1.) Character Creation and out of character comments and discussion should go in this thread.
2.) All posts in this thread should be in Narrative format, or in the format of a story. This will be enforced through liberal use of TheAlmaity's DeleteHammer.
3.) Every post happens directly after the one before it. There should be no time skipping or backtracking without GM approval. This also means that posts should tell a coherent story and should not contradict a previous post.
4.) Please include in your posts a Summary of Actions, as it is sometimes difficult, or not within narrative bounds to state clearly all of what you are doing. The Summary of Actions should include: Travel Information, Losses or damages, and any expendature of points, as well as a short summary of relevent events.
5.) All posts that involve a conflict between players, or even between a player and an NPC, should be discussed outside of this thread before a post is made. This is to avoid simple skirmishes being longer then extensive travels, and heated debates allowing a character to travel across the map. Some of this is inevitable, but please try to keep it to a minimum.
6.) All combat between armies should follow the rules of the Starcraft 2 game. Any battle where resources are available should play out as a melee game with those exceptions provided by your flagship supply, and army technology. When resources are not available, players may choose 200 supply of units to be 'active' at any single time.
7.) Any editing to your posts, other then grammar and spelling changes, should be accompanied by a notification in the Brainstorming thread. This is so that those who have already read your post know to go back and reread.
Travel Time is 4d/s where 'S' is the speed of your ship per hex and 'D' is the distance traveled. The result should always be rounded up. For instance, if my ship has a speed of 4 and I wanted to travel from the Dras Lana System to the Zaratun System (5 squares) (4(5)/(4)) It would take me 5 posts from when I say that I'm leaving to when I could post my arrival.
If real life days equal to your travel time in time posts passes before the amount of posts themselves, it counts as you arriving at your destination. (Example: You have a travel time of 4 posts. Over the next 4 days only three other people post leaving you with 1 post of travel time to go, but since 4 days passed your travel time is over and you can post again even while missing that post. Also, you can't combine days with posts (waiting 2 days + 2 people posting =/= 4 posts of travel time. One of both has to pass))
We reserve the right to extend or speed up travel time as I wish for any reason I deem necessary.
Race: Zerg Faction: Garamar Brood Main Hero: Dagganoth
History
As one of the many cerebrates created by the Overmind to influence the proceedings in the Eurim sector, Dagganoth has been equipped with and evolving his Garamar Brood since shortly before the battle of Arken. Since those events, Dagganoth's Brood has been seen approaching settlements and stations of nearly all factions present in the Eurim sector in his Leviathan 'flagship' Murkag. The curious thing though, is that the Garamar Brood has yet to directly attack any of these locations - when met with any sort of response towards their enclosure, the Brood immediately backs off instead of fighting even the smallest skirmish. Dagganoth seems to deliberately choose for this tactic and has so far only been in direct conflict with the pirates in the sector. This behaviour has earned him the scorning nickname of "The Pacifist" among the other Zerg broods.
In the light of the 'king of the jungle'-like environment that has existed in the Eurim sector for the Zerg Broods, it doesn't come as a surprise that the Gracken Brood has made an attempt at taking over Dagganoth's forces, viewing his apparent pacifism as a weakness or imperfect. The reason no Brood so far has succeeded in this is simple, though; Garamar Brood has avoided Zerg-on-Zerg skirmishes as well, and no one seems to be able to get a hold of him. Other more deceitful Broods, like the Themos Brood, believe this apparent pacifism is some kind of treacherous tactic and have so far not made an open attempt at controlling Garamar, leaving Dagganoth's forces at somewhat of an uneasy truce with these Broods.
Dagganoth (83 points)
Since Dagganoth himself is a Cerebrate, he doesn't personally partake in field battles, rather remaining embedded in his Leviathan Murkag. He can however, spawn an 'avatar' of himself for use in a land battle, allowing him to channel his powers. This avatar is also simply called 'Dagganoth', corresponding to the hive mind mentality of the Zerg. It looks like an extremely long slimy snake - basically a thinner and more agile form of the traditional cerebrate. It dies relatively easy but can be respawned from any Larva (in order to keep this fair, I guess this only works in between battles?). The creature has an exceptionally good awareness of its surroundings, granting it large vision. It can channel three spells Dagganoth casts from Murkag.
1. Overgeneration (AoE with radius of 3, range of 10, 80 energy): Drives the metabolism of all affected units in the target area into overdrive, causing them to gain 50% additional attack and movement speed. Lasts 10 seconds.
2. Parasitic Projectiles (Single target, 20 energy): Only affects ranged Zerg units (includes Swarm Hosts & Brood Lords). Evolves the target unit to shoot parasitic projectiles that have a controlled flight, increasing the units range by 3 and causing its attacks to grant vision of the target for 10 seconds. Lasts 30 seconds.
3. Symbiotic Saliva (AoE with radius of 3, range of 10, 80 energy): Dagganoth's avatar spits a symbiotic saliva over the target area that seeps into wounds and cracks in armor, healing friendly biological targets hit by 50 HP over 5 seconds and hardening friendly mechanical targets hit to improve their armor by 2 for 10 seconds.
Stats and point allocation:
-550 Health
-300 Energy
-5 Mov. Speed
-No attack
-1 Armor
-12 Sight
-3 abilities
-Light, Biological, Psionic, Heroic
Garamar Brood
To tie into the no-hit-and-run tactics the Garamar Brood has been using, speed and maneuverability are king in their army as well; this explains the high emphasis on upgraded Zerglings, Mutalisks and Swarm Hosts.
Tech
-Zergling
-Mutalisk
-Swarm Host
-Viper
-Overseer
-Melee Attack level 1
-Ground Carapace level 2
-Flyer armor level 1
-Flyer Attack level 1
-Zergling Speed
-Adrenal Glands
-Custom upgrade (active on all Zerg units): Projective Cortex - Activate to grant the unit 5 seconds of invisibility that breaks upon attacking, using an ability or being attacked. 30 Seconds cooldown.
Army (231 supply)
-Zergling X 80
-Mutalisk X 61
-Swarm Host X 10
-Viper X 13
-Overseer X 20
Murkag
For a flightship, Dagganoth uses a Behemoth he himself engineered to suit his needs. Following his general theme, it is a swift creature that is focused on speed and maneuverability over anything else. It can defend itself from smaller ships through some weapons in the form of corrosive acid, but it is overall meant for avoiding battles moreso than winning them. As a sentient living being, it can both bleed and feel, but its will is still bound to that of its ruling cerebrate or queen; in this case Dagganoth.
The transport ship Gambit, captained by David Kanaro, has a murky history. Only recently acquired by David from the small-time pirate Krag the Bloody, it is sorely in need of repairs. Outfitted to one day be a prime smuggling ship with superior maneuverability and speed, as well as decent cargo and smuggling space for a ship of its size, right now it is little better than a heap of scraps.
Before acquiring his new ship, Gambit, David was a low-level enforcer for the pirate Krag the Bloody. He and his partner, Leonardo Damoran, bought their employment contracts and bartered a deal to get their own ship. It was their goal to set out as independent traders and smugglers, but upon acquiring Gambit in a sorry state, they have been forced to work menial or small-time jobs on Domus while they get the ship back to operational and reliable status.
Health 325
Movement 2.25
Armor 1
Sight 9
DPS 20(+30 v. armored)
Damage 30(+45 v. armored)
Speed 1.5
Range 7
Abilities
Penetrater Rounds – deals x2 weapon damage in line 1 unit wide x 9 units long (10 sec. cooldown)
Leonardo Damoran (Leo)
Leonardo Damoran (Leo, except to authorities) is a hardened ex-convict. Always ready to fight, and often preferring to, he is the bullet to David's gun. Not terribly bright in anything except how to tear apart the enemy, Leo is fiercely loyal to David since they became assigned partners under the pirate Krag. Though he is older than David, he defers to the younger man, as he is smart enough to know what he doesn't know. But he often grumbles about his captain's decisions, not seeing the point in restraining himself.
Health 400
Movement 2
Armor 1
Sight 9
DPS 10(+30 v. light)
Damage 5(+15 v. light)
Speed .5
Range 5
AoE .5
Abilities
Concussive Shells – as marauder
Dr. Jonathan Rark
To be introduced to David and Leo shortly, Dr. Jonathan Rark is a retired Terran military research scientist. After his retirement he decided to fill in the gaps in his expansive knowledge by traveling through the galaxies among the different species and learning all he could.
Health 250
Energy 250
Movement 2.25
Armor 1
Sight 9
Abilities
Selfix Armor – Medic's armor rapidly heals him for 9 health/sec and 15 energy/sec when out of combat. Healing or taking damage counts as being combat.
Po'Nath
Po'Nath is another character that will be introduced as part of the crew of Gambit shortly. He is a secretive protoss high templar on the run from his own people for being a heretic.
the rest of his story to be filled in as the story progresses (GM cue to screw with him and his story as you see fit)
Health/Shield 100/125
Shield Regen 2/sec
Energy 300
Energy Regen .5625/sec
Movement 2.5
Armor 2
Sight 9
Abilities
Psionic Storm – as high templar
Feedback – as high templar
Casey Yaff
Casey Yaff is an escaped Terran experiment. Though she appears to be human, she actually has some zerg genes spliced in with her human compliment. She was to be liquidated as a 'failed' sample, and instead managed to escape.
Health 150
Energy 200
Movement 2.25
Armor 0
Sight 11
DPS 6.667 (+6.667 v. light)
Damage 10 (+10 v. light)
Speed 1.5
Range 6
Abilities
Snipe – one shot dealing 45 dam
Personal Cloaking – as terran ghost
Jerry Pockin
Jerry “Puck” Pockin, will be introduced to be the pilot for Gambit.
I have plans to eventually spend points to make him an actual character, but for now he is just a crack pilot and a civilian.
Haley Morgan
Haley Morgan is the engineer for Gambit. She is another character that will be introduced later.
Health: 50
Energy: 200
Sight: 9
Mov. Speed: 2
Abilities: 1
Hack Robot: Take control of 1 robotic unit. Can only control one unit at a time. Costs 150 energy. 4 range.
I have plans to eventually spend points to get her a souped up SCV, but for now she is just a civilian member of the crew.
Lore:
Arya, Lark, and Cygnus all use to be part of The Aurulean Technocracy's advanced ghost program. Nicknamed Project Shadow Blade, it subjects it's students to strict and brutal training which eventually turns the students into perfect machines of assassination. The plan was full proof until a disaster happened during a training exercise. The training exercise was a graduation test for the Shadow Blade's prototype squadron. These 3 ghosts were put together since the start of their academy lives. They knew each other inside and out and were specifically trained to work in a group instead of training for solo assignments. During the exercise, an malfunction in the advanced, prototype sniper rifles, caused a small EMP that short circuited the ghost's inhibitors which "opened their eyes".
Soon after, the ghosts were presumed dead by Academy officials as an attack by the The Outsiders soon occurred on the sparsely inhabited planet. The Academy managed to evacuate all ghost trainees except for the 3 that were presumed dead. The attack eventually stopped and soon, the 3 ghosts reappeared on what use to be the base of Project Shadow Blade. Most space craft were either destroyed or taken but 1 remained. It was a prototype suited for the use of a ghost squad. It was built for speed and maneuverability with a fairly advanced cloaking device.
As the 3 ghosts left the planet, they started to reflect on the events that had occurred. They had been abandoned by the only "family" they ever knew, they were presumed dead and had nowhere else to turn. The 3 soon began to turn to mercenary work as top rate assassins. They soon made a name for themselves and were known as "The Shadows". The 3 of them went from system to system, signing contracts and such. The Shadows have been part of The Pirate Empire before the death of Adm’rl Damn Bonecrusher. The Pirate Empire was the closest thing to an affiliation The Shadows have been apart of since their beginning. They were paid quite well by Adm’rl Damn Bonecrusher to assassinate choice targets and had a few friends to call upon inf things got to tight. Soon they found themselves once again wondering the stars looking for contracts. Currently, they have once contact known as Clark Tobiks, who was part of The Pirate Empire, who would help them locate contracts for a small 25% cut of the pay. Currently, The Shadows are currently part of no affiliation as there has been no word from Cap’n Doom Bonecrusher and his contracts.
Advance Cloaking Device D1 (toggle)
Energy Cost: None
-Decreases attack speed by 0.25 at the cost 1 movement speed. Only effective when undetected.
Cool down: 1 second
Energy Discharge (cast)
Energy Cost: 75
-Fires a beam of concentrated energy 1.5 units wide with a range of 10. It deals 50 damage and stuns any ground unit it hits for 0.75 seconds. If cast from cloak, Energy Discharge will deal 25 increased damage.
Cool down: 5 seconds
Infinite Assault (cast)
Energy: 125
-Creates 4 separate duplicates of Arya that can be commanded on their own. The duplicates deal 10 damage each second and has the same stats as Arya. Duplicates last 8 seconds. Duplicates can be revealed by detectors. Duplicates will imitate spell casts as well though only 1 spell can damage 1 target. (You cannot be damaged by Energy Discharge twice) Duplicates can be cloaked as well.
Cool down: 30 seconds
Advance Cloaking Device D2 (toggle)
Energy Cost: None
-Increases sight by 2 at the cost of 1 weapon range. Only effective when undetected.
Cool down: 1 second
Hold Position (toggle)
Energy Cost: 75
-Lark unloads her gear and sets up a defensive position. Has a 2 second channel time. When setup, Lark cannot move but her total weapon range and sigh increases by 5, weapon damage increases by 15 and her basic attacks ignore armor. She is able to cast other spells in this mode.
Cool down: 2 seconds
Forward Surveillance (cast)
Energy: 50
-Lark reveals and area of an 8 unit radius anywhere on the map for 4 seconds. This skill reveals cloaked units as well.
Cool down: 10 seconds
Advance Cloaking Device D3 (toggle)
Energy Cost: None
-Increases movement speed by 0.5 at the cost of 1 armor. Only effective when undetected.
Cool down: 1 second
Energy Snipe (cast)
Energy Cost: 50
-Deals 75 (+50 to armored targets) damage at a single target within a 10 unit radius. Target must be biological. If cast from cloak, reduces target's armor by 2 for 10 seconds.
Cool down: 2.5 seconds
Sniper Drone (cast)
Energy: 100
-Cygnus deploys a Sniper Drone to help take out select targets.
Cool down: 45 seconds
Stats of drone:
Health: 50
Energy: 200
Movement speed: 3
Abilities:
-Snipe (cast)
Energy: 100
Deals 75 damage to target unit. Must be biological.
Cool down: 10 seconds
-Auto-Cloak (passive)
Energy: None
The Sniper Drone automatically conceals itself after 5 seconds of no action.
Cool down: None
Ship:
Name: Forward Unto Dawn
Description:
Forward Unto Dawn was a prototype ship meant to deploy ghosts behind enemy lines. It has 5 sleeping quarters though only 3 are currently in use. Forward Unto Dawn was a ship built for speed and maneuverability as it has a state of the art stealth mechanism as well as anti-matter engines that power the ship. It is a rather tiny ship compared to the gigantic battlecruiser that are the choice of most.
Unlike most spacecraft that use warp space to travel to planets quicker, Forward Unto Dawn has been fitted with anti-matter engines which, combined with the prototype technology, is able to travel through real space at roughly the same speed as a normal ship does through warp space. This way of travel is much less dangerous as it will not cause any catastrophic events such as, engine malfunction right before warp jump or coming out of warp space only to find your exit was in the middle of a planet. Real space travel is also much more accurate as it plans a direct course instead of estimating when to pop out of warp space to land at your destination.
Current Points: 4 Current Planets: Elos, Magrathea
Race: Terran Faction: The Magrathean-Tirion Collective (Shorthand: The Collective) Main Heroes: Captain Moranno Tenara and First mates Synna Akirano, Joshep Barage and Verron Cinnet
History
The Tirion Republic has remained a fairly passive Terran faction since the battle of the Arken, focusing more on supplying the Terrans of the Coalition with industrial goods and a place to live rather than bolstering a large military. The result of this is that the Republic has had to rely almost completely on the forces of other Terran factions to meet their military needs. While in general the Republic is ok with this, recent events have led the its president, Doug Lass, to look for a way to improve the Republic's military presence in the sector. This triggered his attempt at setting up a project that was to be known as 'The Tirion Bullet': a small surgical strikeforce to carry out the will of the Republic without having to wait for and rely on the other members of the coalition.
Early in development of The Tirion Bullet however, it became clear the Republic did not possess a number of important assets to make such a plan work; for all the industrial goods they had, they severely lacked both infantry and manpower in general. Not wanting to ask the larger military factions for help yet again, Lass contacted Arthur Dent, the leader of the Magrathean empire, and posed his problem. Dent, in turn, was very enthousiastic upon hearing from the Republic. Though the Magrathean empire had no real desire to set up an army, he welcomed the Tirion approach to the problem with open arms, and recognized that what the Empire lacked for such a project were industrial goods.
What was initially a call for recruits by the Republic quickly turned into a joint effort by both factions. Where the Tirions would provide the goods and technology required, the Magratheans would supply the recruits and manpower. The new division would perform their operations from both a newly built flagship called the Link and a base on a planet in a safe, nearby system. The Magrathean-Tirion Collective was born.
Captain Moranno Tenara (0 points)
Born into a middle-class family as a son to teacher Belkin Tenara and his gardener wife Joanna Fryn, Moranno never seemed destined for anything special. Though he appreciated the professions of his parents, his aim was always to join the (small) Magrathean military. While most Magrathean's end up in Aranov's standing army, Moranno felt his duty was to the Empire that raised him, and not a far off consectorate.
Rising in rank quickly in the Magrathean military was not a hard accomplishment for the dedicated due to the Empires' small and inexperienced army. Moranno's sense of duty, dedication and excellent leadership caused him to eventually land a position as colonel at the young age of twenty-four, putting him directly below the military's leading generals.
With the creation of the Magrathean-Tirion Collective one of the army's generals put forth the young colonel as a candidate for spearheading the initiative. The other generals took a liking to him and it wasn't long before he was told he would get to rule his own ship. Though the young captain still unsure of his own capabilities, Moranno has vowed to lead the Collective to the best of his ability and serve both his own people as well as those from the Tirion republic.
First mates Synna Akirano, Joshep Barage and Verron Cinnet (0 points)
Though the Tirion republic agreed to the Collective being led by a Magrathean, they did insist that the three next highest ranks would be filled by Tirions who could vote to veto the captains decisions outside of life-threatening situations or emergencies. Thus, Synna Akirano, Joshep Barage and Verron Cinnet were place aboard The Link.
The thirty-two year old Synna has been a promising figure in the Tirion military for quite some time, serving in various duties on the bridges of a variety of Tirion support ships, though never as captain. She seized the opportunity when it came up, thinking she could give more valuable input to such a relatively inexperienced captain than to the commanders of vessels who did nothing more than boring supply runs.
