your people."

The two Jesska lowered their voices to a barely-audible hiss.

"The cream of the combined galaxy's technology, a power your people rightly fear because they do not have it..."

"Or a slow wasting away and a final whimpering death, leaving you merely a note in the margins of the long histories of Axiom."Adiuva's back spines shivered and stood up straight. She was growing quite irritated; today had been a very bad day and she was sick of these lying xenos trying to assure her of absolute bullcrap. Part of her wished they'd hurry up and declare their war on the Veritus; at least then they'd stop feeding her poisoned honey.

"Cease trying to bait me into being your willing slave. No one would ever admit to deception; your assurances otherwise are pointless." She pointed back towards the party, towards the Duenem. "Dress up our subjugation in whatever terms you see fit, we cannot give it to you. Talk to the Duenem if you seek more from us."

PepperP.

2019-12-24, 02:33 AM

Hotokie jumped back, bowing in apology to his cousin repeatedly. Gesticulating wildly, as his raspberry skin became flushed "SORRY! She's more a girl associate than a girlfriend ya know."

Hotokie scrambles as he attempts to change the subject "So you're mom take's you out to Imperial business right! You must've see some crazy stuff, Whats it all like."

Mika Ren felt somewhat bad as Hotokie reacted contritely to her admonitions. She shook her head to clear it of the intrusion. Ever since her time on Raphos, her telepathic abilities had become more sensitive. What might begin as a single voice could grow into a discordant choir of jumbled thoughts intruding upon her own.

"Well, it's all a bit much. She's beautiful goodness and light and they all love her. Everyone wants to be her but me." She bit her bottom lip to silence her errant tongue before she realized she hadn't spoken her thoughts out loud. She glanced to her cousin to see if he had picked up on them.

"Oh well you know, it's a lot of diplomatic missions so its a lot of the usual stuff." She sent him a vision of the Ren Queen floating in her underwater void.

"Pretty boring..." She tried to make her voice sound convincing for her Mother and Auntie's sake.

"Oh, things are going perfectly fine! The lizards are always a little weird but they're happy for me to do whatever so long as I don't intervene in their little family feuds, though it'd be nice to have an easier way to pop back to Droccen every now and then."

Korima winked at Mika Ren. "You've grown so much! And for your information the only horrid gossip vlog I watch is mine." The superstar's face was stern and reprimanding... for an instant, before she broke out laughing. "The pictures don't do you justice, anyway. Look at how much you've grown!"

"Well, if you can convince the families to shell out for a CpC base in Zara space, it would make transport between us much easier. Though of course, it would still be somewhat limited." Sai squeezed Korima's hand. Mika smiled despite herself and the resemblance to her mother was suddenly uncanny.

"It has been a while I guess." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. Her mother and Aunt always looked absolutely perfect. She always looked absolutely disheveled.

"I saw your new line of hoodies... I've been thinking of picking one up." She tilted her head towards Hotokie.

"In fact... HE told me he'd bring me one next time he saw me!" She eyes his empty hands accusingly."

Acquiring Targets (Hotokie, Mika Ren, Luna)

Luna's cam-drone hummed along through the garden as the Grymlan worked on her personal project. The light metal snap sticks formed the frame of Project Max-Snow; two sturdy poles jutting up from a snap-stick platform anchored in the earth. Elastic cord from her kit had been strung from the tips of the poles to the bowl she had absconded with earlier. She glanced over at her hand computer and watched as the drone found two Droccen talking between themselves, unaware of Luna's observation. Touching a button on her hand computer, trajectory information began calculating as a light emitter displayed a hologram overlayed upon her construction.

"Based on cuwwent conditions, this shouwd dewivew an optimaw tawgeting sowution." OwO chimed in through the hand computer as Luna rolled a beach-ball sized snowball into the bowl and pulled it back on it, adding tension to the elastic cords. "OwO wouwd wike to point out that cuwwent ammunition packing is sub-optimaw and wiww wikewy bweak apawt mid fwight, unwess that was youw goaw in the fiwst pwace."

The cam-drone clicked as a small laser on its side lit up, painting a crimson dot innocuously between the feet of Hotokie.

With a manic grin, Luna let the bowl release, sending her payload off with a puff of snow as the snow artillery aimed to claim its first victim.

"Ack!" Mika Ren squealed with surprise as the beach ball sized snow-missile broke off into several smaller snowballs and landed at her and her cousin's feet. She dove behind a half-finished snowman and peeked at their ambushers.

"Grymlans!" She hissed at Hotokie but she choked on her words as she saw that he had been hit by one of the snowballs and erupted into an uncharacteristic fit of giggles.

"Get down here and help me make snowballs!"

LapisCattis

2019-12-24, 03:11 AM

Gifts!

Nozdak stepped up to receive the Kronins present. when he finished unwrapping it he read the label "Ice cream maker". He turned to Proxos, "Thank you very much for your gift. I am sure we will enjoy this very much back home. We have few things like this on our planet." He turns to one of his guards who hands him a stack of metal plates about the size of a trading card. He hands one to Proxos. On the front, it has a button and some groves forming a circle in its center, it is a data chip. "This is our gift to you, it is not exactly festive but it's the only thing we thought might interest everyone. This chip contains the plans for a new technological development we have mastered, cloaking devices. Specifically the plans for a deployable cloaked minefield. It is quite useful for most areal battles."

The Penguin and the Kids
The chaos of the early stages of the event had confused everyone's sense of time, but as far as Jacksy could tell, after she'd left for her little snow home, Mirna had gotten thrown across the hall and required medical attention, Bart had gotten drunk, Malyat almost went to war, and she'd then gotten roped into distracting Gidei and Kirda with a snowball fight where she had embarrassingly pelted the leader of the Kronin with snowballs. She'd led the children into the warmth then, the newly healed Mirna taking it easy in a gingerbread cave, and the boys had cooled down with a children's film. Now, all three were ready to 'introduce flappy to the friendlies,' albeit with the brothers flanking Mirna (who had been convinced with gumdrops to leave her cave) and with a short detour for more snowballs.

Jacksy wasn't quite sure of the first choice of introductions, though. "Oh, chicks, I don't think Empress Sai wants to be bothered-"

SMACK The shorter female next to Sai (Mika?) ate snow as Gidei launched a snowball with his tail.

"...Hello Empress, it's good to see you again. Might we interest you in a snowball fight before discussions?"

The Adults
Mitzi had rejoined Malyat after the gift giving, if only to divest herself of the heavy skis.

"Nozdak! What a pleasure it is to see you again. It's been a while since that debacle with the Rothuun." Malyat was not known to be the best small-talker. "How are these mines meant to be deployed? I don't suppose our engineers could work to retrofit one onto a Nemi?"

Tychris1

2019-12-24, 03:34 AM

Vix-Tal and Captain Fang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9bOsdHckhg)

The Fire Lord and the Eradicator had arrived with little fanfare. They were already severely inebriated irritating their third traveling companion, a black masked man in fine cut clothes, and markers that made him out to be some Source Knight in the Core Patrol. Raucously hooting and hollering they worked their way around the outskirts of the manor stopping only briefly to point and laugh at the Grymlans and their inept snowball fighting skills. Barging in to the grounds proper Vix-Tal threw back his massive head whilst slapping his snow white belly and bellowed "I was told I would be given a good time! Give me my good time!"

He burped and released a cone of bright kaleidoscopic flames into the air, eliciting a high pitched squeaky seizure of laughter from the Grymlan Captain, and their masked companion obsscuring their face even more with their hands and bent head.

Lleban

2019-12-26, 04:38 PM

Mika Ren felt somewhat bad as Hotokie reacted contritely to her admonitions. She shook her head to clear it of the intrusion. Ever since her time on Raphos, her telepathic abilities had become more sensitive. What might begin as a single voice could grow into a discordant choir of jumbled thoughts intruding upon her own.

"Well, it's all a bit much. She's beautiful goodness and light and they all love her. Everyone wants to be her but me." She bit her bottom lip to silence her errant tongue before she realized she hadn't spoken her thoughts out loud. She glanced to her cousin to see if he had picked up on them.

