NationStates Jolt Archive

FROM: Fido, Augmented Fleetmind
TO: GENERAL POSTING
MODE: ASCII UNCODED
SUBJ: Wanted: saints, priests, holy men, etc.
BODY:

Wanted: holy men of all faiths and religions to aid in war against undead plague. Must be willing to travel and be able to tolerate those with other beliefs. Experience with blessings and turning of undead is a plus.

For more information and application information, contact Fido.

Caractor was still within the Ermorian Sol-side station when the Ashen Empire picked up the transmission. He was the first of higher stature to actually read it - a Spectator brought it forth to him. After all, he had ended up sending all the Dusk Elders out into different locations.

After he had read it, he laughed coldly for a minute or so. It seemed as though the allies of the Ashen Empire were... Preparing for something. Indeed, preparing for something.

"Interesting, interesting. Who would have thought that they would actually do something like this! It seems that, with any luck, our own priests will have to actually start working during warfare."

The Spectator nodded silently.

"Send this to the others. I want them to know that we will apparently soon be in a state of war."

Again, the Spectator nodded, but stayed there, as though waiting for something whilst Caractor had already continued watching the fleet outside, which grew constantly.

Then he turned his head back towards the Spectator.

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

And with that, the Spectator bowed slightly and disappeared into the darkness.

Your request intrigues me and I wish to learn more.

~Luciat Thorn, Former Member of the Order of the Light's Sword.

OOC: Yes, a Rogue Inquisitor. I like my rogues, they don't have the same psychological problems as my 'loyalists'. When I'm more up to it, I'll write out a better post.

OOC: Is this a purely FT thread?

OOC: Is this a purely FT thread?

((While Khrrck and I, so far as I know, normally play in FT, I don't foresee any concerns so long as you're "ft-capable". You could play it like being called by <insert divine figure here> to another dimension, or to another sphere, or however you want to sort your cosmology.

That's just my idea, Khrrck might disagree. Of course, if I and Sensori are right about the undead plague in question, it might not involve all that much travel at all. ;)


Or, you could wind up beyond the fields we know, in realms both beautiful and terrible, etc. Really, I doubt that FT per-se plays so much importance here.)

OOC: I usually RP as MT+1 myself, so I hope that doesn't rule me out

I'm also a bit wary of filling this thread with OOC stuff...

[OOC: All tech levels are applicable as long as they have no issues with my FT-ness. Also, bump.]

ooc: Are there any objections to either very unusual religions or females?

Your request intrigues me and I wish to learn more.

~Luciat Thorn, Former Member of the Order of the Light's Sword.

FROM: Fido, Augmented Fleetmind
TO: Luciat Thorn, Former Member of the Order of the Light's Sword
SUBJ: More information
MODE: ASCII ENCODED
CRYPTO: 4,096 BIT KEY
BODY:

Thank you for taking an interest in this problem. I believe that actions speak better than words, so I am attaching sensor logs relevant to the situation at hand, and our available information on the nation of Ermor.

The instigating incident, where we became aware of the malevolence of this entity, is detailed in part 1. Further incidents are listed in part 2.

...the leadership
of the Empire have deemed it necessary to confiscate all factory units,
ready-built ships and related equipment...Relocation of everything related to
this endeavor has already begun, and it is highly likely that it will not be
cancelled, unless the Order suddenly manages to repair itself, which the
Empire sees as highly unlikely.

Until such time that the Order can be restored, the Empire shall continue the
creation of the vessels of the Order, and use them as it sees fit.

That is all.

Signed,
Caractor, the Arch Censor of the Empire

And as it were, it was the truth. As the message was sent to all parties involved, the Ashen Empire had the area crawling with its ships, the star system's very Sun saturated with unholy energies of the Underworld... And those who would resist would be eliminated.

If you will note the sun of the system in question has changed color to green, and several independent churches have confirmed to us it is corrupted - as detailed in the attachment.

Wights and other assorted undead who still waited within the Underworld for the command to advance back into the realm of the living, finally once more began spreading all over the planet, to seize control of it and crush the opposition which had grown within the Order itself.