Though neither of his colleagues are incompetent, Joshep Barage has, at age fifty, without a doubt the most experience of the three first mates. Having served as a bridge officer in the Battle of the Arken and a captain in the years that followed, the old Tirion seems determined to show the younglings on the Link a trick or two.
The last of the first mates, Verron Cinnet, owes his position entirely to the wealth of his family. At the staggering young age of nineteen, Verron is completely inexperienced with military life and retains his position purely because of his rich parents who see this project as a stepping stone in their sons career. Though not a bad man at heart, Verron can be a tad arrogant and demeaning and he's about to find out his entitlement doesn't hold in his current position.
The Collective's army (100 points)
Composed of Tirion technology and manned by mostly Magrathean infantry, the Collective's army is unspecialized and mostly based around having a solid force that can perform a head-on assault. Its lack of air support and upgrades are its main weaknesses, though a solid mass of units is available to get the job done.
Army (236 supply)
-Marine X 60
-Marauder X 25
-Hellion X 10
-Siege Tank X 20
-Medivac X 20
The Link (104 points)
As an enormous hulking minotaur-class Battlecruiser, the Link has been outfitted with all the goods the Republic readily possesses. An impressive laser battery, reinforced hulls, the latest in warp technology and some of the most powerful sensors in the coalition (bested only by Quantum Legion and Aurulean Technocracy vessels) make the ship an impressive sight. Add override protocols to prevent the ship from being hijacked and hidden floor and wall turrets and it becomes a force to be reckoned with. Its main weakness is its lack of maneuverability: due to its incredible size and weight, a more powerful impulse engine or advanced cloaking system would be needed to make the ship more flexible. In tune with the colours of both the Magrathean Empire and the Tirion Republic, the ship has been painted a dark green colour with bright red details.
Novigrad, Planet Zagrov, Dinari System Aranov Consectorate Capital
Domovoi raised the wineglass to his lips, and hesitated shortly before taking a sip, looking out of the massive glass windows from the top of his skyscraper at the city below him.
He wore a dark blue leather-like jacket that wasn't closed by buttons at the center but almost at his right arm, and the buttons were silver. His pants were made of the same material, and he wore matching gloves as well – He had been training to fight in close combat for as long as he could remember, and felt uncomfortable in formal clothes. Above it all he wore a royal blue cloak with a thick silver thread going parallel to it's edges. The cloak was large enough to cover his entire body and usually had his arms hidden, which made it easy for him to conceal weapons when he gave public speeches. Not that they were ever needed.
He wore the gloves not only to protect his hands in the almost impossible case of having to defend himself, but also because his training had left them with numerous scars, and he had suffered some severe burns. When he was sixteen, he snuck away during one of his fathers speeches and took a walk, and saw a burning building. He could hear a young girl inside, and decided to take matters into his own hands – which ended up with them being burned.
He may not like how they looked now and hid them from not only the public but from himself, but he never regretted saving that one life. It also had the nice side effect of the people liking him more than his father, who had been a ruler who cared more for military dominance than his own people. Domovoi Aranov tried to balance the two.
In the window, he saw a reflection of himself. He was in his early thirties, looked strong, handsome and intelligent, but despite his youth, his hair was bone white. People said it was a consequence of the Aranov family always marrying other nobles, practically inbreeding. Domovoi couldn't deny it, he looked through his family tree. All males going three centuries back had pure white hair, and so did a few women, and while the surnames of spouses changed, he could always track them back to the same few families. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't marry a noble woman.
Marriage. He thought and smiled. I'm taking my time...
He walked back to his table and set down the wineglass. He had no time for women at the moment, seeing how inactive the Quantum Legion was. It was up to him and, unfortunately, that Bonecrusher guy to keep the Coalition defended. While the pirates had their uses, they didn't do well in defense unless Doom Bonecrusher was present. No matter how much he disliked the man, he had to admit that he was a strategic genius. Well, either him or that creepy templar, Waiter or whatever silly name he had. Or that short guy Kenny. He seemed odd. He could swear the the Quantum Legion had a similar person with them.
“Lord Aranov,” The elderly voice of his butler came from his door. He hadn't even heard it open. “General Wray has arrived.”
“Thank you, let him in.” Domovoi answered and smiled at the butler. He wondered how much longer he'd stay in the job – He had worked for his father when they had both been young, and traditionally the butler went out of service when the Aranov he served gave up his position. But Milotin Aranov had died merely at the age of fifty, and Domovoi didn't want to fire the man.
“Good afternoon, your highness.”
“Good afternoon as well, General.” Aranov said and gestured at a comfortable armchair, and sat in an identical one opposite it. The general sat down as well. “Wine?”
“No thanks. You know why I am here?”
“Your regular report?”
“Well, yes. We’ve shot down the flagship at Dunar, but apart from that we haven't had any direct confrontations with the Outsiders this week. Doom apparently fulfilled his promise and forced them on the defensive for a while.”
Doom. That damn pirate family always had such strange names. He thought to himself, and his smile turned genuine for a second as he realized the slight irony in that statement - Damn had been the name of Doom's father. He remembered how his own father kept ranting and raging about the pirate king. As the father, so the son. The two of them hated each other, and so do I and Doom. Too bad we have to work together.
“Good, good.” Aranov replied. “So nothing special to report?”
“Well, there is still a considerable amount of Outsider ground forces on Dunar that have bunkered themselves in, but I can handle that. And as I always say, I don't really like the zerg being so close...”
“And as I always answer, we can't go on a full offensive. We have to protect the Coalition. If we move out, the Outsiders will strike at our undefended worlds.”
“The pirates can--”
“The pirates can't defend us. They could maybe wipe out the Outsiders in that time, I wouldn't put that past them, but they honestly couldn't defend our worlds. There would be too many casualties, one way or another.”
Aranov was getting tired of this conversation. The general brought it up almost every week. Yes, Aranov wished he could clean out the closeby zerg systems to create some form of buffer space, but he knew he couldn't do it without the rest of the Coalition cooperating – Most importantly the Quantum Legion.
The Flying Drunkman, Dead Space Davy Jone's Locker
“Well, that was easy.” Doom said as he sat on his stool and took a bottle of rum from the bar.
He was eight feet tall, reeked of pirate (A mixture of sweat, rum and sheer badassness), and looked the same way he smelled. Long untidy black hair and beard, a t-shirt that used to be white, and urban camo pants with a holster and a heavy gun in it. And he of course wore an eye-patch over his right eye. He downed the bottle of rum in one go.
Meh, wanna-be Outsida pirates. They got no idea how ta do dis. A dark echoing voice answered.
It came from the large protoss that sat down beside the pirate. He looked very odd for a templar. First of all, his body features pointed heavily into the Nerazim direction, his unsevered nerve cords pointed towards Khalai, and his white shirt, dark grey pants and long dark grey coat were pretty much the finger of a drunk trying to point at the pink elephant that was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In addition to those human clothes he also wore wooden tribal looking necklaces and bracelets.
His name was Darth Waiter. Darth because he looked Nerazim and creepy, and because it sounded better than Dark, and Waiter not because he served food in protoss restaurants (Mostly because such a thing doesn't exist) but because he was rather patient.
“Couldn't have gone better.” Kosh, the barman, said. He was wearing a white shirt and a brown tie, pants and jacket.
“Actually...” Kenny started. He was short. He looked very young, had short brown hair, green eyes, was wearing a black hat, white shirt and black pants. He looked rather clean compared to all other pirates. “We did lose a viking.”
“Shut up, Kenny.” Doom said and grabbed another bottle of rum. “So, any other Outsiders in our territory?”
Kenny was silent.
“Kenny?”
More silence.
“Kenny, stop screwing with me. Talk.”
“Not my fault you told me to be silent.” Kenny said and smiled mischievously.
“Shut up-- Wait, damn. Talk.”
“Scanners say no one's around. Should we head back to base? Also, we have a conference call in about an hour.”
“Yea, do that.” Doom said and downed the next bottle of rum.
The Arken, Gallifrey Orbit
Myrim
Neal connected the wire to the battery, then he adjusted the connection on the transformer, did a dozen other things, and flipped the switch.
“KENNY!” He yelled, but Kenny was already there with the fire extinguisher and was taking care of it. “Thanks.”
Kenny was short. He had short brown hair, green eyes, looked young, and was wearing a gray uniform with the occasional purple.
“Neal, you here-- What did you blow up this time?” Keeva said and frowned as she got into the room.
She wasn't exactly tall, but neither short. She had long black hair, emerald eyes and a body that would leave even a homosexual stuttering in her presence. Her completely black ghost outfit didn't reduce the effect she had on men. She literally looked stunning – A fact that made a lot of assassinations easier.
She looked at the scientist Neal Smith, who had countless doctor and professor titles. His protective glasses were completely black with burn marks and he was trying to take them off so that he could see where she was. He had short blonde hair that stood up in spikes – not because he styled them that way but as a side effect of his trial-and-error experimentation style. He was covered in oil and burn marks.
At least he's wearing the lab coat and not ruining yet another shirt. she thought to herself and sighed, then helped him take off the glasses.
“Clean yourself up.” She said.
“Let me just finish--”
“Kenny, drag him to his shower.” She said and Kenny started dragging the scientist away. “We've got a conference call in a few minutes.”
She started walking towards the bridge. She liked Neal, he was the only man that never tried to ask her out or gave her a look that suggested it. She didn't like-like him, she liked him as a friend. A good one. He undid her resoc. He had somehow stopped her from killing him. That was the first time she had failed an assassination. Now she had a mind of her own, she was free. Well, as free as you could get when you had to babysit a scientist that wouldn't leave his lab by himself.
It took ten minutes till Neal got to the bridge, but at least he was clean now. Keeva nodded to a finely dressed man that sat in the captains chair, and five holographic screens lit up in front of Keeva. All the way on the left was Lord Domovoi Aranov. Then came Arthur Dent, leader of the Magrathean Empire. He looked about forty years old, had brown hair and was drinking tea. In the middle was president Doug Lass – a short round man, leader of the Tirion Republic. To his right was Orion Nells, who was about fifty, had white hair and a sort of robotic spectacle over his left eye. He was the leader of the Aurulean technocracy, and looked even more unfriendly than the two faces on the screen to his right – Doom Bonecrusher and Darth Waiter.
“Late again.” Orion commented.
“Sorry. Something blew up so I was delayed.” Neal said.
“Let's just get on with it.” Keeva said. “Anything happening?”
“Took out a small Outsider fleet in the Locker an hour ago.” Doom said. “My men in Karibia have raided the closeby Outsider planets as well.”
“We’ve shot down the Outsider ships on Dunar, but they’re hiding in the underground tunnels now. It won’t take long for us to get rid of them. Apart from that minor nuisance, nothing to report on my end.” Aranov said. “The pirates must have kept them occupied.”
“Everything's running fine. My people are happy.” Dent said with a smile.
“There have been some raids on cargo fleets.” Doug said and shrugged. “But the Pirate and Aranov escorts did their jobs.”
“I still don't like the fact that the zerg are so close.” Orion said.
“Well, we don't want to start a pointless war.” Neal answered.
“But they will!”
“We don't know that.” Keeva said “And if they do, we will defend ourselves. We've discussed this many times – And I'm sure our arguments and answers haven't changed, and there really is no point in repeating ourselves.”
“I guess that's it then?” Neal asked, eager to be back in his lab.
“Good bye.” Aranov said, and his screen disappeared. The others mumbled farewells and disappeared as well.
“Was it really necessary to pull me out of my lab?” Neal asked and started walking away. Keeva followed.
“No. But people think you are a too inactive ruler--”
“I'm not a ruler. The Quantum Legion is just supposed to be some sort of overseer in the Coalition.”
“--And you seriously shouldn't spend your entire time in the lab.”
“I take showers.”
“You installed a shower in your lab.”
“I.. Uh.. eat.”
“You don't honestly believe I don't know that you're sending Kenny to fetch your food?”
General Wray of the Aranov Consectorate is looking for someone to handle the Outsider Ground Forces on Dunar, Magrathea.
The Outsiders need someone to get their ground forces off Dunar, Magrathea. Contact the Outsiders on Elos.
Someone at Domus (2 hexes above Myrym) is looking to hire a fleet for a retrieval mission, and isn’t afraid of zerg.
There are rumours about strange things going on in the unnamed orange system near Dras Lana and Zaratun. Maybe someone at Domus has more info.
The Pirates at Tortuga would prefer getting drunk over blowing up Outsiders. Feel free to solve their dilemma.
The Dunar job can be a “co-op” job on both sides, it’s not just for whomever comes first. Once that one is done, more jobs will be offered by the faction you helped.
Things you might want to consider if you don’t like the above jobs:
Going on an expedition to an unexplored system. (Contact a faction that could be interested (QL, Auruleans, Outsiders) for supplies and a scientific crew to accompany you, and payment for your services)
Ask a military faction for work. (Outsiders, Pirates, Aranov)
Going to a merc port and see whether anyone has something to offer.
Contact a scientific/engineering faction (QL, Auruleans, Tirion) with ideas for developing new technology (Unlocks/Creates custom units. Requires you to invest points and test out prototypes in battle over a not so short period of time.)
Black smoke mingled with white clouds while explosions echoed off in the distance. Bodies and debris littered the streets and parts of the city were still on fire. From his vantage point, Khanyr could clearly see blue sparks of electricity jumping from building to building where the capital's power grid had been damaged.
However, he paid no heed to the physical chaos and destruction before him. He was far too busy dealing with the emotional turmoil taking place inside his own head. Wave after wave of wild and untamed emotions hit him as the planet plunged deeper and deeper into chaos, filling the Khala with the fear, confusion, anger and grief of thousands of protoss.
The force of the onslaught was almost physical, forcing him to hold onto the railing in front of him as if his life depended on it. It was too much. Far, far too much...
"{That was chaos. What we are faced with here is no more than a single complaint, a whisper. It can only harm us if we spend too long debating our course of action. It does not merit our attention and should have been left to the workings of the local law enforcement,}" Khanyr concluded. A moment of silence followed the end of his argument and Odranos opened his eyes to look at the rest of the Council.
There were sixteen of them, including Khanyr and himself. Sixteen of the Imperium's most powerful and influential protoss in the same room. If the rebels had half a mind, they would concentrate all their efforts on infiltrating and destroying the building with their enemy inside instead of running about and causing messy but insignificant mischief. But they didn't. In fact, the actions of "Erana's Order" firmly convinced Odranos that the rebels had no mind to think with and instead relied on pure instinct to fight for their cause.
It was this knowledge that allowed him to attend the Ruling Council's assemblies without fear of, as terrans would put it, a nasty surprise. The assemblies themselves were, in Odranos' opinion, nothing more than nominal, a formality. Very little meaningful discussion went on and Odranos left every assembly feeling as if he had planned the whole thing before hand.
Even as the rest of the Council stirred and began to respond to Khanyr's argument, Odranos predicted their reactions and counter arguments. Malyr and A'eth would side with Khanyr's argument. The three of them were perhaps the most conservative and indecisive of the Council, as afraid of facing decisions as they were of facing change.
Umar and Naren, the rash and young "warriors" of the Council, would suggest a quick and brutal retaliation that was well beyond the Imperium's means but which they ignorantly believed was the only real way to end "the rebel nuisance".
Khandra, Sirenis, Aldram and Lanos would be convinced that increased security and law enforcement would be the correct response, an option even more foolish than what Umar and Naren would propose.
The rest of them, Virmun, Inarix, Asarun, Daros, Erriun and Arali, would remain silent, content to let others decide for them. Odranos almost trembled with disgust. This was The Ruling Council, governing body of the Ancestral Imperium of Protoss, the greatest protoss faction in existence. Most of its members had been part of it for five hundred years and even the newest member had been a member for more than a century. And yet, they had learned nothing.
It was as if all the experience and knowledge they could gain simply washed over their polished, decorated nerve cords. The Ruling Council was, in Odranos' opinion, made up of imbeciles, defective protoss completely lacking the qualities necessary for good rulership. He did not mind though. It made them easy to manipulate.
Odranos let them argue for ten minutes, only listening to make sure his assumptions were correct but otherwise ignoring their drivel: he could not stand listening to such ignorance. When their arguing died down, he spoke.
"{If you will permit it, I would speak,}" he said, addressing not only the Council members but also their various advisors and guards and doing his best to appears as respectful as possible. The chamber suddenly went quiet. Not only did the psionic communication cease but so did all physical sounds. Everyone in the chamber was still and silent as Odranos stood up and slowly walked towards the center of the chamber where everyone could see him clearly.
"{Before I begin, I would like to ensure that we all know we are not discussing an isolated incident but a string of aggressive acts performed by the rebel faction calling themselves Erana's Order and their affiliates. Over the past year, we have borne witness to an increasing number of rebel attacks, both on our borders and here, on New Aiur, the heart of the Imperium. Up till now, we have allowed the military and law enforcement agencies to handle these threats. Some of you have suggested we continue in this way.}" He lowered his head to look at the floor as he said the latter, not wanting to offend any of the Council members by naming them.
"{However, as the very existence of this assembly indicates, this is proving ineffective. The military and law enforcement agencies have proved incapable of dealing with the threat without proper instruction and planning. The most recent attack, the one we are discussing at this very moment, an assault on the monument to the Founders, on this very planet, in this very city, is, in my opinion, all the evidence we need to discard the idea of simply leaving things as they are.}" Odranos paused, waiting for some kind of response from Khanyr or his two friends. When none came, he continued, satisfied but appearing somber and weary.
"{Others have suggested a sharp and decisive counterattack, retaliation swift and final. However,I am confident that I am not the only one who would discourage such a decision. With the zerg at our very borders and our so-called brethren as tense and active as they are, our resources are spread far too thin for a direct attack to be a viable option.}"
"{So you agree with us, Odranos? You agree that we should strengthen our security measures in order to eliminate the threat?.}" This came from Khandra who, Odranos noted not for the first time, had a bad habit of speaking out of turn.
She moved her head as she spoke, causing her decorated nerve cords to jingle and add an odd flavor to her words. Odranos looked down at the floor and then began to pace back and forth, as if deep in thought.
"{The paranoid approach,}" he said after a long silence, evoking confusion and curiosity in those present. He let the silence linger for a minute longer, strengthening their interest and attention. When it looked like they couldn't wait any longer and were about to speak, he continued.
"{The rebels are not attacking us without a reason. They truly believe us to be an oppressive, corrupt and incompetent regime.}" Which we are, Odranos added to himself before continuing, although he made sure to keep the thought hidden.
"{And they seek to overthrow us by spreading this belief. By turning our own people against us.}"
"{What? By killing them and attacking their homes? That is the most ridiculous thing I-}" Odranos silenced Umar by simply standing still and glaring at the idiotic youth. The young protoss seemed to lose his courage and simply leaned back in his seat. Satisfied, Odranos continued.
"{To put it in words you will understand, Umar, the scale of the security measures needed to control our populace and prevent any further attacks would make us look like an oppresive, corrupt and incompetent regime. The rebels' aim is not to harm but to provoke. They seek to anger us, to lure us into making mistakes that would turn our subjects against us.