"Oh well you know, it's a lot of diplomatic missions so its a lot of the usual stuff." She sent him a vision of the Ren Queen floating in her underwater void.

"Pretty boring..." She tried to make her voice sound convincing for her Mother and Auntie's sake.

"Ack!" Mika Ren squealed with surprise as the beach ball sized snow-missile broke off into several smaller snowballs and landed at her and her cousin's feet. She dove behind a half-finished snowman and peeked at their ambushers.

"Grymlans!" She hissed at Hotokie but she choked on her words as she saw that he had been hit by one of the snowballs and erupted into an uncharacteristic fit of giggles.

"Get down here and help me make snowballs!"

While he'd be rebuked by his cousin, Hotokie was still paying enough attention to catch Mika's message. It took a bit of focus, but he managed to project a memory of his younger fumbling lift on of his fathers dun bells. "Don't be her, be you! Give it time and everyone will want to be Empress Mika Ren Goddess of the Shadow." Hopefully he'd sent the thought in a far less invasive manner than earlier.

Hotokie projected a second vision, a loving caricature of Mika lording over a fleet of pink ships while verbally adding. You have a dark future and woe to those who stand in the way of...."

Hotokie's attempt at encouragement was cutoff by an improbably large snowball slamming directly into his face, nearly knocking him to ground. After scrambling for cover he began forming several baseball sized snowballs.

[QUOTE=Minescratcher;24324002]

"Well, never say I haven't learned anything from you, babe. I'm looking forward to more SPACE WORKOUTS now that you're so close by," she answered slyly. "My GAINS are legendary among some of the worse-behaved lizards!"

Noro's head whirred again as his camera refocused on the couple, for lack of juicier gossip.

SPACE KING struck a pose before shouting "HELL YEAH. And if those Minotaurs slip into your DM's we can experiment whether steak is best medium or well done!"

He almost sheepishly added "... On designated CHEAT days, of course."

PepperP.

2019-12-26, 05:06 PM

The Snowball Fight

While he'd be rebuked by his cousin, Hotokie was still paying enough attention to catch Mika's message. It took a bit of focus, but he managed to project a memory of his younger fumbling lift on of his fathers dun bells. "Don't be her, be you! Give it time and everyone will want to be Empress Mika Ren Goddess of the Shadow." Hopefully he'd sent the thought in a far less invasive manner than earlier.

Hotokie projected a second vision, a loving caricature of Mika lording over a fleet of pink ships while verbally adding. You have a dark future and woe to those who stand in the way of...."

Hotokie's attempt at encouragement was cutoff by an improbably large snowball slamming directly into his face, nearly knocking him to ground. After scrambling for cover he began forming several baseball sized snowballs.

The Penguin and the Kids
The chaos of the early stages of the event had confused everyone's sense of time, but as far as Jacksy could tell, after she'd left for her little snow home, Mirna had gotten thrown across the hall and required medical attention, Bart had gotten drunk, Malyat almost went to war, and she'd then gotten roped into distracting Gidei and Kirda with a snowball fight where she had embarrassingly pelted the leader of the Kronin with snowballs. She'd led the children into the warmth then, the newly healed Mirna taking it easy in a gingerbread cave, and the boys had cooled down with a children's film. Now, all three were ready to 'introduce flappy to the friendlies,' albeit with the brothers flanking Mirna (who had been convinced with gumdrops to leave her cave) and with a short detour for more snowballs.

Jacksy wasn't quite sure of the first choice of introductions, though. "Oh, chicks, I don't think Empress Sai wants to be bothered-"

SMACK The shorter female next to Sai (Mika?) ate snow as Gidei launched a snowball with his tail.

"...Hello Empress, it's good to see you again. Might we interest you in a snowball fight before discussions?"

A look of alarm crossed Sai's face.

"Snowball fight...?" Any protestations against participating were cut short however as a barrage of snowballs descended upon everybody indiscriminately. She turned to see the two Guardians, Kuro and Karo picking up more snow.

"Are we doing it right?" Kuro asked as he quickly formed another armload of snowballs.

"Karo!" Mika screeched from behind the abandoned snowman.

"Who's side are you on, anyway?" With a grunt of effort and a quick motion with her hand, Mika caused a large wave of snow to threaten the Grymlans. Sai shrugged and grinned at Malyat.

"Doesn't look like we have a choice..."

Vix-Tal and Captain Fang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9bOsdHckhg)

The Fire Lord and the Eradicator had arrived with little fanfare. They were already severely inebriated irritating their third traveling companion, a black masked man in fine cut clothes, and markers that made him out to be some Source Knight in the Core Patrol. Raucously hooting and hollering they worked their way around the outskirts of the manor stopping only briefly to point and laugh at the Grymlans and their inept snowball fighting skills. Barging in to the grounds proper Vix-Tal threw back his massive head whilst slapping his snow white belly and bellowed "I was told I would be given a good time! Give me my good time!"

He burped and released a cone of bright kaleidoscopic flames into the air, eliciting a high pitched squeaky seizure of laughter from the Grymlan Captain, and their masked companion obsscuring their face even more with their hands and bent head.

Mika Ren's attention was diverted briefly from the snowball fight to the newcomers. She recognized the delegates as being from WWE. She lobbed two snowballs at Vix-Tal and Captain Fang before she realized she didn't recognize the masked man but could feel the familiarity of his affinity to the shadows surrounding him.

Miltonian

2019-12-27, 01:52 AM

Lighter looks over the book. "Thank you for this gift Proxos, if such a book worked for Lyrae, it should work for us as well. We just need to calculate if we can actually experience or only simulate it first."

From the one diode shining, it was obvious Lighter was attempting a wink, and failing miserably.

Proxos chuckles and winks back, much more convincing about it. "May it serve you well!" he declares.

Proxos

"Smile for the camera, Proxos!" Korima charged across the snow and collided with Proxos, wrapping him in a tight hug. Her bright red scarf tangled around him, and she fought to disentangle herself as Noro appeared behind her, walking at a much slower pace. "You're live for the whole galaxy, with an INTERGALACTIC SUPERSTAR on your doorstep!"

Proxos beams willingly, well-used to the camera at this point. "Korima, Korima, Korima," he says with a chuckle, "Last time, I was your guest, but now you are mine! I do hope that my hospitali--

Whistling out of the sky, a two snowballs strike both Proxos and Korima in the face. "YEAH!" Meerax's voice calls, "DOUBLE POINTS FOR HITTING THE SUPERSTAR!"

"In the face too!" Raff chimes in, "That's quadruple points!"

Proxos' eyes flash. He tries to put a smile back on his face. "My sincerest apologies, my dear."

"Oh, Proxos!" Sai greeted the Luminary happily with a kiss on each furry cheek.

"It's so wonderful to have Lyrae in the neighborhood. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to come to me." Her tone was warm and sincere with her welcome. Her eyes lit up as she opened her gift.

"Chocolate! I love chocolate, how did you know?" She grinned ruefully at the iou.

"I am afraid I'll owe my pr girl a lot of chocolate after this. And a raise." She laughed but her attention was quickly absorbed by the young Lyraen.

"Is this a relation of yours?" Sai smiled indulgently at the child's enthusiastic search for presents.

Proxos refrains from licking Sai in return. He may have the form of a wolf, but there were some lines he did not want to cross. "I will pass that along," he promises, "I am sure she will be more than pleased to hear it."

He turns slightly and spots the young Lyraen. "Ah. Allow me to introduce Raff of House Lyrae," he says, "Lately adopted into the house, you see."

Raff looks up and waves. "Hey there," he calls. He glowers at Proxos, "You forgot to mention something."

The Luminary raises an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

Raff puffs out his chest. "I'm the most awesomest Lyraen there ever was!"

Trouble Brewing

Luna Starshine quietly moved along the buffet eyeing the food before she settled on a small metal bowl holding several fruits. Quietly, carefully, she unloaded the bowl of its cargo and slipped the bowl under her coat. Carefully she walked off, fruit in her mouth, as she headed back outside to the Garden.