Theirs is not a protoss way of fighting for only terrans would stoop so low in an effort to gain power. Nonetheless, we must not deceive ourselves by thinking their strategy is inferior and flawed. Unless we react properly and with care, the rebels may very well triumph over us.}" His last sentence caused a visible stir among the rest of the Council but he did not continue, instead remaining where he was to indicate he wished to continue but was also allowing the others time to think. Surprisingly, Khanyr was the first to speak.
"{As always, your words are wisdom, Odranos. But are you merely proving our arguments wrong or do you have a suggestion of your own to share with us?}" The eyes of the Council members seemed to narrow at this.
"{I believe I can suggest a... suitable course of action,}" Odranos answered and, not expecting a response, continued.
"{We know that all these attacks are the result of the former Praetor Erana's imprisonment. This is what triggered the rebellion itself and this is what the populace believes the rebels are fighting for: Erana's freedom. In the eyes of the public, these attacks are protests against Erana's imprisonment and efforts to free her. The attack on the monument to the Founders in particular may appear as a protest.}"
"{So what do you suggest we do? Free her?}" Umar's voice was laced with scorn. The young fool thought Odranos was presenting the obvious as something unknown!
"{Nothing so drastic,}" Odranos replied, controlling his mental voice in order to appear unfazed.
"{Erana is the source of all this turmoil and she is located right here, on New Aiur. Her presence makes New Aiur a logical target both to her "Order" and in the eyes of the populace. If she were to simply be removed from the planet, the rebels would lose any public sympathy regarding their attacks on this planet.
If they are foolish enough to continue with their attacks, any increased security measures would become justified and our options would become more numerous. For now however, I believe this is the best way to deal with the threat.}"
"{But there is no guarantee that the attacks would stop?}" asked Inarix.
"{No, but that is beside the point. The attacks may continue but they would pose less of a real threat to us and we would be able to deal with them in a far more drastic way.}" Silence followed his answer as the Council digested the information. Then:
"{Erana is a top priority prisoner. Moving her elsewhere would be nothing but foo-}"
"{Oh, be quiet, Umar. Odranos' proposal is the most reasonable we have all heard and you know it. Odranos, where would the traitor be taken?}" Arali's outburst surprised everyone, including Odranos. The slight and young female was not known for such passionate words.
"{I believe Vetras is the best choice. It is small and on the very border of Zerg territory, ensuring that there will be little cause for civil conflict,}" Odranos replied, almost immediately.
"{Very well. I, Arali, am in favor of this arrangement. Who opposes it?}" When no one, not even Umar, spoke, Odranos returned to his seat, knowing that he had accomplished his goal.
Fools, the lot of them he thought to himself as he sat down.
Mostly empty space really. Almost completely empty space. Between the stars, between the atoms. But not quite, no. There was always matter. One electron as good as any more, one atom proving mass. And with mass came force and with force came mass, not so much a cycle as one line. But still, there was force and with force came systems and interaction. But still empty space, mostly. But not quite.
And then there was time. Always tricky. But it was essential, it was only movement. No time, no change. No change, and the universe did not matter. Without time, empty space became full and overflowing. Because without time, nothing mattered.
And with it? There was change. A reason to be. But what was reason? A concept? To be? Madness. Chaos. And what were those? It did not matter. So long as the meaning got across, it did not matter. Definition was a trap. As long as there was change, there was reason. There was difference. There was a gradient, potentia-
Erana's eyes snapped open as the door to her cell emitted a sudden hiss. She sat bolt upright in her bed and turned around to look at the door, her eyes quickly adjusting to the constant twilight-blue glow of her cell.
That glow had been there since the moment she had entered the cell, three years ago. It had been an unchanging, unwavering, maddening constant. Only three years. It was intriguing how easily one's view of the passage of time changed. Indeed, she had often found herself thinking that time was entirely subjective, that a mind could completely manipulate it, not through psionics but through sim-
"{Prisoner Erana, Kharun seventy nine.}" A bulky guard stood in the doorway, his body completely obscuring what was behind him. His voice carried the same lifeless neutrality Erana had heard every protoss speak in since her nerve cords had been severed. She got off her bed and stood to face the guard.
"{Did you know Kharun was actually seventy nine years old when the Imperium was formed? It wasn't until later that he was accepted as a Founder, when he had further proved himself by defeating three separate fleets in order to drive the Tama out of Ilyr. Still, I find it an interesting coincidence that I bear that number. Almost as if I am like him, yet unproven but hopeful,}" she blurted out, sharing thoughts she had often had herself but had never discussed with anyone else. However, if the guard seemed even mildly influenced by her words, he did not show it.
"{You will be moved soon. You are to be prepared.}" It was all he said. A short sentence made shorter by its lack of emotion. The guard turned to leave but, just before the door to the cell closed, he said:
"{Kharun was no traitor.}"
And then the door to her cell swung shut with another hiss, separating her from the rest of the universe both mentally and physically. She stood there for a while, staring at the door as if she could pierce it.
"{Neither am I!}" she screamed at the closed door after a prolonged, painful silence. And then again.
"{NEITHER AM I!}" she kept on screaming, barraging the door and wall with her thoughts. After a while, she began to attack the space physically as well, throwing herself at the solid barriers as if she could break them, as if it made a difference. But it was futile. After about half an hour of it, she found herself back in her bed, staring at the ceiling with both of her now bleeding fists clenched tightly.
"{It is a fool's errand. Praetor Erana has been in the custody of the Imperium for three years. We may not know exactly what has been done to her but we can rest assured that she is not what she was. She is a figurehead, one whose power has diminished significantly over the past years. More concrete actions will be needed if you are to encourage the Imperium's citizens to rebel against their masters. Simply rescuing your Praetor will mean nothing alone.
If you still wish to free her, do so but know that you will not have the support of the Exiled.}"
The holographic screen showing the representative of the Exiled Council blinked out of existence and Rassyr sighed mentally. Not dwelling on the Exiled Council's decision, which he had not expected, he turned his head to face the other two screens more fully.
One showed Patriarch Myr, the leader of the Tama Tribe, while the other one showed Keeva Lane, the terran woman who Rassyr took to be the true leader of the Terran Coalition. Both were allies to him and the Order but, as he was beginning to realize, even allies were conditional and restrained.
The meeting itself had been brief and hastily organized. As soon as an informant had informed the Order of Praetor Erana's imminent transfer, Rassyr had called together an emergency meeting between himself and the Order's allies. All he had done was explain the situation, inform them of his barely formed plans and wait for their responses, the first of which had been a disappointment.
"{Our forces are spread out and battered... but we owe Praetor Erana many things, not the least of which is our loyalty. I shall see what I can do to organize an assault force. We may not be able to provide a flagship and army of our own, but rest assured that we will do something to help. Contact me when you have more information.}"
Despite its flatness, the Patriarch's voice never failed to inspire and excite Rassyr. It did so even now, and he nodded vigorously to show his gratitude. The Nerazim's screen disappeared and Rassyr turned to the final screen.
Keeva Lane stared at him from inside it, her face as unreadable to Rassyr as a zerg's. He had heard other terrans call her beautiful but he saw nothing special in her features: he supposed terrans thought too differently for him to share their views.
"You know that the Coalition cannot intervene directly. We don't want to start a war, especially not with the Empire. However, we haven't forgotten your Praetor's help in the war and we aren't about to forget it either. We will try to intervene discretely, even if it means hiring a third party or getting the Pirates to fight. However..."
"{You will need more information, I know. I shall do my best to notify you of everything we learn the moment we learn it. Currently, however, I am not sure if even the Ruling Council knows more about the transfer than we do.}"
"I see. Well, contact me or our officers when you have something new to say. Until then, I will do my best to organize some kind of attack. Goodbye."
"{En Taro Tassadar, Keeva Lane,}" Rassyr replied and her screen also disappeared. He was silent for a moment, staring at the empty space where the screens used to be. The Exiled Tribes would not help, the Tama Tribe would do the little it could and the terrans would intervene in only a small way. It was not what he had expected and certainly not what he wanted but he knew it was all he and the Order would get. And he was grateful for it.
He rose from his seat and turned towards the door, sighing inwardly once again. A dozen matters required his attention and he would have to tend to all of them before he could even begin to plan and organize Erana's rescue and he was not sure he could cope with any of them. And yet, he felt hope for the first time in what seemed like decades.
"Come on, Orloth. How long do you really expect to hide out out here like this. What do you think you're accomplishing. Just come back to Sharon with me and rejoin the Themos Brood."
"I won't do that Aria, and you know that."
The creature Orloth was speaking to was once a beautiful woman, and held herself as one, but her features had been covered by the scars of infestation. Her entire body was covered in carapace the deep brown of a cockroach and her fingers ended in a set of wicked claws. Her hair had been replaced by a set of tendrils, used to amplify her already impressive psionic power and her eyes glowed with a dangerous orange light. The only part of her relatively untouched by infestation was the face, which was a pleasant oval of loveliness and cruelty that only hinted at the creature she had been before their former master had brought her into the Swarm.
Of course, Orloth himself was equally twisted by Baal's "gift" of infestation. Dark layers of Carapace covered his body like a suit of armor, and he had his own set of psionic tendrils carefully bundled at the back of his head. He however, chose to cover himself in a large, grey overcoat. He patiently tapped at the hidden blades within his wrists as he prowled the dark corridors of the abandoned terran facility, Aria in tow.
"Lilith won Themos, Orloth. Why do you fight that fact? Baal would not want us to be divided when the rest of the Broods are posed to crush us. Your defiance is admirable, and it would certainly be good reason for you to become second in command upon your return. So, what are you accomplishing out here that would warrant your continued defiance?"
Orloth stopped at a door set into the solid rock of the installation. The door itself was built and reinforced of metal, likely Vanadium, or some other super durable material. The infested quietly studied the door for a few moments, and then calmly tore it from it's frame and set what remained of the door carefully to the side, before strolling into the room beyond.
"My dear, Baal is dead, and I am reasonably certain he would not have wanted the other broods involved in a purely internal affair. Lilith won Themos, but she did so by involving those same broods who now wish to destroy her. What comes now is not my responsibility. If I were to ride to the rescue now, she wouldn't learn anything."
"So you are taking the high ground? You? That can't be the only reason. You and I both know you have nothing to gain out here and everything to lose. You can assist Themos without risking a backstab, and might be able to oust Lilith in the process. I just don't see what keeps you out here in the Coalition's back yard."
"A mystery, my sister." Orloth drawled, perusing the darkened banks of computer terminals that filled the room. "There is much that has happened in recent years that I wish to know more about, and under the eye of the Overmind and the other broods I would not have the leisure to pursue my investigations."
Aria shook her head in amazement as Orloth booted up a computer, seemingly at random and started sifting through it's contents. "Give me something, Orloth. Lilith will kill me if I come back empty handed."
Orloth paused concidering. "Draal and Zemreh are allied?"
"As far as we've been able to determine and we're pretty certain Fenris is involved too. They have been attacking us in Pern."
"Shaharas isn't allied with them. She is convinced she is the dominate evolution and wouldn't ally unless they submitted to her. And that is something the Cerebrates wouldn't do as they think much the same. I'd be willing to bet that they are fighting over the Nebula. If all three broods were attacking Themos it would be much worse then it is now." Aria frowned as Orloth paused to consider. How did Orloth know how the enemy was dispersed? Was he assuming or was someone feeding him information? "That may be your window. An alliance with Fenris."
"You can't bargain an alliance with Shaharas, Orloth. That creature is completely unreasonable."
"Only partially true. An alliance with Fenris would involve Lilith submitting to the Brood Mother's superiority."
Aria tried not to scoff, "You're kidding, that would work?"
"Shaharaz is a beast, an animal. She is clever but her understanding of social interactions is equivalent to that of canines. You acknowledge her as Alpha zerg and she will trust you. At least until such time as someone teaches her the concept of deception. The bigger question is whether Lilith would actually do such a thing. She is as proud as any Cerebrate."
"Lilith may not need to. I could act as emmisary for my Queen and return to Sharon with good news ... if you are right."
"I am right. I had opportunity to work with the Brood Mother some years ago, before Dras Lana."
For a while, both infested terrans remained silent, contemplating. The only sound in the darkened room was the clicking of Orloth's fingers on the keyboard of the terran computer.
"Lilith will not like me returning without you, even if I do manage to arrange a Fenris cease fire." Aria stated, probingly, "She does not like you being out here out of her sight. She is convinced you are up to something dangerous."
"I am up to something dangerous, but not to her. But she wouldn't believe that even if she were in my head." The terminal Orloth was using lit up a bright red and started beeping annoyingly. "Whoops."
"Whoops? Terran security got you beat?"
"No. Terran paranoia about to incinerate us."
"What!?!"
Orloth was already moving, glistening black blades extending from his wrists, he swiftly exited the room and opened a hole in the opposite wall of the hallway with one long slash, revealing a stary sky beyond. As the instalation began to depressurize, Orloth turned to Aria and extended his hand, {Please, my dear. I would be a bad host if I allowed you to be damaged by my blunder.}
Aria snatched Orloth's hand as a tendril reached through the gap in the wall and snatched the two Infested Terrans into the jaws of a serpentine zerg creature with dragonfly wings. The world suddenly became unreasonably bright as the corridor where they had just been standing was consumed by nuclear fire. Radiation warmed the zerg harmlessly as flocks of Mutalisks and Overlords swept in to inspect the hole that had been opened in the asteroid. {Who protects their computers with a Nuclear booby trap?} Aria thought, still stunned.
{My dear, I have been trying to figure that out since I got here. Shall I have you dropped off at your ship?}
{Um. Yes, I think that will do. Yes.}
{Then go well, Aria of the Themos Brood.} Orloth's gestures were lost to Aria as she was picked up by an Overlord and escorted by a flock of Mutalisks and Vipers to her ship, a monstrous old Battle-cruiser. It's hull gleamed dully with a strange light and bore the scars of many conflicts, and pock marks of infestation covered it's gun ports and docking bay. Orloth allowed himself to sit in the void for some time as Aria was deposited, unharmed and the Infested Battle-cruiser slowly turned and then jumped into warp space. Even then, the Infested allowed himself to drift, quietly pondering. As he sat there, the bright star of the anomaly entitled "Zeus's Fury" drifted across his vision. Orloth frowned at it. {What are you planning, my lord Overmind?} Orloth, thought, not expecting an answer. {Why is that storm so important to you.}
{You will find out, my child.} Came the distant reply. {Soon.}
SOA:
An intro to zerg politics. Aria's fleet is traveling from Dvergar to Pern.
This is what Yi'fury awoke to, after relaxing to a dreamless sleep for what seemed an eternity. He searched his expansive body for the source of the emotion, and found a rather persistent, annoying, larvae gnawing at his flesh. With a surge of his mental link with the little beast, it scurried off in search of easier food.
{When next we are in need of a scourge, that one will be it.} Having cataloged his promise, he then expanded his mind to touch upon the Zerg in the area. He was exiled for disputing territory with the others in his brood, and he would make sure to avoid the mistake of getting caught again. {Territory is power, and power is always good.} He briefly glanced at the borders, browsing through the eyes of a zergling. {Nothing can beat the sensation of walking...Is it bad to envy my creature?} A split second after having the thought, he dismissed the notion as foolish. It is better to control than be controlled. Still, he maintained his control over the puppet, and emphasized to the rest of the brood to stay away from it.
Walking to the edges of his territory, He gazed into the distance; actively searching for an enemy scout who might witness what he had planned. While he did not dream in his slumber, he still thought. He had been planning this for what seemed an eternity...now he just had to do it. {There!} He found the object he was searching for. It was inanimate, but just to be sure he sent a mental impulse through it, hoping to arouse a response. {Nothing...that is just as good}. He picked up the heavy object, and proceeded to move it three or four feet away from the edge of his territory. {This is even better than I thought, the object should roll once I drop it...}
A sound appeared, and Yi'fury retreated from his puppet. Only then did he realize that he had heard the sound from the zergling. He quickly berated himself for being so foolish, and reconnected the link. {Good, it didn't drop it.} He searched in the vicinity of the sound he heard, and found nothing. {Must have been a bird....I'll have my pets run down the trees when this is over.} Adequately satisfied that he was no longer being watched, he set his plan into motion. He dropped the object. More precisely, he `rolled` it. It had been at the northern edge of his territory since he got here, and as such believed that to be the marker. {Still rolling...} Time began to slow, as he focused his consciousness on the object. One, two, three more feet and then it capsized on itself. {Six more feet of territory, and no one saw. Success.}
Having completed his objective, he then sent his army to expand his creep in that direction; and to subsequently cut down all of the trees. Only then did he realize that he had other matters to attend to. Several of his soldiers were squabbling over rights to a kill; another was already injured and limping back to the security of his body. He quickly settled the dispute by giving the food to the puppet who killed it, and that was the end of it. The injured zergling would be healed soon enough, and his list of woes wasn't even close to being finished. One of the tunnels he had commissioned his “Tunneling Squad” to dig had collapsed, and a member of the squad was trapped. He set the rest of the squad to clearing the debris, and sent an impulse to the trapped member to sleep; as to conserve energy. {If i'm to execute more plans like today's in the future, I will need every soldier I can get. The more I have, the more territory I can sustain. Territory is power.} He quickly rooted what caused the cave-in, cataloged it, and moved on. The humans he had captured before his exile were doing well enough to leave be, and there were no more pressing matters to attend to.
Having accomplished his goal, he proceeded to return to dreamless sleep. Before he was committed, however, he located the larvae that awoke him and emphasized what would happen if he tried to gnaw at his flesh again. {And now I sleep...}
SOA: Yi'fury awakens from sleep and performs his grand master plan. He subsequently returns back to sleep. (Essentially introduces Yi'fury as a character)
"Sit. Come on. Sit, already."
The only response Kelanin receives was a humming of his zergling pet Grogir.
"You should have to know that each zergling can sit down on command." But the zerg rotate his short head a little with a straight question in his eyes. Kelanin sights with no hope for his teachings.
"{Master, you received a message from the Tama Tribe and they await a quick answer.}" One of his countless fellows and students stands in the door to tell him this word.
"{Thank you, ...}" Kelanin knows that he was the oldest and most devoted students, but he always forget his name.
"{Daelash, was it.}"
"{Ah, right, thank you, thank you. And stop call me master. It's Kelanin, for all of you.}"
"{Sure, Master.}"
"{Are my teachings so bad?}"
"{I'll guess so, Master.}"
"{Then take your leave, student.}" He already forget the name again and both of them know it. "I'll guess I should use some reminders.", whispers he to himself.
"Be a good boy, Grogir." And he responds with another humming. "I will be back soon enough." The door closes automatically when he passed through them.
On the floor another one of his students comes to Kelanin telling him the details about the message while going to the embassy meeting room, which wasn't far away from his labs, where he spend most of his time.
The dark room got filled with light when he enters it and only a sole desk stands in the middle. In front of it a screen lights up and U'lun shows up.
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador Kelanin."