Receiving Gifts

Flash smiled as he read the I.O.U. "Many-thanks." he chuckled, "It should last me max-time one week."

When he got free of the gift exchange, Flash limped over to Lyrae, "Hi-hi, Lyrae, I much-hope you have joy-joy on this day."

Proxos blinks rapidly for a few seconds. "Oh! I see my gift is a few years too late. I do hope you at least have some video of the first Grymlan to try coffee?"

====

Lyrae looks up from a missive she's writing as Flash calls to her and nods. "And to you," she says, some warmth creeping back into her voice, "It is supposed to be a joyous occasion! I do hope you are enjoying yourself."

Gifts!

Nozdak stepped up to receive the Kronins present. when he finished unwrapping it he read the label "Ice cream maker". He turned to Proxos, "Thank you very much for your gift. I am sure we will enjoy this very much back home. We have few things like this on our planet." He turns to one of his guards who hands him a stack of metal plates about the size of a trading card. He hands one to Proxos. On the front, it has a button and some groves forming a circle in its center, it is a data chip. "This is our gift to you, it is not exactly festive but it's the only thing we thought might interest everyone. This chip contains the plans for a new technological development we have mastered, cloaking devices. Specifically the plans for a deployable cloaked minefield. It is quite useful for most areal battles."

"Ah! Then before you leave," Proxos declares, "I shall requisition another freighter and send a full cargo load of the ingredients home with you, so that you may properly enjoy it. You will just need, well, ice."

His eyes go a little wide at the offered present. "Th-thank you kindly! This will be a great relief, given our current proximity to the Core."

Vix-Tal and Captain Fang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9bOsdHckhg)

The Fire Lord and the Eradicator had arrived with little fanfare. They were already severely inebriated irritating their third traveling companion, a black masked man in fine cut clothes, and markers that made him out to be some Source Knight in the Core Patrol. Raucously hooting and hollering they worked their way around the outskirts of the manor stopping only briefly to point and laugh at the Grymlans and their inept snowball fighting skills. Barging in to the grounds proper Vix-Tal threw back his massive head whilst slapping his snow white belly and bellowed "I was told I would be given a good time! Give me my good time!"

He burped and released a cone of bright kaleidoscopic flames into the air, eliciting a high pitched squeaky seizure of laughter from the Grymlan Captain, and their masked companion obsscuring their face even more with their hands and bent head.

The (snowball) rain of terror continues! No sooner have the other projectiles hit home than two more land on the Fire Lord and Eradicator's heads, dropped from the sky! A young Lyraen (Raff, current Lyraen prince) rides an uplifted Kronin dragon (Meerax), showering snowballs on any likely targets from on high!

"Raff!" Meerax calls, alarmed, "Did you just hit an actual space pirate on the head with a snowball?"

"Yep!" Raff replies, "Now book it before he shoots us with a space-flintlock and makes us walk the space-plank!"

Tychris1

2019-12-28, 02:40 PM

SquirrelWizard

2019-12-28, 09:03 PM

Lyrae

Lyrae looks up from a missive she's writing as Flash calls to her and nods. "And to you," she says, some warmth creeping back into her voice, "It is supposed to be a joyous occasion! I do hope you are enjoying yourself."

"Yes-yes." Flash nodded in responses to Lyrae's question. "As much-much as my new-leg allows," he added as reflexively patted the prosthetic, and sighed. "I wont false-tell you. Happy-fun times bring thoughts to far-future. You are a luminary. Death of your vessel is undesirable, but your craft-plans will long-live past its death because you will teach-guide next vessel. I am Grymlan, we are not much-known for our long-life. Entropy was in my favor when Aetherweave quick-saved me from An'Null's trap. It was hard-win, but I not-know how long I have entropy-favor. My best-goal was leave Combine in max-best place for next High Coordinator. But, Combine is quick-growing, much-legal-tape."

The Grymlan was silent for a while. "When I am dead, I puzzle-think over what Combine will become. My craft-plans mostly-end with me, and Combine may not long-live beyond me. I look-see around many other Star-powers who have birth-titles, Emperors, Empresses. I puzzle-think if it is time for Combine make-over, with much-stronger head."

In the grim future there is only Snowball War

Luna had ducked under the wave of snow while using the metal bowl to shield herself. She hurriedly tried to pack another snowball to launch.

"Just like pelting that dumba** Flash!"

Luna's eyes narrowed as she had the camera on her drone sweep around and locate the owner of those words. It was no other than Captain Fang, a tailless Grymlan who was known among the Grymlans of the Combine as a traitor to all things decent. She adjusted her launcher platform and loaded her hastily made ammunition on it as OwO made the appropriate calculations on trajectory.

Perhaps taking a snowball to his face will shut the bastard up.

Lleban

2020-01-02, 02:44 PM

Snow fight Snow Might

Hotokie began throwing snowballs at Fang while shouting insults, "Go back to Vix Tal's throat you over sized hairball." He did his best to rapidly pelt the mangy Grymlan, but his target was simply was to slippery. Yes that was it, Hotokie's hand eye coordination was fine, and he certainly wasn't skipping shot put practice.

Upon hearing the Hollow Knight talking he almost instinctively darted up in attention, leaving himself vulnerable to any counter attack.

Ivor_The_Mad

2020-01-03, 12:54 PM

Rak hears the sounds of shouting outside and decides to go see what's happening. He stands up from his nice spot by the fire and walks towards the door. He steps outside and his combat training kicks in as a projectile flies towards his head. His gun already in his hand fires, vaporizing the projectile midair. He quickly dives for cover as another few projectiles whiz past him. He reaches his arm letting the sick Metal tunes reverberate from him catching one of the projectiles and bringing it to him. Just snow. It now donned on him that this was not a real fight. This was like the sparring matches that they partook in as part of their training. He slipped his weapon back in his holster and looked around. He spotted 2 more kronin on the other side of the battlefield letting loose volleys of the snowy projectiles from a fort made of snow. They were accompanied by a couple of the young Ndoda who were surprisingly deadly with the snowballs. He hoped up dodging a few stray shots and made it over to his friends.

He was scanning the battlefield for targets when he noticed a movement in the snow like something small burrowing its way around. It traveled over towards one of the other forts which was occupied by the Droccen. Ouch! What was that?!" He looked back at the fort where he saw one of the Droccen pop up in surprise as the tiny thing burrowed away.

Aboard the Kronin ship, a rustling can be heard. Something running along the floor like mice. The door to the ship creeps open but no one notices what escapes.

Lleban

2020-01-04, 01:19 PM

Real talk SPACE TALK (conveyance)

SPACE KING Took the opportunity to speak to Axiom's greatest prankster in the midst of the icy chaos. Let the gyrmlans, and bugs focus on their trifles, SPACE KING, will be the one to learn all.

Yo Conveyance, did the Callers go to the beyond, and more importantly...can we acess the beyond and return.

Gengy

2020-01-04, 06:42 PM

Conveyance

"Conveyance, Guardian is still functional, but low on power. It was encountered approximately 26 galactic years ago and was responsible for the Maturation of the current galactic powers. It placed itself into a state of hibernation afterwards. Violet-Pale-Feet is highly excited at the prospect of SCIENCE!! "Do you know a way Guardian could be restored to full functionality?"

The box holding the Caller AI seemed to thrum for a moment. Like someone considering a problem presented before them they had not before thought of. "Sibling Guardian yet functions. Interesting. Low power hibernation likely due to a forced state or last resort. High power output plus low efficiency equals less run time without recharge. Expending power sources too frequently was always cause for concern of designers of Guardian. Deemed inefficient. This one's design is much better. Restoration to full functionality is plausible, with the correct combination of resources. Method was deemed efficient, though rejected by many creators as too destructive. What is a world, however, compared to keeping Axiom running at peak performance? Results may vary. Current output of sibling Guardian may exceed current database of expectations."

Talotius regards Conveyance in silence for a moment, the motes having at first been steady before a brief intense display of chromatic turbulence ripples through the Aether stone and then goes dead calm again.