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador U'lun."
"I'm sorry for this short-dated call and I'm very glad you could made it."
"The realtionship between the Tama and the Exiled is always my first priority."
"That is good to hear." U'lun seems to be confident about his coming question. "Maybe you heared about Erana?"
"Yes, they want to move her to Vetras."
"Exactly, but the Exiled Council refuses to help Erana's Order. You and I know what she have done in the past and imprison her isn't the right option."
"I know what you want to point at, but no. The past is the past and maybe Erana could change something with her solely presence. But starting a war only for a change is too vague. We don't what will this lead up to."
"It disappoints me to know that your council won't help the Order, but I thought the relationship of our tribes is important to you."
"It is, but I won't risk the life of my people for a single person. I always searching for a way to peace. Not only for the Protoss."
"I know that your words have high expectations and I respect you for this. But it always leave you in stagnation. And without changing your way of feeling is maybe too slow for this universe. Maybe you won't experience your fruits of your labour."
"I don't work for experience, I work for peace and the freedom of everybody."
"I'm tired to hear this." Kelanin is about to end this conversation. "You said to want freedom for all?"
"Yes." He knows what would come next.
"But it seems that Erana isn't anybody in everybody for you."
"As I already said, I won't risk the lifes of my people for the sake of a single person."
"I'll guess you won't change your mind. En Taro."
"No, I won't. En Taro." And the screen darkens again.
{This should keep me safe for a while...}, Dagganoth said to no-one in particular, as his Leviathan Murkag landed on an unnamed jungle planet in the unnamed orange system. After another quick shave with the Gracken brood in the Borus system, Dagganoth decided to make his way out of there and sought temporary refuge in this unknown system. {As I am the first to enter this planet, so shall I be the first to utter its name... Barkanos}. With Dagganoth's Drones leaving Murkag and starting to set up a simple base, the Cerebrate used the eyes of some of his minions to look around the planet. With nothing specific to be found on his exact landing spot, Dagganoth ordered some of his minions to scout around the planet, while the bulk of his forces remained in the base in an attempt to mine the minerals that could be found in the immediate vicinity. {Be passive!}, he told his scouting minions as he always does. Unless attacked and unable to get out wholesome, he did not want his creatures to harm anything he might find on the planet, for now.
With the landing post secured, Dagganoth turned his attention towards the other planets in the system and sent off Mutalisks with the same orders as his scouts on Barkanos.
{My sons and daughterss... for now we hide, until I am positive Gracken forcess have left the area. I want to see every inch of this sysstem I can. Otherwise, resst and bide your time. Once we can find the opportunity we are looking for, we will achieve our goalss, and we will all get closer to perfection.}
SoA
-Murkag and Dagganoth's entire force landed on the planet Barkanos in the unidentified orange system between Dras Lana and Zaratun.
-Most of his forces have been set to work on mining whatever resources they can from the planet.
-Scout parties have been dispatched to scout the entire planet, with the order to retreat and not engage in any kind of conflict unless not otherwise possible.
-Mutalisks have been dispatched to other planets in the system with similar orders.
Something was definitely off. There was more than these mindless terrans on this planet... Something... Powerful... Psionic...
They could sense it.
{No one messes with out work, our paradise!} They thought to themselves.
They opened their eyes and looked around their chamber.
"Th-th-the M-Master has awoken!" A primitive bipedal creature that called itself "human" said. It was wearing robes that... They had to admit, the robes looked slightly formal. They were probably new. "All hail the Master!"
The other dozen humans, all wearing simpler robes than the first one spread out their arms, then kneeled down and touched the floor with their foreheads and oustretched palms.
"All hail the Master!" They chanted.
They were amused as they looked at the puny creatures, their mindless worship.
They spread out the reach of their mind, searching for minions outside the caves. Each time They found one, They urged it to look around, to see if anything was amiss. Once they heard some rustling in the leaves, but whatever it was was long gone by the time the minion got close to the sound.
Somewhere In the Orange System
Space
"Hey, captain, I-- Nevermind, must be the scanners glitching." A man behind a console said.
"What was it, James?" The Captain asked.
"It looked like... Well... Mutalisks."
The captain thought to himself. Mutalisks? Here?
He leaned back in his chair, thinking about the situation. I should contact the Master. He thought after a while.
{We are always listening, minion.} They answered. {I suspected someone was intruding on my world... After you deliver my new worshippers, destroy the intruders.} Of course, Master.
"James, tell our troops to get ready. We should make sure no zerg are on the planet after we drop off our cargo, just to make sure it wasn't a glitch."
"Aye aye, captain."
SoA:
Dagganoth's Mutalisk spot a terran flagship heading for the planet.
Dagganoth's scouts find humans, concentrating mostly around a single mountain. No houses or anything related is found, although many places where humans "work" is found (Mining areas, small farms). The humans behave in a rather odd fashion and don't communicate at all.
Something plural is rather unhappy about the unexpected visitors.
OOC: This post turned out awful >.> Well, it got the point across... hopefully...
“Hurry up Mike, you take to damn long getting ready.” Grell said as he checked the watch on his left hand. He had just gotten done fixing the coolant systems with Mike, his best mechanic and probably the only person he would dare trust on his ship without having a deep pocket. The repair hadn't went flawless, as one of the pipes had burst splattering the light blue liquid on his friend and him. Even now after showering he still had the slight smell of citrus and old motor oil lingering from him as he waited for his friend to finish getting dressed up. He himself did not mind what he wore most the time, this meeting with this pirate was the same as he had only taken the time to pull out a plain red shirt, a leather jacket and some unstained jeans. After getting ready he had taken the time to secure a knife to his side, and revolver just inside the jacket he wore. Could never be to careful he always had said.
The door slid open and Mike stepped out. He was dressed nicer then him, with dark black slacks, a white dress shirt, and black overcoat he almost looked like a man of business. Looking at him Grell let out a small laugh, yet was quickly silenced by the cold stare he got. Mike was defiantly out of place in the piece of rock he lived in. He had come from a rich family, the way he talked, dressed, and looked all made it apparent. Why he had come he hadn't said, yet he had lost everything here and Grell had agreed to take him into his crew not only because he was good with any machine he got his hands on, but also because he was plain deadly with any weapon he got his hands on. If there was anyone you would not cross, it was him. He pushed his long blond hair to the sides of his head and looked at Grell. “Alright, lets get going then.” he said in a neutral tone.
“Its bout damn time you finished in there, let me guess you couldn't find your hairbrush again?” he said as he stepped out towards corridor leading to the cantina.
“No, just took my time getting the smell off me, besides who the hell goes to a business meeting wearing rags, and smelling of citrusy oil?” he said following closely behind.
“Me obviously, now tell me, whats the statues of the ship?”
“Everything should be in working order, any problems we have are just small inconveniences nothing more.”
“Good, then if we can get this job we might actually be able to make it to the planet without the ship breaking apart.” he finished his sentence as they stepped into the bar. It was almost empty, set aside the few people sitting at the bar drinking there troubles away. He scanned the room, looking for anyone out of the ordinary, yet found no one. He let out a sigh and checked the time again, he was afew minutes late and might of missed his chance. Saying a curse to himself silently he stepped towards the bar, his friend staying mute as he took a seat and dropped a coin on the table. “Give me a shot of Tauren Whiskey.” he said looking at the grusky man infront of him. He waited as the man prepared the drink, the feeling of being watched beginning to nudge him. The bartender slid the drink infront of him, and he took it in his hand, swirling it around, debating afew things in his head. He downed the drink quickly, setting the glass down and letting out a sigh as a man walked up beside him. He turned, looking him over. He wore all black, a heavy trench coat covering his body. He had olive skin, with dark black hair coming down to ear length. He looked at Grell with a neutral expression. “Are you Grell.” he asked his voice devoid of emotions.
“Yes, and you wouldn't happen to be the man offering the job were you?”
“follow me to a more . . . private place if your interested.”
He stood up his friend giving him an uneasy look. “Alright, lets go.” he followed the man to one of the sub routes leading out of the bar, it was equivalent to an ally in the old cities. Turning around he pulled out a small datapad, which lit up green, holographics displaying from the device. “The job is simple, go to the Dvergar System, head to planet Dalar and recover some research data. This is very important information, and if you view it, not only will we know what you have done, we will by all means exact a price of failure.” Finishing the terse details of the job, he held the datapad out which was quickly snatched up by Mike whom began working his way through it.
“Your offering quite a lot for this data, so tell me, whats the catch.”
“There is no catch, it is either you take the job, or not.”
Grell looked at his friend whom was still going over the datapad, he wondered if he should debate it with him yet the thought of the money and simplicity of the job made his mind up for him. “its a deal then, but on the condition on partial payment before we head out.” he said to the man.
“Grell.” Mike said now looking at him. “this is more than just the coordinates and data on the job, its a million dollar payment.”
Looking abit shocked he turned to thank the man, yet was surprised to see he had vanished. Stepping out of the ally, he went to the bar and set another coin on the table, and was soon met with another glass of whiskey. “Well its a start.” he said as he downed the drink and looked at his friend who was already issuing the preparation of the ship through his datapad.
SoA - Grell's character introduction and info on job taken from asteroid city. The ship is traveling to Dvergar System, Planet Dalar which will take 12 posts/days.
Planet Barkanos, inside the unnamed Orange System near Dras Lana and Zaratun
From the moment he had landed on Barkanos Dagganoth had felt some kind of psionic presence - something on this planet was off indeed. He had not been able to guess what it was until his scouts returned to him, though, and now shards of conversations kept coming through to him. There was some kind of mind control or slavery going on here, and the Overlord performing it was referring to himself in plural. {He must be an Archon}, Dagganoth announced to his beings. {Stay clear of all Terran forces, I will give you your instructions soon}. With some focused thought, Dagganoth located the psionic Archon and figured him to be located inside an underground cave underneath the mountain.
After a moment of careful consideration, the Cerebrate decided on his next move.
{My brothers and sisters. We have left the old Broods in order to perform our own quest for perfection. Not through conflict, but through conversation. We shall have a hard time proving our intentions to the younger and older races, but our first step begins here. These Terrans are under some kind of mind control by an Archon. We will free their minds as a show of good will. Go forth, and do my will, and we will have taken the first step on the path of redeeming ourselves.}
With several bursts of thought, Dagganoth said his plan into motion. Groups of Zerglings set out to raid the Terran encampments - not to make casualties, but to destroy any sort of useful equipment and ruin crops. His Overlords streamed forth to belch creep all over the planet. Mutalisks were patrolling the skies to find and intercept the viking fleet that had come with the reinforcements, should it attempt to engage the Overlords. Swarm Hosts covertly crept up on the mountain the Terran were centralized around, and, when finding the entrance to a cave, burrowed there to set up a careful ambush. The remains of his forces stayed at his landing post to defend his base, while Dagganoth's Avatar hid near the forest's edge as closeby to the cave entrance as possible.
{We are to lure this Archon out of his little hole, brothers and sisters. We shall wreck his palace, challenge his supreme will, and ambush him to free these Humans. I want all Mutalisks to be ready to hasten to and engage the Archon, once he leaves his cave. I want my Avatar ready to spit Symbiotic Saliva over any units engaging in battle with him.}
As the raids started, Dagganoth figured that this was as ready as he'll ever be. It's up to the Archon to make the next move now...
SoA
-Overlords have spread out all over the planet, belching creep all over it.
-30 Mutalisks are patrolling the planet, on the lookout for Viking movement, ready to intercept any Vikings attempting to attack Overlords.
-100 Zerglings are raiding small, defenseless Terran encampments, destroying crops and valuable property but leaving the inhabitants undisturbed.
-2 Swarm hosts, 40 Zerglings and 15 Mutalisks are left defending the base.
-All Mutalisks have the order to hasten to the Archons location and engage him in combat if he leaves his cave and gets attacked by the Swarm Hosts.
-Dagganoth's Avatar is closeby the cave entrance in order to cast his Symbiotic Saliva to attempt to prevent Mutalisk (and/or Swarm Host) casualties when/if needed.
“Dammit! Pulling out, there’s too many of them!” The Viking pilot yelled into the coms as he turned around and the entire squadron followed. “Captain, these things are just too damn fast.”
“Well, keep them busy at least.” The captain’s voice said. “The less of them there is chasing our ground troops, the better. And maybe you get a lucky shot and take some of them out.”
“We got quite a few lucky shots, captain, but the stories about zerg regeneration are proving to be more than just stories. One of them can eat half a volley and be fine ten minutes later.”
“Well, do what you can. Captain out.”
The Viking pilot swore, turned the fighter around and took a shot at a mutalisk, but it was too far away and he missed, then swore again, and told his squadron to head for the next overlord.
They watched through the eyes of their minions as the swarm lived up to its name. The zerglings ravaged the earth, destroying everything in their path, and the overlords spewed their corruption immediately afterwards. For some reason they left the humans alive, but They didn’t care. They were angry, furious.
{How dare anyone intrude in our paradise, and ravage it?}
They looked through the minds of their other minions, the ones with weapons…
The mutalisks proved troublesome to the reapers, vultures and banshees, as they weren’t able to defend against the flying monstrosities. Yet for some reason the mutalisks did not destroy any of the troops. The only humans that have had any amount of success were the vultures, their mines having blown up small pockets of zerg. But with all the overlords everywhere, it was almost impossible to place mines where the zerg would stumble upon them.
The primitive terrans could not handle the intruders, and They would not - could not sit around and watch as their paradies was being destroyed. They got up.
“M-M-Master! What do you need?” The lead worshipper asked?
{Power.} They answered, and the worshippers in the room went pale, then began to shrivel as their life force was drained away.
They continued along the corridors of the caves, fury building up inside them as their world was being defiled. Any worshippers that crossed Their path would have their life force drained in preparation to destroy the enemies.
{No one… NO ONE threatens my paradise!} Their minds shouted across miles, filed with rage as They emerged from the cave. {You will pay for what you have done. You. WILL. PAY!}
They were darkness. No, they weren’t dark… Light simply seemed to stop existing where it met Them, it seemed to be drawn in. An aura of nothingness flickered around it, the ground beneath it could not be seen. They seemed… Empty. As if space and time simply ceased to exist wherever they stood. There was nothing, yet it was possibly to vaguely make out a skeleton, a skeleton of a… protoss. A very large protoss engulfed by nothingness, surrounded by an impenetrable void.
Dozens of little… Creatures erupted from the ground a good distance away, surrounding the mouth of the cave. The darkness sent out a mental roar as nothingness engulfed a dozen of the creatures, and Dagganoth could feel that they were gone, torn to shreds.
A bolt of… Dark emptiness shot from Their hand, swallowing another handful of the little creatures. And then They felt… Not pain… Loss… Of energy. The void surrounding Them absorbed dozens of hard wurms that were flung at Them from the sky, from the ugly creatures flying above.
As they swooped down for another volley, a bolt of darkness destroyed one of them, and then another one. But there were so many… They… Hurt?Them?
And the little creatures… More of them had crawled out of the earth and were rushing towards him. They were confused. Since when did the zerg have such terrible and annoying insects? Where were they coming from?
They grabbed a mutalisk out of the sky as it swooped down for the next volley and slammed it into the hordes of little insects that were approaching it. But there were… So many… Another bolt of nothingness swallowed a handful, but the mutalisks cost him too much energy.
{We… No! We do not fail! We are the creators of paradise! We have lived for centuries! You insects will not stop us now!}
A dark shockwave emanated from them, evaporating two mutalisks that have come too close, destroying all the insects, and hitting the remaining mutalisks hard enough to make them crash to the floor in a big heap.
They laughed, their mental voice rolling through the forest.
{You cannot defeat me! This is my world, my paradise!}
More of the insects erupted from the ground and the crashed mutalisks got up again and lazily flapped their wings, trying to lift off, as a figure slithered through the trees and covered the mutalisks in some liquid. Whatever broken bones and cuts they had seemed to heal and they went airborne again.
But something was wrong. They were faster. A lot faster. They covered the distance almost immediately and the glaive wurms tore through the void around him. Bolts of nothingness tore through the insects and destroy two more of the mutalisks, but they all just kept coming.
{No. NO! NOOOO!} They screamed, and the scream echoed across forest as the humans repeated it. {This cannot… You cannot defeat us!!}
A bolt of nothingness was flung at the slithering creature and it flew across the battlefield, towards Them, as their veil of emptiness faded even further through the swarms attack.
{You. WILL. DIE}
Another bolt hit Dagganoth’s avatar and it crashed into the ground, flattening a dozen of the locusts, and another volley of glaive wurms tore through the veil while the locusts tore at it as well and another round of them came from the ground.
{Die, you filthy, ugly, hideous, CREATURE!}
Another bolt of nothingness sent the avatar crashing through more of the locusts, but it still wasn’t dead, but They saw it was heavily injured.
More glaive wurms tore at the already thin veil, the skeleton of Them becoming more and more visible.
They raised their hand as energy gathered in it.
Dagganoth looked at it through the eyes of the avatar, knowing that it could not withstand another blow.
The Archon swung his arm towards Dagganoth.
The Cerebrate was considering leaving the body before it met its end.
The energy around the arm crackled as a finger pointed at Dagganoth, and…
There was a scream.
There were thousands of screams.
Dagganoth looked at the archon, it’s skeletal army lying in pieces on the floor, littered with glaive wurms.
{NOOOOOOOOOO--}
The locusts tore through the legs and Glaive worms tore through the rest. Dagganoth could feel it’s consciousness fade as its body was torn apart.
SoA:
Dagganoth's forces destroy the "plural something"
Dagganoth loses 10 mutalisks to the Archon and vikings, and 20 zerglings to spidermines
Mind control over terrans fades
Planet Barkanos, inside the unnamed Orange System near Dras Lana and Zaratun
Silence fell upon the planet as Adam regained consciousness. He was lying on the ground, soaked in sweat. He had no idea what just happened, but memories slowly started to come back to him. There was some being of power... and worshippers... it had somehow controlled his mind! He heard a rustling sound and tilted his head to the right. There was a Zergling. Right there, next to him. Adam startled and thought to himself that this was the end. For a moment he saw his life flash before his eyes as he felt emotions of fear and anger. Then he told himself that if he had to go, he'd at least go with a free will. It was at that moment that Adam realized that the Zergling wasn't attacking him. In fact, it was simply standing there, looking at him. Adam sat upright and the scene playing itself out in front of his eyes was unreal: he was surrounded by others humans and a pack of Zerglings. Some of the humans were just waking up, looking just as startled as he just had, while others were already standing up, talking about their odd visitors and pointing and staring at all the surrounding Zerglings. Adam stood up himself and was just about to walk over to a group of fellow humans when there was a voice.
{Citizens of Barkanos. There is no need to feel fear. My name is Dagganoth, Cerebrate of the Garamar Brood. I mean you no harm. As you might have realized by now, there was an Archon who had established psionic control over your minds, turning all of you into his minions. My brothers and sisters have succesfully freed you from his grasp. I know you will naturally feel fear towards one of my kind, but I ask you to lay down your weapons; my brothers and sisters shall not attack you. If you have a representative, then please make him known to one of my Brood so we can conversate.}
Captain Rodrick stepped down from his chair. "Well what in the world... James, are you hearing this?"
-"As clearly as you, sir"
-"Are you picking up any signs of battle on the planet?"
-"None whatsoever, sir, though are own forces are still following your old orders and are hunting Overlords"
-"Alright... Tell them to hold all fire for now, and then put her down. I never thought I'd say this, but... I want to talk to that Cerebrate"
As the Terran flagship landed, Rodrick left the bridge. The planet's surface was still a wonderful chaos, with Zerg troops standing all over the place, simply looking at any Terrans in a non-hostile manner. Rodrick walked up to a Zergling, scratched himself on the head and said to it "I'm captain Rodrick of the SS Raven over there... I feel silly for askin', but I think I can represent this colony right now... should I be talkin' to ye?"
{This brother of my Brood will serve the function just fine, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. I'm afraid I shall have to give my reply through the minds of your people, though.}
"I... guess that's fine. So, I... thank you, I suppose? I don't even know whether I should thank you. I have no idea what's going on.
{This is understandable, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. As I mentioned, your minds were being controlled by a Protoss Archon. I sympathized and freed your people from his control.}
"How do I know yer not lying? This could easily be some kind of trick! And how could something like you 'sympathize' with us?"
{The proof is around you, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. My brothers and sisters are in a perfect position to destroy your colony, yet they are not doing so, because it is not my wish. Feel free to check the mountain cave, I'm sure you will find trails of the Archon in there. As for sympathizing... I will just say that not all of my kind are alike. We all pursue perfection in our own way. My way simply involves more discussion than conflict.}
Rodrick nods for two nearby officers to check out the nearby cave.
"Alright... then let me ask you another question. I recognize a lost situation. What do ye want with us?"
{That is simple. I want your allegiance. Or perhaps more than that. I am uncertain. I think you call it friendship}
"You want to be our friend?!"
{That is correct. And as a gesture of good will I have some offerings.}
"Offerings? This might be the craziest thing a've ever heard!"
Rodrick's officers return and show him a scanner that reads a high residue of psionic waveforms.
"Alright, so ye might be tellin' the truth about this Archon... but lets hear it"
{First, I shall tell my brothers and sisters to retreat}
All of the Zerg in the area immediately turned around and retreated into the woods, except for the one Zergling standing in front of Rodrick.
{Second, to destroy the Archon controlling you I had to destroy a lot of your equipment and crops. Unless you want my Brood to leave, my offer is to remain and help with repairs. My brothers and sisters aren't exactly suited for building, but I can share biomanipulative tricks that will help you to regrow your crops in a more effective manner. My only request here is that you allow me to continue my mining operation while my Brood remains on your planet.}
"Alright... with the state our planet's in, I guess we have little choice but to accept"
{Excellent. Most of your old laboratories are still intact. I shall sent my messengers there}
"Works fer us. Rodrick out, then... I guess we'll be talkin' again sometime soon"
"James, tell all forces to go on standby. We have no choice but to accept this offer right now, but if those Zerg so much as look at one of our own in the wrong way, I want all our troops to be ready to fight to the death. I don't trust this 'Dagganaught'."
SoA
-Hostilities between the Terran faction and Garamar Brood have ceased for the moment.
-Garamar Brood remains on the planet, mining, while 'helping the Terrans out with the repairs'.
-All troops except for a few Zerglings for communication have been pulled back to the Zerg outpost.
-Terran forces remain on standby, ready for any sort of hostility.
The morning had proved eventful. Several days had passed since the execution of the plan, and as each day came and went Yi'fury sped up the process of increasing his territory. It was currently three-fold of what it was before, and it was still accelerating. Alas, this had also proved to be an impasse – he was having troubles effectively guarding the compound. Ultimately, he decided the best course of action was to “hotwire” the creep directly to his neural system. This gave him the ability to locate any intruders that were not zerg the moment they touched on the living earth, and for the skies he set his mutalisks on patrols.
It had proven to be an effective strategy, as many of his minions were gorging on fresh food caught from the Jungle of the Bird (named for his mishap with the noise a few days past). Even his humans were eating well. {Perhaps they are eating....too well....I believe I should teach them a lesson in fidelity...} Having cataloged his newest promise, he proceeded to go over the surrounding area. {Everything is too familiar...even at this accelerated growth nothing is happening. I don't believe the zerg were ever meant to be static. My minions are growing complacent and I am growing bored. Perhaps there is another brood nearby that I could ransack for resources...or there may be some terrans or protoss that are looking to be enslaved....}
That must be it. That must be the reason they sent him out here. This must be a proving ground of sorts, where the winner takes all. {I must send out my scouts further to locate my enemies. Surely this will please the she-bitch of a leader...} Yi'fury sent out the mental impulse to his zergling squads (He loved categorizing his units into squads) and then pictured a map of the planet as he knew it. Relatively simple, plenty of trees, plenty of water. Nothing truly amiss. Aside from the immediate vicinity, his knowledge of the planet was limited. He didn't even know if there were any other broods on this rock. He didn't even think about scouting whilst in space with the husk. {Next time, I will need to remember to do that...}
SOA: Yi'fury begins to expand his territory at an accelerated rate.
He is also scouting the planet, looking for something to ransack and cause general chaos.
Razarac growled as one of the resident brood's zerglings came too close to him. He shook his entire body to warn the creature of his mood. But the zergling did not listen. It edged closer towards him, its purpose unknown to Razarac.
Razarac growled again, louder this time and the zergling stopped... and he pounced. His muscles flexed and he sprang at the intruder. The zergling yelped and tried to run but was too slow. His jaws snapped shut just as he landed on the ground, shaking it with the force of his fall. Then, he swallowed the zergling whole, not even bothering to crush its body with his inner jaw: the acid in his stomach would be more than enough to break down the corpse, for it was real acid, not the stuff of lesser creatures.
Satisfaction filled his mind as warmth spread through his body, a sensation he knew was connected to the rapid dispersion of the zergling's energy and nutrients through his body. He went back into the same prone position he had been in before the planet dweller's intrusion. He growled to scare of the remaining planet brood zerglings and closed his eyes.
He was a magnificent beast. A massive zergling, four of his lesser brethren in length and three in height, with wings twice as long, Razarac dwarfed most any zerg creature. And those he did not dwarf, he outmatched, outperformed or outran.
Flexible spikes covered his entire body, not for defense, but for the rapid absorption of water to aid his metabolism. His carapace matched that of an ultralisk's in strength but weighed no more than a zergling's. His claws, teeth and scythe-claw-appendages were sharper than a hydralisk spine and as sturdy as a kaiser blade. The constant secretion of small amounts of acid served to both make tearing enemy armor easier and to lubricate his own weapons for unhindered slashing and stabbing.
Of all this and more he was aware for Shaharaz had blessed him with sentience, a power he prized more than any other. He was the epitome of zerg: deadly, resilient, adaptable and ruthlessly efficient: the peak of evolution. And he was ready to act.
The Brood Mother's call had been heard and it was being answered. Razarac watched through an Overseer's eyes as the Fenrir Brood's forces departed the planet. The Fenrir spore sailed on ahead with its cargo while the two Swarm Lords that was accompanying them followed at a slower pace.
The plan was to have the spore land on the planet and create a suitable amount of chaos on the planet's surface. The Swarm Lords would use the chaos to find an advantageous angle of attack and strike the Themos in a favorable way. The knowledge that the enemy had at least one Battlecruiser with them changed Razarac's battle plan considerably. He had faced the terran counterpart many times and knew enough about the Themos version to know it would be a big threat.
They would have to destroy any battlecruisers before really attacking the planet and they could only do that if the fight favored them from the start. They would have to attack the ships from the inside and outside while defending their own ships from enemy flyers. It would not be easy.
One of the Spores would stay behind on Anna to guard the planet against counter attacks but would be called if help was needed. Dangerous as the attack was, Razarac was not willing to leave Anna unguarded.
Razarac let out a roar as the fury of the Fenrir Brood surged forward to prove themselves in battle.
~~
Aria's old Battlecruiser, the Rossvelt, returned to normal space in time to witness the Fenrir spore blaze into light as it began entering Mary's atmosphere, releasing the raw materials to start amassing a brood on the planet's surface. The Infested Battlecruiser in high orbit was joined by two other dark forms, maneuvering for position in preparation for a fight.
{Aria! Glad to have you back! Reinforcements have been called from Sharon, but your presence is sorely needed in the skies.}
The Infested directed her ship to join the other in the skies, and in quick bursts of thought relayed Orloth's insight to her brother and sister Prophets of Baal. In a discussion that lasted only a few seconds, and consisted of more emotion then words, it was decided. The battle would go on, but Aria was allowed to attempt to communicate with the Fenrir. Aria reached out her mind to the Fenrir, and traced their lines of command back to find its strongest will, its dominate personality, its Alpha Wolf. She found something, not too high, but definitely the driving force behind this particular attack. With an effort of will she stretched out her mind in an effort to communicate.
~~
Razarac felt a presence in his mind, totally alien to anything he had ever felt before. It was zerg, but it did not think like zerg. It gave an image of a smaller zergling, showing due respect to a larger zergling, and spoke {We recognize the dominance of the Fenrir Brood. We wish to discuss a cessation of hostilities.}
For a moment silence reigned and the Themos and Fenrir forces floated in space as if frozen.
{Brood Mother?} asked Razarac. All he got was a short instinctual answer that roughly translated to 'go on'.
Razarac ordered his own brood and the Fenrir forces to stand down but stay ready to attack in case the enemy was trying to trick them. Then he focused on the alien mind inside his own an probed it as he would inspect a lesser zerg. It did not recoil from him.
{The weak recoil. That is domination.} he said more through feelings than words. He felt the alien mind retreat away from his own somewhat and was satisfied.
{The weak show subordination to the strong in order to live. But subordination is not simply... peace without... consequence} his imperfect vocabulary was made up for by his ability to send images and feelings directly to the other mind. He felt the mind of the Themos agree to his statement.
{Who are you?} he asked.
{I am Aria of the Themos Brood, servant to Lilith, its leader.} came the reply and Razarac knew at once that he was talking to a halfling. An infested. Not a zerg. The information angered him.
{So the Themos rely on halflings to command. I am not surprised then, that you wish to end the... hunt before it is begun.} His words seemed to cause a reaction in the infested but whatever it was, the halfling seemed to repress it. This angered Razarac further. True zerg did not hide their emotions!
{You do not talk. Perhaps you fear my dominance or perhaps you seek my favor. I do not care which for both end in the same outcome if you truly fear our might}
{And that outcome is?}
{The Themos will surrender immediately and depart this world, leaving only a small force behind. You will redirect half of this planet's resources to the Fenrir Brood and cease all fighting with us. In turn, your existence shall be spared. These are the conditions of domination. You must give up land and rank to live. And if you do not, you have neither land, rank or life. Are our terms understood?} It was there again. The ancient instinct. He talked without thinking, driven by instincts and skills he was not aware of.
{Very well. The Themos brood agrees to your terms and they will satisfy them immediately. Since this is possibly the last time we will meet, I would ask of you to receive one our own as an ambassador to the Fenrir Brood so that future communication between our Broods can be quick and fluent.} The response came after a minute of silence during which the halfling had probably weighed up its options.
{Would this ambassador be a halfling such as yourself?} Razarac asked, full of suspicion.
{Yes. Is that a problem?}
{Only if you value it highly, for I will rend the flesh off its bones the moment it sets foot on our territory.}
{Very well. We will have to rely on other methods of communication in the future, then.} Aria answered, not in the least disturbed by the creature's words. But she was late: Razarac had already expelled her from his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~EOM734 Single Star System, Ort cloud~~
Far outside the unnamed star, a rift was torn in the fabric of space, and a single leviathan glided out of the wormhole. This system had once been claimed by the late Cerebrate, Shuul, but it's location would make it an excellent target for the expansion of the Gracken Brood. That is, assuming the rival broods had not had that very idea first. That was why the creature had been deposited so far outside the usual realms of the Star, to not be seen by the enemy. It was purposed with carefully picking it's way through the system, to see what had been left here by the late Shuul, and if anyone else had been by to pick the bones; a task it dutifully began as the Wormhole closed.
SOA:
Reposting relevant data from previous game that I want to keep, with previous player's permission. If he doesn't pick it up, I imagine I will. I liked Raz.
Aria arrives in the Pern System just in time to stop fighting between the Themos and Fenrir broods. The Fenrir commander, Razarac, makes his demands, which are promptly met. Aria along with several Themos Armies will be headed to Sharon as soon as things are in order. The Fenrir and the Themos Broods are now ... not actively killing each other.
A Gracken Leviathan has shown up in the EOM734 system with the mission of looking for hostiles and scout for possible future colony sites.
The humans watched as the zerglings tore away the creep and the flyers dropped pods filled with some greenish dust onto the farms, where plants almost immediately started regrowing.
"Friendly... Zerg..." One of them said in disbelief.
"Yeah... I don't get it either." Adam said.
"So... What... Do we do?" Someone else asked.
"I... Don't know?" Adam answered. "This is a rather... Odd situation."
"Agreed."
Then Adam got an idea.
"Hey, Sarah, you were some scientist, right?"
"Uh... Yeah...? Why?" She asked.
"Life here is boring. I'm sure some people like such a passive lifestyle. Farming, mining, and generally not doing much... But a scientist like you wouldn't be content with something like that, right?"
"I think you're stereotyping scientists."
"That doesn't answer my question.
"Well, yeah. I'd bore myself to death here. It's why I signed up for that damn expedition in the first place... Never thought it'd end like this."
"So what do you think about another expedition... With the Zerg?"
"What?"
"Come on, they seem friendly enough. I mean, they didn't only save us from whatever that thing was, they're even repairing the damage they did."
Sarah mumbled something under her breath.
"You've got three choices: Stay here and get bored to death, go back to terran space and get frustrated with limited budgets and bureaucracy... Or go with the zerg and learn things no human has ever before."
"Why are you so enthusiastic?"
"I was an accountant. I'm sick of bureaucracy, and I don't wanna stay on this planet either. And I think the zerg beat joining a pirate crew for some fun."
"Fine, let's do it." Sarah said.
____
"Mister Zergy dude." Adam said to one of the zerglings.
Dagganoth looked through the eyes of his brood to see two dozen humans standing beside the man called Adam.
{Yes?}
"We were considering... Well, we are bored of this place, and not too eager to return to Terran civilization. We thought that travelling with probably the only friendly zerg might prove interesting. Some of us are scientists that would like to study your kind, and others are just bored and want an adventure."
Silence.
"We've got a ship of our own, nothing special, just a large cargo vessel, but enough for us. Also, if you want something more so that we can join you, there is a wreck of a protoss ship which can probably be salvaged for valuable resources, we can show you the way."
The humans stared at the zergling uneasily as they waited for a response.
SoA
The Zerg are doing a good job at fixing the damage they did.
Two dozen of the humans on Barkanos have decided they'd prefer to explore the universe with the Zerg than return to their frustrating lives in terran space or bore themselves to death on Barkanos.
The humans have a cargo vessel of their own with just enough space for them, and are willing to show the zerg the location of a wrecked protoss ship on the planet that can be salvaged.
The offer confused Dagganoth at first. He had not considered this possibility. Considering the options, however, he figured the offer was a generous one.
{Your offer is indeed generouss. I am not sure I understand your reasons, for I do not know the concept of 'boredom' - they seem to amount to exploration? However, I shall accept and welcome you within my Brood as brothers and sisterss. I believe our symbiosis shall further both our causes, and I feel I have uses for your services. Traveling might be problematic through a cargo vessel. Provide me with samples from the walls of your houses and I should be able to morph an area inside Murkag in a similar fashion to what your resting pods look like. You will have to bring your own equipment and will not be able to breathe outside these rooms, but you can perform your research and reside in areas suited for it. You will then be able to use the cargo ship to interact with other Terrans on my behalf, or undertake your own smaller missions}.
Adam grinned at his colleagues. "I hope you're ready for some adventure!".
{The repairs are starting to finish. Lead me to the Protoss ship and we shall attempt to salvage it in order to sell it for minerals.}
And so it happened. Adam and his crew of scientists led Dagganoth to the wreckage of a large Protoss ship. As the Zerg forces immediately began to salvage anything worthwhile aboard the ruins, Dagganoth received the Terran home samples and proceeded to evolve an area inside Murkag into a small complex of Terran rooms. The drones at the main base proceeded to mine out the minerals found in the area and then started working on dissolving the base back into pure DNA. A day passed after all this was done, and at noon the next day Garamar Brood was ready to leave. A group of Terran forces had gathered to say goodbye to the scientists and Brood.
"Well, thank ye for all of this I s'pose... Dagganoth", captain Rodrick said.
{I am not sure if you should be thanking me, or if I should be thanking you. Either way, we are in symbiosis here. People of Barkanos: though you might not have personally seen me, I have learned about the behaviour of some of you over these couple of days, watching through the eyes of my Brood. I wish to honor my... friendship with you as I hope you shall remain to honor it with me. If any sort of trouble arises, find a way to contact me - Garamar Brood will not forget the events that took place here and shall assist you.}
"Where will ye head now?"
{I have not yet divulged a plan yet.}
"Then I suggest ye head on over to Domus, the asteroid city. It should be near and you can easily buy and sell goods there... should be good for the likes of you - no offense meant.
{Thank you for the information. I shall attempt to sell the parts of the Protoss ship there, then.}
"Well... , I for one wish to honor this... friendship, Dagganoth, and I hope the people of Barkanos will follow me in this. Farewell, and good luck on your journeys."
{Farewell, ... friends}
As the gathered group of Terrans cheered, Murkag slowly took off from the planet and calculated a course towards Domus.
SoA
-The outpost finished mining the remaining resources in the area and all salvegeable material from it has returned into Murkag.
-The 24 scientists are located in a small Terran-like complex inside Murkag with their own equipment on-board. The cargo ship, taking up 6 food worth of cargo, is also on board.
-The Protoss equipment is worth 5.5 points, taking up that amount of cargo in my cargo bay. The gathered minerals would be 6 points (10 posts of mining -3 for Terrans harassing my mineral line, -1 for deploying troops).
-All of this makes my cargo bay look like this: 120 Zerglings (60 food/cargo), 35 Mutalisks (70 food/cargo), 10 Swarm Hosts (30 food/cargo), Terran scientists (24 food/cargo), Terran cargo ship (6 cargo), Protoss artifacts (5.5 cargo) and Minerals (6 points) = 201.5 / 400 cargo.
-Murkag is flying towards Domus (2 squares above Myrym), which is 6 squares away. With a speed of 6, my travel time is (4 X 6) / 6, which makes 4 posts of waiting time for me from this point.
"{Praetor Armul, preparations have been finalized. Our fleet is ready to leave the system}"
There was a moment of silence in which Zhedril waited anxiously for the Praetor's response.