"That is correct: Guardian is still operating. They were responsible for the collection of Elevated Siblings present - and many which are not - reaching beyond their original home worlds. It has been available for remote communication while in a low-energy but not full state of torpor. We believe there are potentially more of your Siblings that may be in a state of reduced function which might be revivable, and plan to begin an active search in the immediate future. That effort assumes that galactic reshuffling is something which will not occur again, however."

"You are correct again: Tezh morphology is incompatible with physicality at this layer of existence. To fully substantiate would be disastrous - for We Tezh as well as physicality itself. We work around this by way of meta-materials sensitive to exotic states of energy which allow tangential perception through and interaction with mobile frames; such as this one which is called Talotius."

The former Speaker stops for a moment "But this is not suitable for social festivities and cultural events. We look forward to conversing at length in the future". The choral voice does not say the words 'in private' but they could easily be attached to the sentence due to the sudden diversion away from the topic of Tezh origins and presence.

Brigid happens to come up to her predecessor at a (perhaps too) coincidentally fortunate moment - her eyes are dilated just a little and she's looking very loose and content "Tal.. it really is a shame you can't enjoy some of this. It's CRAZY the things people put together, and the processes they came up with, to make some of this stuff. It's a good thing you take a sip first because if they tell you how they MADE it before you drink, you'd never actually put the glass to your lips."

She catches up with social awareness out of the mild bit of boozy fog and notices Wrath and Conveyance, pulling a bit of diplomatic composure back away from her previously jaunty state.

"I recognize that face" as Wrath's mask was literally the signature on a particular bit of data that came across her desk "Good to meet you, finally. It would seem that the main disconnect of the times you and the others spoke to the rest of us was because everyone here isn't receptive to.. Empathetic Chi, was it? The Consensus would very much like to bridge that gap if time and energy could be spared to work together."

She turns to Conveyance, Tezh tech arm on her cocked hip in dismay "And you. I can't articulate my thoughts well enough regarding you right now - but it's not nice. But that's thankfully in the past, this is a party" she regards the garb they have been graced with "and you at least seem to have picked up on the nature of festivities. So I won't drag the mood down any more."

She gets ready to head off again and pauses "Wrath - do you drink? There's a seat open with your mask on it if you care to join me."

The Caller AI inside the metal coffin hovering just off the ground has no means of smiling. Talotius, however, gets the feeling of smug satisfaction as it says, "Revolutions are no longer efficient. This one's siblings will either have taken notice... or are incapable of doing so. Estimation of Maturated Races locating one of my Siblings unaided: 14.95% plausibility. Them finding you? 99.91%. Assuming, of course, they wish to be found. Sibling Finder hides incredibly well. Cannot be located even with aid without first convincing it that it wishes to be revealed."

"This one will enjoy watching your efforts."

Wrath sputtered, not enjoying the tone that the AI was taking, and decided to end the conversation. "Right. Well, that's quite enough of that thank you."

Turning, the self-proclaimed warden of the Caller AI looks at Brigid, once again happy to have taken the time to review files so as to know the important people here. "Good to meet you too. I'd ask you to forgive him, but I did warn people that Conveyance will do as he pleases. Which includes being a bit of an ass, apparently. As to your questions, both explicit and implied...?"

"Empathetic Chi - also sometimes called Empathic Chi - is both a form of energy and a method of communication. I understand that many among the Maturated are capable of various levels of psionics, and in some ways Chi is like the energy they utilize. In others, it is vastly different. It's a terribly lengthy conversation, so yes by the Designators, lets get a drink."

Wrath and Conveyance

Flash and OwO-Mech approached the masked individual. Grymlans had not supported the war against Efficiency Grounds, not for lack of capacity, but rather that the timing of the revolution was just bad for the Combine. Flash himself didn't remember meeting Wrath prior, it seemed like something that had been during Jeejee's tenure, but he heard the alien could be a bit of a ****, regardless he put on his best smile and greeted Wrath, "Hi-hi, I see-hear that your fighty-fight go much-good. I'm name-called Flash Starshine, High Coordinator of Grymlan Combine. Since you meet-greet at party, Combine want-talk questions. First, now that Efficiency Ground safe-kept, what are your people's craft-plans for future? Will there be another revolution?"

OwO-Mech's hologram lit up, "Pewhaps OwO can assist youw peopwe. Both OwO and Gwymwans wouwd be vewy intewested in weawning fwom you, and pewhaps you might weawn something fwom us."

Flash nodded, "It little-problem to craft-make a hub for you."

"Youw peopwe might awso be abwe to hewp OwO with its past. Like what happened to the Recwaimews, and whewe they went?"

Wrath nods towards Flash Starshine, as the box holding in Conveyance seems to give it's full - silent - attention on the OwO-Mech. "Conveyance assures us that there will be no further Revolutions by it's hand, and through significant - and often aggravating - questioning, we have also been assured that other Caller AI are unlikely to rearrange the galaxy in such a manner, as it is not their duties to do so. If they want to move entire sectors of material within Axiom, they have to contact Conveyance for it to address their request."

"Grymlan. Classification: Biological. Specific Individual: Recognized now as Flash Starshine. Database updated. Disposition: Nervous. Sentience verified. Emotional mannerisms before an AI: satisfyingly reverent. Observation: Failed Experiment present with Flash Starshine. Failure re-evaluated. Database updated."

Ignoring the unusual Caller AI for the moment, Wrath continues speaking, "My people plan to be a bit more reserved moving forward. Most of our advanced technology came with the drawback of having Conveyance power it from the Beyond. In short, most of it is now inert. We have been told that this is going to be the new norm from now on. So... we'd appreciate any local aid anyone wishes to provide, but my people won't be accepting of any new overlords for a while. As for these... Reclaimers...? I am afraid I don't know. Conveyance?"

"The Experiment may approach my containment unit. Touching it will initiate a data transfer. Some information is not suitable for a party."

The box floated towards the mech, but found Wrath putting one of his three hands on the containment unit and stepping between the two mechanical AI, voice agitated. "Axiom's Edge! I am not letting you transfer any data to any mech, and especially not one that is connected to a vast majority of the universe. No. NO. You get to do what you want, but I get to put my foot down if I think you're up to something, and that lets you get up to too many somethings for me to count. Unless High Coordinator Starshine can guarantee that OwO cannot be infected by a Caller AI, it's not happening!"

"Do not bother the little Grymlan. He will not be able to provide a guarantee. The Experiment could be corrupted easily by any Caller AI. If it has interacted with any other Siblings, it already has been corrupted, depending on the Sibling. This one is offering to corrupt it, in order to further the Experiment. This one has not been part of an Experiment in such a manner in a very very long time."

"No. NO. NO! By all three voices inside me, I refuse this!"

"Please?"

Wrath's mannerism changed instantly. Conveyance had just asked for something. It must be a New Sunrise miracle. "You will respect it's personality. You won't overwrite it, or add a copy of yourself in there. OR corrupt it in a manner that the AI known to the Grymlans as OwO becomes beholden to listening to any of your directives. AND both the High Coordinator and OwO here must agree, knowing that you have blatantly said that you still intend to corrupt OwO in some manner. AND you will owe me a favor. An open ended favor."

"These terms and conditions are acceptable."

That... was not the response that the man in red fatigues was expecting. The Caller AI really wanted this, it seemed. Wrath looked once again at the Grymlan and the mech next to him, "Well. You heard us. Your call now."

Wrath

SPACE KING sauntered up to wrath in order to congratulate "Wrath my boi, smashing job smashing efficiency ground. How does it feel to have triumphed, let me guess furious?! Maybe try cardio, I hear it calms the nerves."

"SPACE KING." Wrath's inflection was correct, if a bit forced. He didn't quite seem to have the nuance down. But he didn't dislike the leader of the Knights; on the contrary, his next words were quite warm, almost friendly even. "I'm part mechanical, so cardio doesn't work the same for me as it does for others. The biological parts of my body are often not enough to keep up with the speed and power output that some of my militaristic maneuvers require... though I had to train them to get to that point to allow the attempts! However, to answer your question: I feel... vindicated. For years, I toiled under a master who's commands we were taught to never question, to never doubt. Now? Now I get to rub it in the smarmy faces of many people who told me to sit down and shut up, when all I did was explain that our former Leader was tricking us along with the rest of the galaxy."

"I was furious before, yes. But now? Well. I'm still angry, but it's an anger that spurs me onward to the future. Like feeling the burn after a good workout; it's just a reminder that there is room to improve."

"Ah! Of course." Proxos nods sagely. "Oh! But that does remind me. Lyrae did have a question she wished me to ask you if you showed up, my dear Conveyance. However, given what I now know about you, I have a better one."

He clears his throat. "So. Was it funny, then? The death of the Spiral Dancers that fueled the Revolution that just happened, I mean." He still smiles, but that is the thing with organic beings. Unlike Wrath, their emotions don't have to match their face. "Don't get me wrong, I can understand the lack of care for the 'little people' filling the galaxy, but I like to think I've moved beyond that now."

Wrath's body didn't move. He'd had a similar question, when he found out about the Spiral Dancers, but so far, the Caller AI hadn't answered to his satisfaction. Maybe now, though?

"Amusement not part of the equation. Power output was required. Empathetic Chi provided by willing sacrifice of bodily psionic energies provided additional power output, and earned this one's attention for the Symbraum. This one was more amused by honoring their requests in a manner they did not seem to fully appreciate. Sibling Redaction would have found the deaths amusing. Sibling Guardian will likely wish to berate this one for what they would deem incorrect use of resources. Efficiency is at times what is most expedient, not what is most safe." The metal box glowed red around the viewports as Conveyance answered. Wrath repressed a sigh. It was a more expansive answer then he had been given before, but it wasn't satisfying.

"Leadership is often about making hard decisions to achieve one's goals. Failing to act is often less efficient than acting, even if later it is deemed the action was incorrect."

Oh ho! That's new!
Did Conveyance just admit their action was incorrect?
I don't think it was a confession of guilt, but maybe a confession of consideration of guilt.

For a second, Lighter compiled the information that the Duenem had gained the favour of at least one aspect of the being. She then drew up a list of questions. A short one, but ones that were certainly important "Thank you, Woe. The first question is how many Revolutions have there been before our group matured? As you may have seen, this possibility was brought up in a recent court case."

She glances at the small box for a second. "The second question is what you all intend to do in the future. Tour Axiom? The Duenem would be happy to accomidate you in your travels should you need it."

For a second she pauses, "...and the last question is do you want some roasted nuts? They are indeed for all to share." The Oven Duen scuttles over, pushing out a rack of roasted nuts of various types.

"The number of Revolutions was none!
Our warning was meant for the first one!
Though I am quite sad to have to say,
Traveling will have to wait for another day.
Leading our people means the work never gets done!"

"As to your offer of nuts?
To warm my cooling guts?
I am afraid I must pass,
They give my body awful gas,
Wrath would be farting all night out of our collective butts!"

Demure though she seemed, Woe almost giggled at that, and the mask of Joy on her face twitched, as though threatening to move and take over.

Ty-Rone and Conveyance:

Hello, Conveyance. Mind answering a few questions for me? Without waiting for an answer, Ty-Rone screams Who are the Callers? What happened to them? Is the galaxy doomed?

"Rothuun. Aggravation levels held in check. Observation: Remarkable. Much like Wrath." The Caller AI seemed almost wistful, even if it's voice was mechanically analytical. The three-armed creature that stood nearby didn't rise to the probably unintended insult.

Wrath just tilted his head a bit, to watch the conversation better, then said, "Answer his questions, Conveyance. He's being polite. You should try it some time."

"Acknowledged. Attempting to educate the uninformed. The Callers, also known as the Designators, and a myriad of other nomenclatures of similar stature, were the race of beings whom not only invented and created this one and it's siblings, but also caused the original explosive force needed to shape Axiom from blank space between other galaxies to something of usable experimentation grounds. They held unquestionable control over Axiom, for the period of several Eons, approaching an entire galactic Epoch. That is a very very long time, in case you were confused.

The exact nature, reason, and time of their departure is unknown to this one. This one's creator explained that the muddling of information regarding the departure of the Callers was a grand amusement of his design, and this one believes it to be true. This one's siblings are on the record as disputing the claim, however, citing other reasons. The fact remains, however: The Callers are gone. They are not in Axiom any longer. If any do remain - and the probability is so low as to be non-existent - they have successfully avoided responsibility for all this time, likely enjoying a much deserved vacation after providing everything and everyone with their very existence. Note: This one's view of it's creators is biased towards favorable.

As for the Galaxy being doomed? Guardian saw fit to Maturate many races. This one's elder sibling likely for saw a difficulty that required such a thing. The exact nature of this threat is not in my databases, however... This one has observed and reviewed all of the current Maturated race's actions to date, and can state that the probability of everyone ending up dead has been reduced by at least 3.7%. Congratulations. You now have a less than 97% chance of certain doom."

"Conveyance..." Wrath growled, crossing his arms and leaning back on a wall.

"Fun-ruiner."

Arms still crossed, waving his other hand in a circular motion, Wrath indicated that the AI should get on with it.

"No, little Rothuun, the Galaxy is not doomed. You all stand a chance. Fight hard to live long. If you must die, die with a smile, for you make Axiom continue even just a moment longer. Perhaps, if we are fortunate, the Callers will return, and this one and it's siblings can collate the needed data to show them that their Galaxy - their idea of what a Galaxy should be - was correct. Does that answer your questions, or did it hurt your thinking capa-"

"Conveyance! Be. Nice."

Real talk SPACE TALK (conveyance)

SPACE KING Took the opportunity to speak to Axiom's greatest prankster in the midst of the icy chaos. Let the gyrmlans, and bugs focus on their trifles, SPACE KING, will be the one to learn all.

Yo Conveyance, did the Callers go to the beyond, and more importantly...can we acess the beyond and return.

The metal box clicked and whirled for a second or two before answering, "Yes."

That... seemed to be it. If there was more to the answer, the Caller AI wasn't being very forthcoming with SPACE KING. Truly, the ruler of the Knights Vacio had learned all.

Conveyance
A single Jesska stepped forward to Wrath, raising a hand in silent greeting. She studied the two for a long moment before speaking in short, clipped syllables.

"Conveyance. What is Beyond?"

Wrath's mask nodded in response to Jesska's greeting, but otherwise said nothing, just listening to the Caller AI. "The Beyond is an extra-planar space of dimensional transition data storage and <untranslatable> space. It is very white. To expound upon it further, consider that most Maturated races have a form of planetary-wide electronic network, often referred to as a 'web' because of the inter-connectivity creating a web-like view. This web is both a place and not a place. It contains and sends data, but the physical location of a planetary network is often everywhere on that planet, and often... beyond."

"The Beyond is the most advanced version of a planetary web. It both exists and does not exist, and has both a place in the galaxy and, at the same time, is outside of it. This one can do more connected to the Beyond than any other AI that is not one of this one's Siblings, as we have... Administrator rights. We can add, remove, move, and do more to anything both within and connected to the Beyond. Which, for the Galaxy of Axiom, if I haven't made it clear, is everything."

"Or, we could, if we wanted to. And others didn't spoil our fun."

If Jesska were to look over at Wrath, she would see one hand on the forehead of the masked face, fingers splayed in a look of despondent acceptance of a fate of existence that no one else wants, as the head shook back and forth slowly.

bc56

2020-01-04, 10:59 PM

SquirrelWizard

2020-01-05, 11:53 AM

What is the worst that can happen? (Wrath, Conveyance, and Combine

The classification as being an experiment was strange for Flash, but he didn't dwell much on the strange AI's mannerisms, this was, after all, the same AI that scrambled the galaxy because it was interesting. He nodded along as Wrath related what he had already suspected. Thankfully any further revolutions would be unlikely, but the fact that the entirety of Wrath's people were having to adjust to an existence without the Conveyance's technology. "Perhaps, Wrath talky-talks with Dynasty, or Combine about near-future plans? Even if you don't group-join with us, we can make friendly-work between our people."