"{Do you know what this means? Violating the treaty?}" came the response.
"{We are not the first to break it. The Exiled have done it many times before and we have not objected so I see no reason for them to do so now.}" Zhedril replied without missing a heartbeat. The significance of their actions had been going through his head the entire day and this was merely an opportunity to speak out.
"{I am not talking about justification, Zhedril. I am referring to how this reflects our tribe's relationship with the Exiled as of late.}" Armul replied as quickly as Zhedril had. Had he anticipated such a response?
"{Praetor?}" Zhedril asked, not knowing how else to respond. There was another, longer moment of silence.
"{No. It is nothing. Inform the Exiled of our imminent departure. You are dismissed.}"
Planet Paleora, Idum System
"{Master!}"
Kelanin gave the mental equivalent of a sigh and looked up from his ongoing experiment to see one of his students enter the lab.
"{What is it now, Daelash?}" he asked, only remembering the student's name because they had conversed the previous day. Daelash rose his right arm to reveal a slim tablet and handed it to Kelanin.
"{An urgent message from the Council. I was only told to bring it to you, not what it was about,}" the student explained.
"{Is that so?}" Kelanin said absentmindedly, his fingers already tapping away at the storage tablet's crystal surface in order to access the message. The tablet flashed twice and then played a recorded psionic message:
"{Greetings, Ambassador Kelanin. About an hour ago, the Tama fleet present on Thanus informed us that they would depart the system in less than a day's time. This not only violates the Zamar Treaty but also exposes our capital to the Imperium. A meeting has been arranged between you and the Tama ambassador. Do all that is within your power to rectify this situation. Do not fail us.}" The tablet went dark.
"{Well, what did it say?}" Daelash asked, not containing his curiosity. Kelanin's shoulder's slumped as he looked back at his student.
"{I am to meet with Ambassador U'lun immediately. Please clean up after me,}" he answered, gesturing at his experiment as he left the laboratory.
SoA:
The Tama fleet positioned on Thanus, Idum system as part of the Zamar Treaty (an alliance between the Exiled Tribes and the Tama Tribe) has announced that it will depart the system promptly, leaving behind a stationary ground force which would be unable to defend the rest of the system in the case of an attack.
The Exiled Tribes Council has "asked" Ambassador Kelanin to rectify the situation. The Tama fleet is under direct orders of Patriarch Myr and is not acting independently.
{This planet is absolutely devoid of any sentient life...} Yi'fury was beginning to get irritated at this. {The She-bitch exiled me out here, and there is nothing to do on this god-forsaken rock!} He had managed to scout about half of the planet since starting the exploration, but only a few things were interesting and none had held his interest for very long. Nothing had fought back, let alone given him a challenge. {There has to be....something... here of interest. Something to give to the she-bitch for favor.} But then there it was, a feeling. An impulse. Something pulled him not outward, to the planet, but upward.
Only then did he realize that he was exiled to the system. Not the planet. Only then did he focus his attention to the star, and realized how many planets there were. Only then did he realize the scope of the galaxy, how massive it was. It was pointless to scout the planet in the degree he was currently doing so, as he could have scouted several planets by now using similar techniques. The tunnels he was digging? While they may prove to be useful in the future, the best course of action was through numbers. The more forces he had scouting, the more information he could process. The more information he had, the more power he had. He could sell information to the she-bitch...but to that he would need to change his current methods.
{Yes...this must have been what they sent me out here for. To learn from my mistakes. Territory is not power. Knowledge and strength is power.} Yi'fury directed his mutalisks to dispatch to the other planets, in hopes of finding some more interesting. While this planet had taught him much, it was obvious it held no secrets. Through a series of mental impulses, he ordered his zerglings and drones to collect what resources they had, and started to prepare The Husk for planetary excursion.
{I can see now how humans have survived. They thrive on information. The Protoss as well, albeit in a different manner. If one could combine the technological superiority of the protoss with the commitment and determination of the terrans alongside the Zerg instinct and brute strength....
{One could rule the galaxy...}
SoA: Yi'fury has learned how to evolve past the current Zerg state-of-mind, and now has a goal.
He has also sent out mutalisk scouts into the system, ordered to maintain in space and send the data received to Yi'fury.
He has also prepped “The Husk” for planetary excursion. This means that the entire base surrounding Yi'fury is being transported and prepared.
He has also ordered all resources found to be put into the Husk's cargo bay for transportation (+13 points, 15 total)
OOC: Love the way you're playing Yi'fury, Halfdead. Great stuff there, very interesting to read! :)
On board the leviathan Murkag, at some distance from the Davir System
Adam woke up to a rustling sound. It startled him for a moment. Space travel was something he wasn't unaccquainted with, but it usually came with the soft buzz of an engine - not the muffled sounds of flesh molding and shaping around him. As he checked his watched he quickly calculated that he had been asleep for roughly nine hours. Plenty of time to recuperate from the events of all the previous days. As he sat up he looked around his room. Adam was lying in the top of a bunk bed, his roommate Gary still breathing quietly beneath him. There were two automatic metallic looking doors, and the walls and ceiling were made out of what appeared to be solid concrete. On the ground was a soft green carpet. One door, he knew, led to his personal bathroom - a room he yet had to access. The other led towards the common room that was intended to be used as a recreational area for the Terrans aboard this 'ship'.
That's when he again realized that he was actually traveling aboard a Zerg vessel. "Wow...", he whispered quietly to himself. After rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms, he jumped out of bed. What I need is a good shower to get ready for the day - because it would no doubt be an interesting one. He stumbled over towards the left door and opened it up.
The room was pitch black, but as soon as Adam set a foot inside of it he saw what seemed to be tiny jolts of fire crawling through the cracks of the concrete wall. They rapidly converged at the middle of the ceiling and started to emit a comfortable deep yellow light. Adam grinned; electricity was one of the things the Zerg did different from his own race. The jolts in the wall must have been sparks of energy directed at one single point by a subconcious mind network of Dagganoth, or perhaps even Murkag himself. He looked around for a shower, noting to himself that the room was on the large end for a personal bathroom. As he glimpsed past the sink, toilet and shower, his jaw dropped when his eye felt on the remaining corner of the room.
"Gary... Hey, Gary! Gary, wake up, you need to see this!"
-"Hmmmwhat?", Gary mumbled as he opened his eyes and slowly sat upright.
"Come check this out man! Looks like traveling with this Brood does have its advantages!", Adam said with a big grin.
Gary sleepily stept out of bed towards the bathroom doorframe and peered inside. His jaw dropped as well when, tucked neatly into the corner next to an ordinary shower, he saw a jacuzzi.
SoA
-Establishing some detail on the Terran quarters inside Murkag while underway towards Domus. Otherwise no relevant actions taken.
Kelanin enters the meeting room which is filled with false expectations. After a shot time ambassador U'lun appears on the screen.
"Ambassador. En Taro Tassadar."
"En Taro Tassadar. Ambassador U'lun."
"What is about this meeting?"
"I was informed that the treaty fleet is leaving Thanus. Which purpose does this action has? Give me some details."
U'lun showed no signs of surprise. Had he been anticipating this meeting?
"Patriarch Myr has decided to act upon the information acquired by Erana's Order. The fleet is headed towards an advanced position in order to better respond to future developments regarding Erana. Does that answer your question?" he said.
"No, it does not. This acting is a contempt to the Zaratun Treaty and your patriarch knows that, too. Maybe the Imperium wants exactly that. You're exposing us to them."
"We are not the first to act outside of the restrictions of the treaty. Your military has acted in this way many times in the past, exposing our capital to attack, if not by the Imperium then by the terrans and zerg."
"Until now there was never any harm for you. We took care about our choices. We made sure that neither terrans nor zerg could threated you as those times. But it is different now. The Imperium stands before our very eyes everytime ready to charge."
"That is true. However, if the information regarding Praetor Erana's transfer is to be believed, we can assume that the Imperium is not willing to make a move until the transfer is over. Knowing the Imperium's methods and attitude, Praetor Erana is likely to be transferred by a large fleet, making the Imperium unable to succesfully attack your capital. Should an offensive take place, rest assured that we, the Tama, will rush to your defense without a moment's hesitation.
However, for now, we believe that the benefits of freeing Praetor Erana outweigh the risks of leaving your capital system temporarily undefended. If your Council had agreed to help with the endeavor, this action would not have been necessary."
"Is to be believed? In the time of war there is no time for faith. And even if it is true that operation would be a one way ticket. You should consider that involving your tribe into this 'rescue mission' will make you an enemy to the Imperium.
Sadly, I can't influence my councils descisions. Elsewise I would gather more, trustable, sources of information to consider my options."
"Nothing can be truly known before it happens. Even then, it remains obscured. The Patriarch is basing this action upon centuries of observation and leadership. We both know that the Imperium already considers the Tama a threat, albeit a dormant one. The Patriarch is well aware that this mission may very well provoke the Imperium and make it unleash the full might of its forces upon our tribes.
However, given your Council's refusal to take part in the mission, we are left with few other choices. Erana's Order cannot do this alone without exposing its planets to the zerg and that is one thing they will never do. They need our help."
"For the sake of our relationship and the sake of all our planets. Exposing our main system to the Imperium at a time like this will force us to return our forces from your system to ours to defend ourselves.
If you really want us to do it we have to expose you to the zerg and terrans.
You can leave this stagnation as it is right now or one of us have to expose to one of our enemies. It is your will to choose from. We will act as you choose. And I hope it is a choice for peace."
"So you would permanently expose your oldest allies' home to the enemy instead of commiting but a fraction of your forces towards helping Erana's Order who, I feel the need to mention, is also your ally? Very well. If this is what you wish, then you shall get it. The Tama will fully abandon your Idum as soon as the Exiled abandon Zaratun."
"I've never said it would be permanently. Fo course it would be only temporary. We would never think of that lonely fact to reject our allies. Neither I want to leave this triangle. Rather I am willing to join this operation myself to maintain the current situation if I have the opportunity to do so."
U'lun's eyes flared with surprise.
"You would aid us?"
"Only me and solely myself, with my own escort of course. But this would require the continuance in place of all our treaty troops."
"I shall discuss this with the Patriarch. En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador Kelanin."
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador U'lun."
The screen darkens and Kelanin realizes what will come to him and a strange feeling of fear and confidence comes over him.
After leaving the conference room Daelash joins his way to the council.
"{What happened, Master?}", he asked.
"{Please prepare my ship and the escort. I have to leave as soon as possible after I talked to the council.}"
"{It fills me with pain to see you leaving. It reminds me to your past.}"
"{I won't fail.}" Daelash turns and heads to the escort quarters while Kelanin continues his path to the council.
With a shattered thunder Kelanin enters the council hall.
"{Ambassador Kelanin, It fills us with anticipation to see you this soon.}"
"{Council members. I have to tell you that the Tama Tribe is about to rethink their decision to drawback out of our system.}"
"{These are great news. I hope you didn't offer a trade to sympathize yourself.}"
"{I did and I won't regret it. I exchange myself and my escort with the whole Tama Fleet."} The council cuts the mental link to him to discuss his descision.
"{Maybe you already know that nobody of us will ever endorse it.}"
"{Sure and I am fully aware of it and each consequences it could have.}"
"{Great. As soon we will get any answer from the Tama we will inform you immediately. All of us hope that you can come back as soon as possible. Your position is not at the battlefield.}"
"{Sure, but sometimes even the pacifist has to bear arms to restore peace.}"
"{We hope your sword will be as sharp as your wisdom, ambassador Kelanin.}"
"{Council members.}"
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Starcraft Forum RPG: Embers of Peace
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SoA:
Introducing the Protoss.
SOA:
An intro to zerg politics. Aria's fleet is traveling from Dvergar to Pern.
Location: EOM734
Character: Yi'fury and surrounding Zerg
Pain.
Light.
Hatred.
This is what Yi'fury awoke to, after relaxing to a dreamless sleep for what seemed an eternity. He searched his expansive body for the source of the emotion, and found a rather persistent, annoying, larvae gnawing at his flesh. With a surge of his mental link with the little beast, it scurried off in search of easier food.
{When next we are in need of a scourge, that one will be it.} Having cataloged his promise, he then expanded his mind to touch upon the Zerg in the area. He was exiled for disputing territory with the others in his brood, and he would make sure to avoid the mistake of getting caught again. {Territory is power, and power is always good.} He briefly glanced at the borders, browsing through the eyes of a zergling. {Nothing can beat the sensation of walking...Is it bad to envy my creature?} A split second after having the thought, he dismissed the notion as foolish. It is better to control than be controlled. Still, he maintained his control over the puppet, and emphasized to the rest of the brood to stay away from it.
Walking to the edges of his territory, He gazed into the distance; actively searching for an enemy scout who might witness what he had planned. While he did not dream in his slumber, he still thought. He had been planning this for what seemed an eternity...now he just had to do it. {There!} He found the object he was searching for. It was inanimate, but just to be sure he sent a mental impulse through it, hoping to arouse a response. {Nothing...that is just as good}. He picked up the heavy object, and proceeded to move it three or four feet away from the edge of his territory. {This is even better than I thought, the object should roll once I drop it...}
A sound appeared, and Yi'fury retreated from his puppet. Only then did he realize that he had heard the sound from the zergling. He quickly berated himself for being so foolish, and reconnected the link. {Good, it didn't drop it.} He searched in the vicinity of the sound he heard, and found nothing. {Must have been a bird....I'll have my pets run down the trees when this is over.} Adequately satisfied that he was no longer being watched, he set his plan into motion. He dropped the object. More precisely, he `rolled` it. It had been at the northern edge of his territory since he got here, and as such believed that to be the marker. {Still rolling...} Time began to slow, as he focused his consciousness on the object. One, two, three more feet and then it capsized on itself. {Six more feet of territory, and no one saw. Success.}
Having completed his objective, he then sent his army to expand his creep in that direction; and to subsequently cut down all of the trees. Only then did he realize that he had other matters to attend to. Several of his soldiers were squabbling over rights to a kill; another was already injured and limping back to the security of his body. He quickly settled the dispute by giving the food to the puppet who killed it, and that was the end of it. The injured zergling would be healed soon enough, and his list of woes wasn't even close to being finished. One of the tunnels he had commissioned his “Tunneling Squad” to dig had collapsed, and a member of the squad was trapped. He set the rest of the squad to clearing the debris, and sent an impulse to the trapped member to sleep; as to conserve energy. {If i'm to execute more plans like today's in the future, I will need every soldier I can get. The more I have, the more territory I can sustain. Territory is power.} He quickly rooted what caused the cave-in, cataloged it, and moved on. The humans he had captured before his exile were doing well enough to leave be, and there were no more pressing matters to attend to.
Having accomplished his goal, he proceeded to return to dreamless sleep. Before he was committed, however, he located the larvae that awoke him and emphasized what would happen if he tried to gnaw at his flesh again. {And now I sleep...}
SOA: Yi'fury awakens from sleep and performs his grand master plan. He subsequently returns back to sleep. (Essentially introduces Yi'fury as a character)
Paleora, The Exiled Tribes Capital
"Sit. Come on. Sit, already."
The only response Kelanin receives was a humming of his zergling pet Grogir.
"You should have to know that each zergling can sit down on command." But the zerg rotate his short head a little with a straight question in his eyes. Kelanin sights with no hope for his teachings.
"{Master, you received a message from the Tama Tribe and they await a quick answer.}" One of his countless fellows and students stands in the door to tell him this word.
"{Thank you, ...}" Kelanin knows that he was the oldest and most devoted students, but he always forget his name.
"{Daelash, was it.}"
"{Ah, right, thank you, thank you. And stop call me master. It's Kelanin, for all of you.}"
"{Sure, Master.}"
"{Are my teachings so bad?}"
"{I'll guess so, Master.}"
"{Then take your leave, student.}" He already forget the name again and both of them know it. "I'll guess I should use some reminders.", whispers he to himself.
"Be a good boy, Grogir." And he responds with another humming. "I will be back soon enough." The door closes automatically when he passed through them.
On the floor another one of his students comes to Kelanin telling him the details about the message while going to the embassy meeting room, which wasn't far away from his labs, where he spend most of his time.
The dark room got filled with light when he enters it and only a sole desk stands in the middle. In front of it a screen lights up and U'lun shows up.
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador Kelanin."
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador U'lun."
"I'm sorry for this short-dated call and I'm very glad you could made it."
"The realtionship between the Tama and the Exiled is always my first priority."
"That is good to hear." U'lun seems to be confident about his coming question. "Maybe you heared about Erana?"
"Yes, they want to move her to Vetras."
"Exactly, but the Exiled Council refuses to help Erana's Order. You and I know what she have done in the past and imprison her isn't the right option."
"I know what you want to point at, but no. The past is the past and maybe Erana could change something with her solely presence. But starting a war only for a change is too vague. We don't what will this lead up to."
"It disappoints me to know that your council won't help the Order, but I thought the relationship of our tribes is important to you."
"It is, but I won't risk the life of my people for a single person. I always searching for a way to peace. Not only for the Protoss."
"I know that your words have high expectations and I respect you for this. But it always leave you in stagnation. And without changing your way of feeling is maybe too slow for this universe. Maybe you won't experience your fruits of your labour."
"I don't work for experience, I work for peace and the freedom of everybody."
"I'm tired to hear this." Kelanin is about to end this conversation. "You said to want freedom for all?"
"Yes." He knows what would come next.
"But it seems that Erana isn't anybody in everybody for you."
"As I already said, I won't risk the lifes of my people for the sake of a single person."
"I'll guess you won't change your mind. En Taro."
"No, I won't. En Taro." And the screen darkens again.
Unnamed Orange System near Dras Lana and Zaratun
{This should keep me safe for a while...}, Dagganoth said to no-one in particular, as his Leviathan Murkag landed on an unnamed jungle planet in the unnamed orange system. After another quick shave with the Gracken brood in the Borus system, Dagganoth decided to make his way out of there and sought temporary refuge in this unknown system. {As I am the first to enter this planet, so shall I be the first to utter its name... Barkanos}. With Dagganoth's Drones leaving Murkag and starting to set up a simple base, the Cerebrate used the eyes of some of his minions to look around the planet. With nothing specific to be found on his exact landing spot, Dagganoth ordered some of his minions to scout around the planet, while the bulk of his forces remained in the base in an attempt to mine the minerals that could be found in the immediate vicinity. {Be passive!}, he told his scouting minions as he always does. Unless attacked and unable to get out wholesome, he did not want his creatures to harm anything he might find on the planet, for now.
With the landing post secured, Dagganoth turned his attention towards the other planets in the system and sent off Mutalisks with the same orders as his scouts on Barkanos.
{My sons and daughterss... for now we hide, until I am positive Gracken forcess have left the area. I want to see every inch of this sysstem I can. Otherwise, resst and bide your time. Once we can find the opportunity we are looking for, we will achieve our goalss, and we will all get closer to perfection.}
SoA
-Murkag and Dagganoth's entire force landed on the planet Barkanos in the unidentified orange system between Dras Lana and Zaratun.