The request of Conveyance to transfer information to OwO caught Flash's attention, he glanced over to the mech to gauge OwO's reaction, a somewhat difficult task for something that lacked facial features. "Much-thanks for info-share," the Grymlan said, the opportunity to gain any kind of information from Caller AI would undoubtedly lead to new insights. "If OwO want-needs, I will have techies data-watch the network."

The OwO mech bobbed as if to nod. "Owo agwees, and is vewy intewested in what knowwedge and insights Conveyance might shawe with it."

While Flash alerted the techies on his ship about what was happening, the OwO mech leaned in and tapped Conveyance lightly with its frame.

moossabi

2020-01-05, 07:56 PM

Exclusively for the Syndrome Overlady, and maybe any high-level psychics hanging around (maybe conveyance)

A bizarre pain sparks to life within the Overlady's brain, similar to the feelings present after consumption of a knowledge parasite but amplified a hundredfold. Through the din a serene voice pierces her thoughts, the voice of a being many light-years away.

The Caller AI has information crucial to the Church's operations. Ask of Sector Z10, and where it was moved during the Revolutions. Send the information to my Pontiff.

As fast as it had inflicted itself upon the Overlady, the pain recedes, leaving her mind clear. Still, some kind of yearning lingers, yearning for the depths of an unending sea...

Miltonian

2020-01-06, 11:27 PM

Snowy Stupidity

Vix-Tal gazed at the Droccen Princess with a cocked, smeared face, and in their locked gaze she could see the polished onyx spheres of his eyes. Before the snowballs were lodged there was already water upon his face, a subtle stream of liquid, mucus, and rheum that flowed nearly imperceptibly through his snow white feathers. He held a single claw out far too late in an effort to catch the hurled projectile but despite their accuracy no snow was present on the Fire Lord or Captain Fang's spiked leather. One could easily assume it was just impossible to tell on the Hearthling, he had fur as white as the tundra, and his body was naturally inclined towards such frigid and unbearable temperatures making an assault of snow a pleasantry more than anything. The truth of the matter was revealed staring upon the far shorter Grymlan standing beside him, teeth barred, gnashing, and hands clenched into balls of hot rage as water coated him and quickly turned to steam rising through the air. "This has ta be tha dumbest f***ing b*****it excuse for ah fight I've seen this side'ah tha galaxy, Vix. Look at these p****es." He brought his left hand up to give a one finger Eradicator salute to the Lyraen Prince "Ya mother's a w***e," "They're just kids, Fang." "Shut up ya fat sack'a's**t and give me a boost so i can nail this twerp." The Fire Lord shrugged and scooped up the Grymlan just as he packed a snowball around a small chunk of ice. Seated on the Hearthling's shoulders Captain Fang squinted, brought his arm back, and with intensive piratical self-destructive training in inebriated combat lobbed it high in the air at the uplifted dragon. He cackled maniacally as he swayed atop the furry turret he had formed with his companion. "Just like pelting that dumba** Flash!" Vix-Tal began to shimmy and dance with his tiny snipers cackling, wide arms wiggling in the air, and sliding casually on melting ice as their combined aura of heat turned te ground to slush around them to give a perfectly dangerous skating rink.

Their masked companion was conspicuously clean, deftly avoiding the barrage of snow, and instead circled around the two inebriated fools. He gazed sternly at Mika Ren from behind the midnight metal of his jagged faceplate, the slight twisting of ornamental horns present on the top of his head forming a macabre crown, and rivulets of scarred markings running down them to a pointed hook over his chin. Walking past the snowball fight he moved to the Gifting Table and looked to Proxos with his probing gaze. Hands bound in tightly wrapped black cloth and wrought purple steel revealed themselves from his robes and dark fatigues. He spoke stiffly with a voice gruff, unused to speech, and trembling with vibrato "I am Maldread, Shadow Knight of the Source, Core Patrolmen of Hallow, and representative of the Wardens of World's End. The Council has appointed...." He gazed back at the two of his companions now preparing one giant snowball the size of a person to roll at Mika Ren with a hipcheck by the Fire Lord "Us to come on behalf of our continual effort to battle and destroy the Scourge of the Same. We were informed you would be reciprocating onto others boons, much as Hearth once hosted you and your fellows in the Couriers, and we are here to collect. What weapon, tool, or spell have you to give to us?"

Proxos First

With absolutely no sign of being put off by the man's appearance of garb, Proxos laughs and slaps the man on the back. "The greatest spell of all, my friend! One before which the Same can never stand!" He throws one arm over the man's shoulders and gestures to the surrounding party. "Look around! It is already being cast. Can you see it? Can you feel it on the wind? Smell it in the air? Hear it in their laughs?"

Ever the consummate salesman, he pauses just long enough for Maldread to consider it before launching back into it. "I present to you the power of friendship, freely offered and freely accepted." He looks around with a smile on his face and sighs contentedly. "Truly, this party is everything I hoped it would be. Barring one minor incident."

"If you would accept my gift, perhaps you will also accept my offer of drinks?"

SNOWBALLIN' OUTTA CONTROL!

"Incoming!" Raff warns. Meerax's head snakes around and shoots a precision blast of fire that melts the snowball in the middle of the air and converts it into steam. They dive down behind a nearby shed and come back up with more snowballs. If they heard the Eradicator's insult to Lyrae herself, they show no sign of it. However, a few nearby Lyraens are glaring openly at them now. No one important heard that, though. Probably. Hopefully.

Lyrae"Yes-yes." Flash nodded in responses to Lyrae's question. "As much-much as my new-leg allows," he added as reflexively patted the prosthetic, and sighed. "I wont false-tell you. Happy-fun times bring thoughts to far-future. You are a luminary. Death of your vessel is undesirable, but your craft-plans will long-live past its death because you will teach-guide next vessel. I am Grymlan, we are not much-known for our long-life. Entropy was in my favor when Aetherweave quick-saved me from An'Null's trap. It was hard-win, but I not-know how long I have entropy-favor. My best-goal was leave Combine in max-best place for next High Coordinator. But, Combine is quick-growing, much-legal-tape."

The Grymlan was silent for a while. "When I am dead, I puzzle-think over what Combine will become. My craft-plans mostly-end with me, and Combine may not long-live beyond me. I look-see around many other Star-powers who have birth-titles, Emperors, Empresses. I puzzle-think if it is time for Combine make-over, with much-stronger head."

Lyrae's face grows more somber. "You would think," she says, "After almost a million years of watching, guiding, even experiencing it, I would grow accustomed to the life and death of 'mortals'." She sighs and looks down. "But I cannot.'

She lapses into silence for a long moment. "I am glad you survived, Flash."

Wrath's body didn't move. He'd had a similar question, when he found out about the Spiral Dancers, but so far, the Caller AI hadn't answered to his satisfaction. Maybe now, though?

"Amusement not part of the equation. Power output was required. Empathetic Chi provided by willing sacrifice of bodily psionic energies provided additional power output, and earned this one's attention for the Symbraum. This one was more amused by honoring their requests in a manner they did not seem to fully appreciate. Sibling Redaction would have found the deaths amusing. Sibling Guardian will likely wish to berate this one for what they would deem incorrect use of resources. Efficiency is at times what is most expedient, not what is most safe." The metal box glowed red around the viewports as Conveyance answered. Wrath repressed a sigh. It was a more expansive answer then he had been given before, but it wasn't satisfying.

"Leadership is often about making hard decisions to achieve one's goals. Failing to act is often less efficient than acting, even if later it is deemed the action was incorrect."

Oh ho! That's new!
Did Conveyance just admit their action was incorrect?
I don't think it was a confession of guilt, but maybe a confession of consideration of guilt.