-Most of his forces have been set to work on mining whatever resources they can from the planet.
-Scout parties have been dispatched to scout the entire planet, with the order to retreat and not engage in any kind of conflict unless not otherwise possible.
-Mutalisks have been dispatched to other planets in the system with similar orders.
SoA:
Dagganoth's Mutalisk spot a terran flagship heading for the planet.
Dagganoth's scouts find humans, concentrating mostly around a single mountain. No houses or anything related is found, although many places where humans "work" is found (Mining areas, small farms). The humans behave in a rather odd fashion and don't communicate at all.
Something plural is rather unhappy about the unexpected visitors.
OOC: This post turned out awful >.> Well, it got the point across... hopefully...
Location: Asteroid City Domus
“Hurry up Mike, you take to damn long getting ready.” Grell said as he checked the watch on his left hand. He had just gotten done fixing the coolant systems with Mike, his best mechanic and probably the only person he would dare trust on his ship without having a deep pocket. The repair hadn't went flawless, as one of the pipes had burst splattering the light blue liquid on his friend and him. Even now after showering he still had the slight smell of citrus and old motor oil lingering from him as he waited for his friend to finish getting dressed up. He himself did not mind what he wore most the time, this meeting with this pirate was the same as he had only taken the time to pull out a plain red shirt, a leather jacket and some unstained jeans. After getting ready he had taken the time to secure a knife to his side, and revolver just inside the jacket he wore. Could never be to careful he always had said.
The door slid open and Mike stepped out. He was dressed nicer then him, with dark black slacks, a white dress shirt, and black overcoat he almost looked like a man of business. Looking at him Grell let out a small laugh, yet was quickly silenced by the cold stare he got. Mike was defiantly out of place in the piece of rock he lived in. He had come from a rich family, the way he talked, dressed, and looked all made it apparent. Why he had come he hadn't said, yet he had lost everything here and Grell had agreed to take him into his crew not only because he was good with any machine he got his hands on, but also because he was plain deadly with any weapon he got his hands on. If there was anyone you would not cross, it was him. He pushed his long blond hair to the sides of his head and looked at Grell. “Alright, lets get going then.” he said in a neutral tone.
“Its bout damn time you finished in there, let me guess you couldn't find your hairbrush again?” he said as he stepped out towards corridor leading to the cantina.
“No, just took my time getting the smell off me, besides who the hell goes to a business meeting wearing rags, and smelling of citrusy oil?” he said following closely behind.
“Me obviously, now tell me, whats the statues of the ship?”
“Everything should be in working order, any problems we have are just small inconveniences nothing more.”
“Good, then if we can get this job we might actually be able to make it to the planet without the ship breaking apart.” he finished his sentence as they stepped into the bar. It was almost empty, set aside the few people sitting at the bar drinking there troubles away. He scanned the room, looking for anyone out of the ordinary, yet found no one. He let out a sigh and checked the time again, he was afew minutes late and might of missed his chance. Saying a curse to himself silently he stepped towards the bar, his friend staying mute as he took a seat and dropped a coin on the table. “Give me a shot of Tauren Whiskey.” he said looking at the grusky man infront of him. He waited as the man prepared the drink, the feeling of being watched beginning to nudge him. The bartender slid the drink infront of him, and he took it in his hand, swirling it around, debating afew things in his head. He downed the drink quickly, setting the glass down and letting out a sigh as a man walked up beside him. He turned, looking him over. He wore all black, a heavy trench coat covering his body. He had olive skin, with dark black hair coming down to ear length. He looked at Grell with a neutral expression. “Are you Grell.” he asked his voice devoid of emotions.
“Yes, and you wouldn't happen to be the man offering the job were you?”
“follow me to a more . . . private place if your interested.”
He stood up his friend giving him an uneasy look. “Alright, lets go.” he followed the man to one of the sub routes leading out of the bar, it was equivalent to an ally in the old cities. Turning around he pulled out a small datapad, which lit up green, holographics displaying from the device. “The job is simple, go to the Dvergar System, head to planet Dalar and recover some research data. This is very important information, and if you view it, not only will we know what you have done, we will by all means exact a price of failure.” Finishing the terse details of the job, he held the datapad out which was quickly snatched up by Mike whom began working his way through it.
“Your offering quite a lot for this data, so tell me, whats the catch.”
“There is no catch, it is either you take the job, or not.”
Grell looked at his friend whom was still going over the datapad, he wondered if he should debate it with him yet the thought of the money and simplicity of the job made his mind up for him. “its a deal then, but on the condition on partial payment before we head out.” he said to the man.
“Grell.” Mike said now looking at him. “this is more than just the coordinates and data on the job, its a million dollar payment.”
Looking abit shocked he turned to thank the man, yet was surprised to see he had vanished. Stepping out of the ally, he went to the bar and set another coin on the table, and was soon met with another glass of whiskey. “Well its a start.” he said as he downed the drink and looked at his friend who was already issuing the preparation of the ship through his datapad.
SoA - Grell's character introduction and info on job taken from asteroid city. The ship is traveling to Dvergar System, Planet Dalar which will take 12 posts/days.
Planet Barkanos, inside the unnamed Orange System near Dras Lana and Zaratun
From the moment he had landed on Barkanos Dagganoth had felt some kind of psionic presence - something on this planet was off indeed. He had not been able to guess what it was until his scouts returned to him, though, and now shards of conversations kept coming through to him. There was some kind of mind control or slavery going on here, and the Overlord performing it was referring to himself in plural. {He must be an Archon}, Dagganoth announced to his beings. {Stay clear of all Terran forces, I will give you your instructions soon}. With some focused thought, Dagganoth located the psionic Archon and figured him to be located inside an underground cave underneath the mountain.
After a moment of careful consideration, the Cerebrate decided on his next move.
{My brothers and sisters. We have left the old Broods in order to perform our own quest for perfection. Not through conflict, but through conversation. We shall have a hard time proving our intentions to the younger and older races, but our first step begins here. These Terrans are under some kind of mind control by an Archon. We will free their minds as a show of good will. Go forth, and do my will, and we will have taken the first step on the path of redeeming ourselves.}
With several bursts of thought, Dagganoth said his plan into motion. Groups of Zerglings set out to raid the Terran encampments - not to make casualties, but to destroy any sort of useful equipment and ruin crops. His Overlords streamed forth to belch creep all over the planet. Mutalisks were patrolling the skies to find and intercept the viking fleet that had come with the reinforcements, should it attempt to engage the Overlords. Swarm Hosts covertly crept up on the mountain the Terran were centralized around, and, when finding the entrance to a cave, burrowed there to set up a careful ambush. The remains of his forces stayed at his landing post to defend his base, while Dagganoth's Avatar hid near the forest's edge as closeby to the cave entrance as possible.
{We are to lure this Archon out of his little hole, brothers and sisters. We shall wreck his palace, challenge his supreme will, and ambush him to free these Humans. I want all Mutalisks to be ready to hasten to and engage the Archon, once he leaves his cave. I want my Avatar ready to spit Symbiotic Saliva over any units engaging in battle with him.}
As the raids started, Dagganoth figured that this was as ready as he'll ever be. It's up to the Archon to make the next move now...
SoA
-Overlords have spread out all over the planet, belching creep all over it.
-30 Mutalisks are patrolling the planet, on the lookout for Viking movement, ready to intercept any Vikings attempting to attack Overlords.
-100 Zerglings are raiding small, defenseless Terran encampments, destroying crops and valuable property but leaving the inhabitants undisturbed.
-2 Swarm hosts, 40 Zerglings and 15 Mutalisks are left defending the base.
-All Mutalisks have the order to hasten to the Archons location and engage him in combat if he leaves his cave and gets attacked by the Swarm Hosts.
-Dagganoth's Avatar is closeby the cave entrance in order to cast his Symbiotic Saliva to attempt to prevent Mutalisk (and/or Swarm Host) casualties when/if needed.
SoA:
Dagganoth's forces destroy the "plural something"
Dagganoth loses 10 mutalisks to the Archon and vikings, and 20 zerglings to spidermines
Mind control over terrans fades
Planet Barkanos, inside the unnamed Orange System near Dras Lana and Zaratun
Silence fell upon the planet as Adam regained consciousness. He was lying on the ground, soaked in sweat. He had no idea what just happened, but memories slowly started to come back to him. There was some being of power... and worshippers... it had somehow controlled his mind! He heard a rustling sound and tilted his head to the right. There was a Zergling. Right there, next to him. Adam startled and thought to himself that this was the end. For a moment he saw his life flash before his eyes as he felt emotions of fear and anger. Then he told himself that if he had to go, he'd at least go with a free will. It was at that moment that Adam realized that the Zergling wasn't attacking him. In fact, it was simply standing there, looking at him. Adam sat upright and the scene playing itself out in front of his eyes was unreal: he was surrounded by others humans and a pack of Zerglings. Some of the humans were just waking up, looking just as startled as he just had, while others were already standing up, talking about their odd visitors and pointing and staring at all the surrounding Zerglings. Adam stood up himself and was just about to walk over to a group of fellow humans when there was a voice.
{Citizens of Barkanos. There is no need to feel fear. My name is Dagganoth, Cerebrate of the Garamar Brood. I mean you no harm. As you might have realized by now, there was an Archon who had established psionic control over your minds, turning all of you into his minions. My brothers and sisters have succesfully freed you from his grasp. I know you will naturally feel fear towards one of my kind, but I ask you to lay down your weapons; my brothers and sisters shall not attack you. If you have a representative, then please make him known to one of my Brood so we can conversate.}
Captain Rodrick stepped down from his chair. "Well what in the world... James, are you hearing this?"
-"As clearly as you, sir"
-"Are you picking up any signs of battle on the planet?"
-"None whatsoever, sir, though are own forces are still following your old orders and are hunting Overlords"
-"Alright... Tell them to hold all fire for now, and then put her down. I never thought I'd say this, but... I want to talk to that Cerebrate"
As the Terran flagship landed, Rodrick left the bridge. The planet's surface was still a wonderful chaos, with Zerg troops standing all over the place, simply looking at any Terrans in a non-hostile manner. Rodrick walked up to a Zergling, scratched himself on the head and said to it "I'm captain Rodrick of the SS Raven over there... I feel silly for askin', but I think I can represent this colony right now... should I be talkin' to ye?"
{This brother of my Brood will serve the function just fine, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. I'm afraid I shall have to give my reply through the minds of your people, though.}
"I... guess that's fine. So, I... thank you, I suppose? I don't even know whether I should thank you. I have no idea what's going on.
{This is understandable, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. As I mentioned, your minds were being controlled by a Protoss Archon. I sympathized and freed your people from his control.}
"How do I know yer not lying? This could easily be some kind of trick! And how could something like you 'sympathize' with us?"
{The proof is around you, captain Rodrick of the SS Raven. My brothers and sisters are in a perfect position to destroy your colony, yet they are not doing so, because it is not my wish. Feel free to check the mountain cave, I'm sure you will find trails of the Archon in there. As for sympathizing... I will just say that not all of my kind are alike. We all pursue perfection in our own way. My way simply involves more discussion than conflict.}
Rodrick nods for two nearby officers to check out the nearby cave.
"Alright... then let me ask you another question. I recognize a lost situation. What do ye want with us?"
{That is simple. I want your allegiance. Or perhaps more than that. I am uncertain. I think you call it friendship}
"You want to be our friend?!"
{That is correct. And as a gesture of good will I have some offerings.}
"Offerings? This might be the craziest thing a've ever heard!"
Rodrick's officers return and show him a scanner that reads a high residue of psionic waveforms.
"Alright, so ye might be tellin' the truth about this Archon... but lets hear it"
{First, I shall tell my brothers and sisters to retreat}
All of the Zerg in the area immediately turned around and retreated into the woods, except for the one Zergling standing in front of Rodrick.
{Second, to destroy the Archon controlling you I had to destroy a lot of your equipment and crops. Unless you want my Brood to leave, my offer is to remain and help with repairs. My brothers and sisters aren't exactly suited for building, but I can share biomanipulative tricks that will help you to regrow your crops in a more effective manner. My only request here is that you allow me to continue my mining operation while my Brood remains on your planet.}
"Alright... with the state our planet's in, I guess we have little choice but to accept"
{Excellent. Most of your old laboratories are still intact. I shall sent my messengers there}
"Works fer us. Rodrick out, then... I guess we'll be talkin' again sometime soon"
"James, tell all forces to go on standby. We have no choice but to accept this offer right now, but if those Zerg so much as look at one of our own in the wrong way, I want all our troops to be ready to fight to the death. I don't trust this 'Dagganaught'."
SoA
-Hostilities between the Terran faction and Garamar Brood have ceased for the moment.
-Garamar Brood remains on the planet, mining, while 'helping the Terrans out with the repairs'.
-All troops except for a few Zerglings for communication have been pulled back to the Zerg outpost.
-Terran forces remain on standby, ready for any sort of hostility.
Character: Yi'fury
The morning had proved eventful. Several days had passed since the execution of the plan, and as each day came and went Yi'fury sped up the process of increasing his territory. It was currently three-fold of what it was before, and it was still accelerating. Alas, this had also proved to be an impasse – he was having troubles effectively guarding the compound. Ultimately, he decided the best course of action was to “hotwire” the creep directly to his neural system. This gave him the ability to locate any intruders that were not zerg the moment they touched on the living earth, and for the skies he set his mutalisks on patrols.
It had proven to be an effective strategy, as many of his minions were gorging on fresh food caught from the Jungle of the Bird (named for his mishap with the noise a few days past). Even his humans were eating well. {Perhaps they are eating....too well....I believe I should teach them a lesson in fidelity...} Having cataloged his newest promise, he proceeded to go over the surrounding area. {Everything is too familiar...even at this accelerated growth nothing is happening. I don't believe the zerg were ever meant to be static. My minions are growing complacent and I am growing bored. Perhaps there is another brood nearby that I could ransack for resources...or there may be some terrans or protoss that are looking to be enslaved....}
That must be it. That must be the reason they sent him out here. This must be a proving ground of sorts, where the winner takes all. {I must send out my scouts further to locate my enemies. Surely this will please the she-bitch of a leader...} Yi'fury sent out the mental impulse to his zergling squads (He loved categorizing his units into squads) and then pictured a map of the planet as he knew it. Relatively simple, plenty of trees, plenty of water. Nothing truly amiss. Aside from the immediate vicinity, his knowledge of the planet was limited. He didn't even know if there were any other broods on this rock. He didn't even think about scouting whilst in space with the husk. {Next time, I will need to remember to do that...}
SOA: Yi'fury begins to expand his territory at an accelerated rate.
He is also scouting the planet, looking for something to ransack and cause general chaos.
~Anna, Pern System~
Razarac growled as one of the resident brood's zerglings came too close to him. He shook his entire body to warn the creature of his mood. But the zergling did not listen. It edged closer towards him, its purpose unknown to Razarac.
Razarac growled again, louder this time and the zergling stopped... and he pounced. His muscles flexed and he sprang at the intruder. The zergling yelped and tried to run but was too slow. His jaws snapped shut just as he landed on the ground, shaking it with the force of his fall. Then, he swallowed the zergling whole, not even bothering to crush its body with his inner jaw: the acid in his stomach would be more than enough to break down the corpse, for it was real acid, not the stuff of lesser creatures.
Satisfaction filled his mind as warmth spread through his body, a sensation he knew was connected to the rapid dispersion of the zergling's energy and nutrients through his body. He went back into the same prone position he had been in before the planet dweller's intrusion. He growled to scare of the remaining planet brood zerglings and closed his eyes.
He was a magnificent beast. A massive zergling, four of his lesser brethren in length and three in height, with wings twice as long, Razarac dwarfed most any zerg creature. And those he did not dwarf, he outmatched, outperformed or outran.
Flexible spikes covered his entire body, not for defense, but for the rapid absorption of water to aid his metabolism. His carapace matched that of an ultralisk's in strength but weighed no more than a zergling's. His claws, teeth and scythe-claw-appendages were sharper than a hydralisk spine and as sturdy as a kaiser blade. The constant secretion of small amounts of acid served to both make tearing enemy armor easier and to lubricate his own weapons for unhindered slashing and stabbing.
Of all this and more he was aware for Shaharaz had blessed him with sentience, a power he prized more than any other. He was the epitome of zerg: deadly, resilient, adaptable and ruthlessly efficient: the peak of evolution. And he was ready to act.
The Brood Mother's call had been heard and it was being answered. Razarac watched through an Overseer's eyes as the Fenrir Brood's forces departed the planet. The Fenrir spore sailed on ahead with its cargo while the two Swarm Lords that was accompanying them followed at a slower pace.
The plan was to have the spore land on the planet and create a suitable amount of chaos on the planet's surface. The Swarm Lords would use the chaos to find an advantageous angle of attack and strike the Themos in a favorable way. The knowledge that the enemy had at least one Battlecruiser with them changed Razarac's battle plan considerably. He had faced the terran counterpart many times and knew enough about the Themos version to know it would be a big threat.
They would have to destroy any battlecruisers before really attacking the planet and they could only do that if the fight favored them from the start. They would have to attack the ships from the inside and outside while defending their own ships from enemy flyers. It would not be easy.
One of the Spores would stay behind on Anna to guard the planet against counter attacks but would be called if help was needed. Dangerous as the attack was, Razarac was not willing to leave Anna unguarded.
Razarac let out a roar as the fury of the Fenrir Brood surged forward to prove themselves in battle.
~~
Aria's old Battlecruiser, the Rossvelt, returned to normal space in time to witness the Fenrir spore blaze into light as it began entering Mary's atmosphere, releasing the raw materials to start amassing a brood on the planet's surface. The Infested Battlecruiser in high orbit was joined by two other dark forms, maneuvering for position in preparation for a fight.
{Aria! Glad to have you back! Reinforcements have been called from Sharon, but your presence is sorely needed in the skies.}
The Infested directed her ship to join the other in the skies, and in quick bursts of thought relayed Orloth's insight to her brother and sister Prophets of Baal. In a discussion that lasted only a few seconds, and consisted of more emotion then words, it was decided. The battle would go on, but Aria was allowed to attempt to communicate with the Fenrir. Aria reached out her mind to the Fenrir, and traced their lines of command back to find its strongest will, its dominate personality, its Alpha Wolf. She found something, not too high, but definitely the driving force behind this particular attack. With an effort of will she stretched out her mind in an effort to communicate.
~~
Razarac felt a presence in his mind, totally alien to anything he had ever felt before. It was zerg, but it did not think like zerg. It gave an image of a smaller zergling, showing due respect to a larger zergling, and spoke {We recognize the dominance of the Fenrir Brood. We wish to discuss a cessation of hostilities.}
For a moment silence reigned and the Themos and Fenrir forces floated in space as if frozen.
{Brood Mother?} asked Razarac. All he got was a short instinctual answer that roughly translated to 'go on'.
Razarac ordered his own brood and the Fenrir forces to stand down but stay ready to attack in case the enemy was trying to trick them. Then he focused on the alien mind inside his own an probed it as he would inspect a lesser zerg. It did not recoil from him.
{The weak recoil. That is domination.} he said more through feelings than words. He felt the alien mind retreat away from his own somewhat and was satisfied.
{The weak show subordination to the strong in order to live. But subordination is not simply... peace without... consequence} his imperfect vocabulary was made up for by his ability to send images and feelings directly to the other mind. He felt the mind of the Themos agree to his statement.
{Who are you?} he asked.
{I am Aria of the Themos Brood, servant to Lilith, its leader.} came the reply and Razarac knew at once that he was talking to a halfling. An infested. Not a zerg. The information angered him.
{So the Themos rely on halflings to command. I am not surprised then, that you wish to end the... hunt before it is begun.} His words seemed to cause a reaction in the infested but whatever it was, the halfling seemed to repress it. This angered Razarac further. True zerg did not hide their emotions!
{You do not talk. Perhaps you fear my dominance or perhaps you seek my favor. I do not care which for both end in the same outcome if you truly fear our might}
{And that outcome is?}
{The Themos will surrender immediately and depart this world, leaving only a small force behind. You will redirect half of this planet's resources to the Fenrir Brood and cease all fighting with us. In turn, your existence shall be spared. These are the conditions of domination. You must give up land and rank to live. And if you do not, you have neither land, rank or life. Are our terms understood?} It was there again. The ancient instinct. He talked without thinking, driven by instincts and skills he was not aware of.
{Very well. The Themos brood agrees to your terms and they will satisfy them immediately. Since this is possibly the last time we will meet, I would ask of you to receive one our own as an ambassador to the Fenrir Brood so that future communication between our Broods can be quick and fluent.} The response came after a minute of silence during which the halfling had probably weighed up its options.
{Would this ambassador be a halfling such as yourself?} Razarac asked, full of suspicion.
{Yes. Is that a problem?}
{Only if you value it highly, for I will rend the flesh off its bones the moment it sets foot on our territory.}
{Very well. We will have to rely on other methods of communication in the future, then.} Aria answered, not in the least disturbed by the creature's words. But she was late: Razarac had already expelled her from his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~EOM734 Single Star System, Ort cloud~~
Far outside the unnamed star, a rift was torn in the fabric of space, and a single leviathan glided out of the wormhole. This system had once been claimed by the late Cerebrate, Shuul, but it's location would make it an excellent target for the expansion of the Gracken Brood. That is, assuming the rival broods had not had that very idea first. That was why the creature had been deposited so far outside the usual realms of the Star, to not be seen by the enemy. It was purposed with carefully picking it's way through the system, to see what had been left here by the late Shuul, and if anyone else had been by to pick the bones; a task it dutifully began as the Wormhole closed.
SOA:
Reposting relevant data from previous game that I want to keep, with previous player's permission. If he doesn't pick it up, I imagine I will. I liked Raz.
Aria arrives in the Pern System just in time to stop fighting between the Themos and Fenrir broods. The Fenrir commander, Razarac, makes his demands, which are promptly met. Aria along with several Themos Armies will be headed to Sharon as soon as things are in order. The Fenrir and the Themos Broods are now ... not actively killing each other.
A Gracken Leviathan has shown up in the EOM734 system with the mission of looking for hostiles and scout for possible future colony sites.
SoA
The Zerg are doing a good job at fixing the damage they did.
Two dozen of the humans on Barkanos have decided they'd prefer to explore the universe with the Zerg than return to their frustrating lives in terran space or bore themselves to death on Barkanos.
The humans have a cargo vessel of their own with just enough space for them, and are willing to show the zerg the location of a wrecked protoss ship on the planet that can be salvaged.
Planet Barkanos, Davir System
The offer confused Dagganoth at first. He had not considered this possibility. Considering the options, however, he figured the offer was a generous one.
{Your offer is indeed generouss. I am not sure I understand your reasons, for I do not know the concept of 'boredom' - they seem to amount to exploration? However, I shall accept and welcome you within my Brood as brothers and sisterss. I believe our symbiosis shall further both our causes, and I feel I have uses for your services. Traveling might be problematic through a cargo vessel. Provide me with samples from the walls of your houses and I should be able to morph an area inside Murkag in a similar fashion to what your resting pods look like. You will have to bring your own equipment and will not be able to breathe outside these rooms, but you can perform your research and reside in areas suited for it. You will then be able to use the cargo ship to interact with other Terrans on my behalf, or undertake your own smaller missions}.
Adam grinned at his colleagues. "I hope you're ready for some adventure!".
{The repairs are starting to finish. Lead me to the Protoss ship and we shall attempt to salvage it in order to sell it for minerals.}
And so it happened. Adam and his crew of scientists led Dagganoth to the wreckage of a large Protoss ship. As the Zerg forces immediately began to salvage anything worthwhile aboard the ruins, Dagganoth received the Terran home samples and proceeded to evolve an area inside Murkag into a small complex of Terran rooms. The drones at the main base proceeded to mine out the minerals found in the area and then started working on dissolving the base back into pure DNA. A day passed after all this was done, and at noon the next day Garamar Brood was ready to leave. A group of Terran forces had gathered to say goodbye to the scientists and Brood.
"Well, thank ye for all of this I s'pose... Dagganoth", captain Rodrick said.
{I am not sure if you should be thanking me, or if I should be thanking you. Either way, we are in symbiosis here. People of Barkanos: though you might not have personally seen me, I have learned about the behaviour of some of you over these couple of days, watching through the eyes of my Brood. I wish to honor my... friendship with you as I hope you shall remain to honor it with me. If any sort of trouble arises, find a way to contact me - Garamar Brood will not forget the events that took place here and shall assist you.}
"Where will ye head now?"
{I have not yet divulged a plan yet.}
"Then I suggest ye head on over to Domus, the asteroid city. It should be near and you can easily buy and sell goods there... should be good for the likes of you - no offense meant.
{Thank you for the information. I shall attempt to sell the parts of the Protoss ship there, then.}
"Well... , I for one wish to honor this... friendship, Dagganoth, and I hope the people of Barkanos will follow me in this. Farewell, and good luck on your journeys."
{Farewell, ... friends}
As the gathered group of Terrans cheered, Murkag slowly took off from the planet and calculated a course towards Domus.
SoA
-The outpost finished mining the remaining resources in the area and all salvegeable material from it has returned into Murkag.
-The 24 scientists are located in a small Terran-like complex inside Murkag with their own equipment on-board. The cargo ship, taking up 6 food worth of cargo, is also on board.
-The Protoss equipment is worth 5.5 points, taking up that amount of cargo in my cargo bay. The gathered minerals would be 6 points (10 posts of mining -3 for Terrans harassing my mineral line, -1 for deploying troops).
-All of this makes my cargo bay look like this: 120 Zerglings (60 food/cargo), 35 Mutalisks (70 food/cargo), 10 Swarm Hosts (30 food/cargo), Terran scientists (24 food/cargo), Terran cargo ship (6 cargo), Protoss artifacts (5.5 cargo) and Minerals (6 points) = 201.5 / 400 cargo.
-Murkag is flying towards Domus (2 squares above Myrym), which is 6 squares away. With a speed of 6, my travel time is (4 X 6) / 6, which makes 4 posts of waiting time for me from this point.
Planet Thanus, Idum System
"{Praetor Armul, preparations have been finalized. Our fleet is ready to leave the system}"
There was a moment of silence in which Zhedril waited anxiously for the Praetor's response.
"{Do you know what this means? Violating the treaty?}" came the response.
"{We are not the first to break it. The Exiled have done it many times before and we have not objected so I see no reason for them to do so now.}" Zhedril replied without missing a heartbeat. The significance of their actions had been going through his head the entire day and this was merely an opportunity to speak out.
"{I am not talking about justification, Zhedril. I am referring to how this reflects our tribe's relationship with the Exiled as of late.}" Armul replied as quickly as Zhedril had. Had he anticipated such a response?
"{Praetor?}" Zhedril asked, not knowing how else to respond. There was another, longer moment of silence.
"{No. It is nothing. Inform the Exiled of our imminent departure. You are dismissed.}"
Planet Paleora, Idum System
"{Master!}"
Kelanin gave the mental equivalent of a sigh and looked up from his ongoing experiment to see one of his students enter the lab.
"{What is it now, Daelash?}" he asked, only remembering the student's name because they had conversed the previous day. Daelash rose his right arm to reveal a slim tablet and handed it to Kelanin.
"{An urgent message from the Council. I was only told to bring it to you, not what it was about,}" the student explained.
"{Is that so?}" Kelanin said absentmindedly, his fingers already tapping away at the storage tablet's crystal surface in order to access the message. The tablet flashed twice and then played a recorded psionic message:
"{Greetings, Ambassador Kelanin. About an hour ago, the Tama fleet present on Thanus informed us that they would depart the system in less than a day's time. This not only violates the Zamar Treaty but also exposes our capital to the Imperium. A meeting has been arranged between you and the Tama ambassador. Do all that is within your power to rectify this situation. Do not fail us.}" The tablet went dark.
"{Well, what did it say?}" Daelash asked, not containing his curiosity. Kelanin's shoulder's slumped as he looked back at his student.
"{I am to meet with Ambassador U'lun immediately. Please clean up after me,}" he answered, gesturing at his experiment as he left the laboratory.
SoA:
The Tama fleet positioned on Thanus, Idum system as part of the Zamar Treaty (an alliance between the Exiled Tribes and the Tama Tribe) has announced that it will depart the system promptly, leaving behind a stationary ground force which would be unable to defend the rest of the system in the case of an attack. The Exiled Tribes Council has "asked" Ambassador Kelanin to rectify the situation. The Tama fleet is under direct orders of Patriarch Myr and is not acting independently.
@Zanryu: Details in PM.
Character: Yi'fury
{This planet is absolutely devoid of any sentient life...} Yi'fury was beginning to get irritated at this. {The She-bitch exiled me out here, and there is nothing to do on this god-forsaken rock!} He had managed to scout about half of the planet since starting the exploration, but only a few things were interesting and none had held his interest for very long. Nothing had fought back, let alone given him a challenge. {There has to be....something... here of interest. Something to give to the she-bitch for favor.} But then there it was, a feeling. An impulse. Something pulled him not outward, to the planet, but upward.
Only then did he realize that he was exiled to the system. Not the planet. Only then did he focus his attention to the star, and realized how many planets there were. Only then did he realize the scope of the galaxy, how massive it was. It was pointless to scout the planet in the degree he was currently doing so, as he could have scouted several planets by now using similar techniques. The tunnels he was digging? While they may prove to be useful in the future, the best course of action was through numbers. The more forces he had scouting, the more information he could process. The more information he had, the more power he had. He could sell information to the she-bitch...but to that he would need to change his current methods.
{Yes...this must have been what they sent me out here for. To learn from my mistakes. Territory is not power. Knowledge and strength is power.} Yi'fury directed his mutalisks to dispatch to the other planets, in hopes of finding some more interesting. While this planet had taught him much, it was obvious it held no secrets. Through a series of mental impulses, he ordered his zerglings and drones to collect what resources they had, and started to prepare The Husk for planetary excursion.
{I can see now how humans have survived. They thrive on information. The Protoss as well, albeit in a different manner. If one could combine the technological superiority of the protoss with the commitment and determination of the terrans alongside the Zerg instinct and brute strength....
{One could rule the galaxy...}
SoA: Yi'fury has learned how to evolve past the current Zerg state-of-mind, and now has a goal.
He has also sent out mutalisk scouts into the system, ordered to maintain in space and send the data received to Yi'fury.
He has also prepped “The Husk” for planetary excursion. This means that the entire base surrounding Yi'fury is being transported and prepared.
He has also ordered all resources found to be put into the Husk's cargo bay for transportation (+13 points, 15 total)
OOC: Love the way you're playing Yi'fury, Halfdead. Great stuff there, very interesting to read! :)
On board the leviathan Murkag, at some distance from the Davir System
Adam woke up to a rustling sound. It startled him for a moment. Space travel was something he wasn't unaccquainted with, but it usually came with the soft buzz of an engine - not the muffled sounds of flesh molding and shaping around him. As he checked his watched he quickly calculated that he had been asleep for roughly nine hours. Plenty of time to recuperate from the events of all the previous days. As he sat up he looked around his room. Adam was lying in the top of a bunk bed, his roommate Gary still breathing quietly beneath him. There were two automatic metallic looking doors, and the walls and ceiling were made out of what appeared to be solid concrete. On the ground was a soft green carpet. One door, he knew, led to his personal bathroom - a room he yet had to access. The other led towards the common room that was intended to be used as a recreational area for the Terrans aboard this 'ship'.
That's when he again realized that he was actually traveling aboard a Zerg vessel. "Wow...", he whispered quietly to himself. After rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms, he jumped out of bed. What I need is a good shower to get ready for the day - because it would no doubt be an interesting one. He stumbled over towards the left door and opened it up.
The room was pitch black, but as soon as Adam set a foot inside of it he saw what seemed to be tiny jolts of fire crawling through the cracks of the concrete wall. They rapidly converged at the middle of the ceiling and started to emit a comfortable deep yellow light. Adam grinned; electricity was one of the things the Zerg did different from his own race. The jolts in the wall must have been sparks of energy directed at one single point by a subconcious mind network of Dagganoth, or perhaps even Murkag himself. He looked around for a shower, noting to himself that the room was on the large end for a personal bathroom. As he glimpsed past the sink, toilet and shower, his jaw dropped when his eye felt on the remaining corner of the room.
"Gary... Hey, Gary! Gary, wake up, you need to see this!"
-"Hmmmwhat?", Gary mumbled as he opened his eyes and slowly sat upright.
"Come check this out man! Looks like traveling with this Brood does have its advantages!", Adam said with a big grin.
Gary sleepily stept out of bed towards the bathroom doorframe and peered inside. His jaw dropped as well when, tucked neatly into the corner next to an ordinary shower, he saw a jacuzzi.
SoA
-Establishing some detail on the Terran quarters inside Murkag while underway towards Domus. Otherwise no relevant actions taken.
Paleora, Idum System
Kelanin enters the meeting room which is filled with false expectations. After a shot time ambassador U'lun appears on the screen.
"Ambassador. En Taro Tassadar."
"En Taro Tassadar. Ambassador U'lun."
"What is about this meeting?"
"I was informed that the treaty fleet is leaving Thanus. Which purpose does this action has? Give me some details."
U'lun showed no signs of surprise. Had he been anticipating this meeting?
"Patriarch Myr has decided to act upon the information acquired by Erana's Order. The fleet is headed towards an advanced position in order to better respond to future developments regarding Erana. Does that answer your question?" he said.
"No, it does not. This acting is a contempt to the Zaratun Treaty and your patriarch knows that, too. Maybe the Imperium wants exactly that. You're exposing us to them."
"We are not the first to act outside of the restrictions of the treaty. Your military has acted in this way many times in the past, exposing our capital to attack, if not by the Imperium then by the terrans and zerg."
"Until now there was never any harm for you. We took care about our choices. We made sure that neither terrans nor zerg could threated you as those times. But it is different now. The Imperium stands before our very eyes everytime ready to charge."
"That is true. However, if the information regarding Praetor Erana's transfer is to be believed, we can assume that the Imperium is not willing to make a move until the transfer is over. Knowing the Imperium's methods and attitude, Praetor Erana is likely to be transferred by a large fleet, making the Imperium unable to succesfully attack your capital. Should an offensive take place, rest assured that we, the Tama, will rush to your defense without a moment's hesitation.
However, for now, we believe that the benefits of freeing Praetor Erana outweigh the risks of leaving your capital system temporarily undefended. If your Council had agreed to help with the endeavor, this action would not have been necessary."
"Is to be believed? In the time of war there is no time for faith. And even if it is true that operation would be a one way ticket. You should consider that involving your tribe into this 'rescue mission' will make you an enemy to the Imperium.
Sadly, I can't influence my councils descisions. Elsewise I would gather more, trustable, sources of information to consider my options."
"Nothing can be truly known before it happens. Even then, it remains obscured. The Patriarch is basing this action upon centuries of observation and leadership. We both know that the Imperium already considers the Tama a threat, albeit a dormant one. The Patriarch is well aware that this mission may very well provoke the Imperium and make it unleash the full might of its forces upon our tribes.
However, given your Council's refusal to take part in the mission, we are left with few other choices. Erana's Order cannot do this alone without exposing its planets to the zerg and that is one thing they will never do. They need our help."
"For the sake of our relationship and the sake of all our planets. Exposing our main system to the Imperium at a time like this will force us to return our forces from your system to ours to defend ourselves.
If you really want us to do it we have to expose you to the zerg and terrans.
You can leave this stagnation as it is right now or one of us have to expose to one of our enemies. It is your will to choose from. We will act as you choose. And I hope it is a choice for peace."
"So you would permanently expose your oldest allies' home to the enemy instead of commiting but a fraction of your forces towards helping Erana's Order who, I feel the need to mention, is also your ally? Very well. If this is what you wish, then you shall get it. The Tama will fully abandon your Idum as soon as the Exiled abandon Zaratun."
"I've never said it would be permanently. Fo course it would be only temporary. We would never think of that lonely fact to reject our allies. Neither I want to leave this triangle. Rather I am willing to join this operation myself to maintain the current situation if I have the opportunity to do so."
U'lun's eyes flared with surprise.
"You would aid us?"
"Only me and solely myself, with my own escort of course. But this would require the continuance in place of all our treaty troops."
"I shall discuss this with the Patriarch. En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador Kelanin."
"En Taro Tassadar, Ambassador U'lun."
The screen darkens and Kelanin realizes what will come to him and a strange feeling of fear and confidence comes over him.
After leaving the conference room Daelash joins his way to the council.
"{What happened, Master?}", he asked.
"{Please prepare my ship and the escort. I have to leave as soon as possible after I talked to the council.}"
"{It fills me with pain to see you leaving. It reminds me to your past.}"
"{I won't fail.}" Daelash turns and heads to the escort quarters while Kelanin continues his path to the council.
With a shattered thunder Kelanin enters the council hall.
"{Ambassador Kelanin, It fills us with anticipation to see you this soon.}"
"{Council members. I have to tell you that the Tama Tribe is about to rethink their decision to drawback out of our system.}"
"{These are great news. I hope you didn't offer a trade to sympathize yourself.}"
"{I did and I won't regret it. I exchange myself and my escort with the whole Tama Fleet."} The council cuts the mental link to him to discuss his descision.
"{Maybe you already know that nobody of us will ever endorse it.}"
"{Sure and I am fully aware of it and each consequences it could have.}"
"{Great. As soon we will get any answer from the Tama we will inform you immediately. All of us hope that you can come back as soon as possible. Your position is not at the battlefield.}"
"{Sure, but sometimes even the pacifist has to bear arms to restore peace.}"
"{We hope your sword will be as sharp as your wisdom, ambassador Kelanin.}"
"{Council members.}"