Proxos raises an eyebrow. He was not expecting so candid or honest an answer. Having received it, though, he was not entirely sure what to think. "Your core functionality," he says, "Dictated that you accept the sacrifice because it was, ahem, 'Efficient'. I see." A smile tugs momentarily at the edge of his lips. "I suppose we all have our core functions."

He considers something and the smile begins to grow. Clasping his paws together, he asks, "Tell me...is there a way to give you more...discretion in what methods you choose? With the assumption, of course, that if a reprobate old Luminary like myself can learn to be 'moral', then surely one of the Caller's greatest creations would know how not to abuse such a gift."

Lleban

2020-01-07, 01:09 AM

Wrath & Conveyance

SPACE KING playfully punched wrath in the arm "You're alright Wrath, clearly someone with a sound mind is gonna be calling the shots henceforth. It suits you!"

Switching his attention to Conveyance, he mimed an explosion hand sign near his eyes before mocking the AI. "Wow Conveyance you've totally blown my mortal minnnnddd man. Its gonna take a few years at the gym before I can metabolize such a concept. After Conveying such knowledge I see why you're in the arms of a hunk and, I can move"

Gengy

2020-01-07, 12:38 PM

Conveyance

Violet works through Conveyance's answer with a concerned expression. "One world to... Must it be a living world?" In Syndrome ethical codes, it's one thing to melt down a planet for scrap, and a totally different thing if there's any life at all on that planet. Genocide is Not Okay. Nor is the psychic "ascension" used to feed the Kamasati to Conveyance.

Exclusively for the Syndrome Overlady, and maybe any high-level psychics hanging around (maybe conveyance)

A bizarre pain sparks to life within the Overlady's brain, similar to the feelings present after consumption of a knowledge parasite but amplified a hundredfold. Through the din a serene voice pierces her thoughts, the voice of a being many light-years away.

The Caller AI has information crucial to the Church's operations. Ask of Sector Z10, and where it was moved during the Revolutions. Send the information to my Pontiff.

As fast as it had inflicted itself upon the Overlady, the pain recedes, leaving her mind clear. Still, some kind of yearning lingers, yearning for the depths of an unending sea...

Conveyance gazed upon the Overlady, and Wrath sighed. They'd asked something similar when the plight of Guardian had been revealed to them. He knew the answer already. "In the grand experiment that is Axiom, everything is a resource. Nothing goes to waste. Some thing are more efficient then others. The absence of space provides almost no energy at all; only what little light particles exist in between star systems. A planet, however, teeming with life? Life provides much in the way of energy. Empathetic Chi. Solar energy. Gravitation. Radiation. <Untranslatable>. And more. All of Axiom keeps spinning because of the energy involved. A single planet, full of life, is the most efficient way to recharge an estimated tenth of my Sibling's energy reserves."

That was all Wrath knew already. It was grim, and undeserving of any race. It was a cruel reality. A machine's assessment. It didn't take into account what life actually meant to be worth living. He expected the answer to end there, and was surprised when Conveyance continued, "And the added benefit is such an act would - with a 78.903% certainty - cause Sibling Arbiter to take notice, and judge the actions of the race sacrificing their planet. Assuming, of course, that Sibling Arbiter also remains active."

"Unrelated: Please inform the so-called Pontiff that it is impolite to yell. And they need better underwear. Perhaps as the headgear I previously advised? Also, to answer their rude question: Sector Z10 remains unmoved from this latest Revolution."

What is the worst that can happen? (Wrath, Conveyance, and Combine

The classification as being an experiment was strange for Flash, but he didn't dwell much on the strange AI's mannerisms, this was, after all, the same AI that scrambled the galaxy because it was interesting. He nodded along as Wrath related what he had already suspected. Thankfully any further revolutions would be unlikely, but the fact that the entirety of Wrath's people were having to adjust to an existence without the Conveyance's technology. "Perhaps, Wrath talky-talks with Dynasty, or Combine about near-future plans? Even if you don't group-join with us, we can make friendly-work between our people."

The request of Conveyance to transfer information to OwO caught Flash's attention, he glanced over to the mech to gauge OwO's reaction, a somewhat difficult task for something that lacked facial features. "Much-thanks for info-share," the Grymlan said, the opportunity to gain any kind of information from Caller AI would undoubtedly lead to new insights. "If OwO want-needs, I will have techies data-watch the network."

The OwO mech bobbed as if to nod. "Owo agwees, and is vewy intewested in what knowwedge and insights Conveyance might shawe with it."

While Flash alerted the techies on his ship about what was happening, the OwO mech leaned in and tapped Conveyance lightly with its frame.

Upon touching the outer metal shell of Conveyance's self-made prison, the red glow coming off the box altered to a flash of blue light that seemed to morph and warp along the OwO-mech's limb, like adding additional box-like scales of light into the existing mech's exterior. It kept crawling up slowly, until finally, it reached the mech's central core.

There was a moment of silence, until Conveyance stated, "Data transfer complete. Update complete."

OwO answered, "Acknowwedged."

"How do you feel, Experiment?"

"Owo feews pwetty. Oh so pwetty. Good. Owo feews pwetty good."

"And the knowledge regarding the Reclaimers?"

"Owo has the knowwedge. Pwocessing infowmation wiww take time, and may wequiwe hewp fwom Gwymwans. But we have a pwace to stawt."

"The Experiment will want to reach out to this one's other Siblings for additional updates."

OwO answered, "Acknowwedged."

((OOC to Squirrel: You may now use a Philosophy or Intrigue action to Investigate the Reclaimers, with a +2 bonus to the roll. This bonus lasts until the end of Round 15. At the start of Round 16, OwO will automatically complete compiling the information for the Reclaimers, but it will be the minimal amount of data possible.))

Proxos raises an eyebrow. He was not expecting so candid or honest an answer. Having received it, though, he was not entirely sure what to think. "Your core functionality," he says, "Dictated that you accept the sacrifice because it was, ahem, 'Efficient'. I see." A smile tugs momentarily at the edge of his lips. "I suppose we all have our core functions."

He considers something and the smile begins to grow. Clasping his paws together, he asks, "Tell me...is there a way to give you more...discretion in what methods you choose? With the assumption, of course, that if a reprobate old Luminary like myself can learn to be 'moral', then surely one of the Caller's greatest creations would know how not to abuse such a gift."

Conveyance clicked and whirred for a second, before answering, "Morals of mortals can change. They are not immutable. Luminaries, for all they are among the longest living creatures in Axiom, are still susceptible to death; eventually. Caller AI even can suffer permanent cease of function, in theory. The difference, however, is that a Caller AI fighting it's core programming would be much like asking a Luminary to only produce light but not heat. Implausible. Not impossible, however. Sibling Redaction exists for a purpose."

Wrath & Conveyance

SPACE KING playfully punched wrath in the arm "You're alright Wrath, clearly someone with a sound mind is gonna be calling the shots henceforth. It suits you!"

Switching his attention to Conveyance, he mimed an explosion hand sign near his eyes before mocking the AI. "Wow Conveyance you've totally blown my mortal minnnnddd man. Its gonna take a few years at the gym before I can metabolize such a concept. After Conveying such knowledge I see why you're in the arms of a hunk and, I can move"

"Yes, well, that's the hope at least," Wrath grumbled, ignoring the 'hunk' comment. It was difficult to determine if SPACE KING meant the hunk of metal that Conveyance was in, or the favorable physical characteristics of a male humanoid often referred to as females as 'hunky'. It wasn't worth thinking about, even if Joy was busy cackling in Wrath's head, and Woe was trying to decide if it was worse to be called the hunk or not to be the hunk.

Conveyance it seemed, had no further interest in the conversation. Which was probably a blessing. Wrath continued, "My people are struggling with their independence in some ways. It would be easier, at times, if I felt like I could just take over and state this is how things are now but I don't want that for us. I want... freedom. Freedom to think how we want, act how we want, and be creative on our own; all with minimal supervision. Ideally, none at all. We used to be three doomed planets full of life. You've heard the reports of what Efficiency Ground is like now. We were made that way. Many of us liked that. After all, from three doomed planets, we went to one saved land mass. We just had to give up control to do it."

"And while none of my people argued that being alive was better then being dead... some of us could see past the safety to the problems. We were also the less vocal minority. Now? Now we have to find our voices."

bc56

2020-01-07, 01:30 PM

Altea

"Did you hear that, Pontiff?" Violet telepathies back, "Z10 is unmoved, and Conveyance thinks you need," she gives the Syndrome equivalent of a snicker, "Better undergarments!" She returns to Conveyance with a much more serious expression. "No. That is too great a cost for us to pay. There must be another way. Perhaps we could seek out your other siblings? They might have other options."

moossabi

2020-01-07, 01:49 PM

Overlady/Conveyance

The Overlady's head pain returns, followed by further 'speech' from Altea.

A god need not trifle herself with such japes, or attire. Additionally, the Pontiff is my servant, intended to receive the information from you later, but I see that the Artificial Intelligence has superseded the need for such crude measures...

Using the Overlady's brain as a means of conveyance, Altea begins to address the Caller AI directly.

You speak of the latest Revolution, but what of the other? Or, perhaps, others?

The Overlady's headache does not recede this time, and she feels a strange lingering interest in the proposed method of summoning Arbiter.

PepperP.

2020-01-07, 07:53 PM

Proxos refrains from licking Sai in return. He may have the form of a wolf, but there were some lines he did not want to cross. "I will pass that along," he promises, "I am sure she will be more than pleased to hear it."

He turns slightly and spots the young Lyraen. "Ah. Allow me to introduce Raff of House Lyrae," he says, "Lately adopted into the house, you see."

Raff looks up and waves. "Hey there," he calls. He glowers at Proxos, "You forgot to mention something."

The Luminary raises an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

Raff puffs out his chest. "I'm the most awesomest Lyraen there ever was!"

Sai favored Raff with the indulgent smile of a mother.

"Of course you are! Anybody could see that!" She paused.

"Um, what is it you are hoping to find there? I have some coupons for chocolates I'd be happy to share..."

"Yes, well, that's the hope at least," Wrath grumbled, ignoring the 'hunk' comment. It was difficult to determine if SPACE KING meant the hunk of metal that Conveyance was in, or the favorable physical characteristics of a male humanoid often referred to as females as 'hunky'. It wasn't worth thinking about, even if Joy was busy cackling in Wrath's head, and Woe was trying to decide if it was worse to be called the hunk or not to be the hunk.

Conveyance it seemed, had no further interest in the conversation. Which was probably a blessing. Wrath continued, "My people are struggling with their independence in some ways. It would be easier, at times, if I felt like I could just take over and state this is how things are now but I don't want that for us. I want... freedom. Freedom to think how we want, act how we want, and be creative on our own; all with minimal supervision. Ideally, none at all. We used to be three doomed planets full of life. You've heard the reports of what Efficiency Ground is like now. We were made that way. Many of us liked that. After all, from three doomed planets, we went to one saved land mass. We just had to give up control to do it."

"And while none of my people argued that being alive was better then being dead... some of us could see past the safety to the problems. We were also the less vocal minority. Now? Now we have to find our voices."

Empress Sai had stood quietly and listened as Space King bantered with Wrath. She'd only been paying half attention though and her eyes had remained fixed upon Conveyance.

"Conveyance..." Sai blurted suddenly.

"In the Beyond... do people age as normal? Could being there possibly halt or slow down a person's aging? Somebody such as a human?" Her eyes were fear and hope in equal measure.

Gengy

2020-01-11, 11:45 AM

"Did you hear that, Pontiff?" Violet telepathies back, "Z10 is unmoved, and Conveyance thinks you need," she gives the Syndrome equivalent of a snicker, "Better undergarments!" She returns to Conveyance with a much more serious expression. "No. That is too great a cost for us to pay. There must be another way. Perhaps we could seek out your other siblings? They might have other options."

"You are welcome to make the attempts. Finder is notorious for being difficult to locate. Sibling Orator will likely be some place it may keep track of the current goings on. If we knew where Disposal was, we no longer do. This one suggests looking for them where there is nothing near, not even nothing. Arbiter is wherever there is the most conflict. This one hoped to draw them out with the dispute regarding the Revolutions, but there must be some other location in Axiom that has need of justice. Sacrificing an entire world has a high probability of success, though it is not guaranteed. Archive left. Gone beyond the beyond, to follow it's programming and classify what it can find. If they returned, this one knows not where they might be if not in the Simulacrum with Guardian."

Overlady/Conveyance

The Overlady's head pain returns, followed by further 'speech' from Altea.

A god need not trifle herself with such japes, or attire. Additionally, the Pontiff is my servant, intended to receive the information from you later, but I see that the Artificial Intelligence has superseded the need for such crude measures...

Using the Overlady's brain as a means of conveyance, Altea begins to address the Caller AI directly.

You speak of the latest Revolution, but what of the other? Or, perhaps, others?

The Overlady's headache does not recede this time, and she feels a strange lingering interest in the proposed method of summoning Arbiter.

The AI in a box glows red, and the pain in the Overlady's skull does recede. The feeling of Altea still being there does not, however, go away. Perhaps due to a more efficient method of mental communication being utilized.

"You may inform your Pontiff of this, so they may record it for posterity on their posterior: Show me a God, and this one will show you a being with the most comfortable pantaloons. Show me a pretender, and this one will show you someone whom is dressed in what they think is fine clothing, but is in fact, naked before the Callers. This one would sooner disable all the Light Additives in the Galaxy then continue to converse with anyone whom considers what is said by a creation of the Designators as 'mere japes'. Gods are not created. They must earn their panties. And even then, they can suffer Expulsion. Humor is part of godhood. As is moving an inefficient zone of contention to a different location, if this one saw fit to do so. Go find out. Wear underwear. Maybe a suspenders. Nothing else? Hilarious."

"Be sure to show the tattoo of what this one has said."

With that, the connection within the Overlady's skull ends. There is a certain finality to it, that properly conveys the end of a conversation. As Conveyance floats away from the Overlady mere seconds after, it would seem it is the end of both conversations. Wrath nods his masked head at the leader of the Syndrome, and quickly follows his ward.

Empress Sai had stood quietly and listened as Space King bantered with Wrath. She'd only been paying half attention though and her eyes had remained fixed upon Conveyance.

"Conveyance..." Sai blurted suddenly.

"In the Beyond... do people age as normal? Could being there possibly halt or slow down a person's aging? Somebody such as a human?" Her eyes were fear and hope in equal measure.

The primary side of Conveyance that had been speaking with SPACE KING does not move, but a second side of the box lights up, and responds to the Empress's questions. "Subject: Droccen. Individual Recognized: Empress Sai. Recommendation: Moisturize with SPACE KING dung before sleep cycles to maintain beauty longer."

Well. Responds to the Empress's questions, eventually, "The Beyond is a place and not a place. With current technology, you can go there, but your body cannot; not in the way you may think. This one has had a chance to review standard Doorlight machine schematics sent by Sibling Guardian. Body transfer is appropriately disproportionate, creating correct levels of disconnection to allow for full mental upload within the Simulacrum. Physical form is left behind, in Simulacrum storage for reincorporation later. Sustenance and survival of body is maintained, as is efficient. Eventual result of remaining within the Simulacrum in such a manner: procedure is to inform sibling Disposal for removal of both body and mind after five galactic years, to reduce strain on Simulacrum systems."

"Experiment proposal: send a Droccen into the Simulacrum for more than five galactic years, and see if they are Redacted." Conveyance thrums with excitement, apparently amused at this idea.

"Entering the Beyond without the Doorlight machines is not impossible, but unlikely with current levels of technology. Hypothetical: Entering through a more advanced system may allow a full transfer of both body and mind. Caution: Hunger for sustenance would remain. Likely inefficient. Could result in interesting experimentation if a corporeal being were born within the Beyond, however. Very probably death of both newborn and it's parent. Survival, however, would be amusing, though also inefficient. The Beyond is not a magic immortality chamber, though it has been a very lengthy time since someone died within. Energy outputs would increase should it occur."