They had simple enough orders: Those who would resist would be killed and brought back by the unholy priests of Ermor. Those who would surrender quietly would be spared.

As the spread had begun, a transmission had been sent to all the personnel within the planet:



The Empire has deemed it necessary to take these steps to stop the degeneration of the Order and to restore it. We are in the process of taking control over every sector of the planet and all of its defense systems, so none of your national and/or personal fleets can interfere with this process. The Empire sees that it has invested too much time and effort into this thing to allow it to fall in this manner.



The priests of Ermor were already in the process of contaminating the Augmented security controls with the unholy energies of the Underworld. The answer to how was the simplest possible: They had not been even slowed down by the closing blast doors due to their spectral status - instead, they had been hurrying through massive amounts of rock into the location they knew contained what they would target. Having mages commit themselves to nonintrusive scryings for as long as the facility had been up and running had indeed paid off.

What this contamination means is quite simple: It turns the machine itself into an unholy creation. As the few Kajali on a certain space station had noticed so long ago, moments before their gruesome deaths, this means that the machine no longer follows the commands of its original maker, but rather those of its undead masters.

From afar, Fido watches.

Something could be done. But really, it would be pointless. Gceilalok contains very little Augmented investment. Better to just let the thing die.

He watches with amusement as the primary security console disappears from his sensorium. Magical corruption of computers. Who'd have thought it? This particular instance is not too worrying - there are multiple backups. But on a large scale, it could be a threat. Countermeasures would need to be designed. A quick search produces a few interesting possibilities - they are filed away, to be refined by the combined computing power of six planets. He fires a quiet command to the seven auxiliary control stations spaced around the Gceilalok complex.

It's only a small bomb. Four kilotons. Hardly enough to dent a tank. But it's enough to vaporize the central power relay that it's buried under. Across the complex, structural integrity fields fail and the ceiling comes crashing down.

Even with the attempts of the Khrrck, Gceilalok managed not to fall on its own weight. What they had failed to realize was that the undead had, long ago, in secrecy, brought in their own power source and the equipment required to place it into the system. One, once it had been plugged in, that was strong enough to support the entire facility and pass the power systems that were in place, but one that would also speed up the entire base's turning into something the Ermorians prefer over these regular machines, which seem to oddly enough have almost human characteristics - which was unacceptable.

Now, there was absolutely no method of ridding the system of the Ermorian presence, and this, if anything, worked much better for the undead.

Fido had failed.

But now that the Ashen Empire was in control of Gceilalok, it was time for them to bring forth another message for those who still may be in the facility.



Our fellow men and women of the Order. The command lockdown has been overridden and now we are in control of this facility. You may experience some... Oddities with electric appliances that are taking power from this facility, and as such we advise you not to use them. Do not attempt to break the electric systems - it is now considered extremely hazardous to your health for other reasons than the obvious.

Further information and explanations are available upon request.

[OOC: It's safe to assume that this message, appropriately tailored to each applicant, is received by all applicants and/or inquirers. Except Ermor, of course.]

FROM: Fido, Augmented Fleetmind
TO: GENERAL POSTING
MODE: ASCII UNCODED
SUBJ: RE: Wanted: saints, priests, holy men, etc.
BODY:

My request still stands. The situation is looking increasingly dire at this juncture.

Caractor stood, silently, reading the message again and again, whilst the same Spectator who had informed him of the earlier message hovered beside him.

"'Increasingly dire?'"

Caractor laughed out coldly. Nothing had changed ever since the Augmented had begun spouting their insanity. It was one those who stood on the same side of the conflict which was tearing the Order apart on which the Augmented themselves were that had attempted to hijack parts of the alliance! Alliance of which both the Empire AND the Augmented themselves are - were - a part of!

Of course, as a still neutral party in that accursed war - even if the Augmented were attempting to steamroll the Empire to oppose them most violently -, the Empire would do, as anyone else with half a brain left would, anything in its power to stop either side of the conflict from taking control of the alliance's facilities and utilize them against other members of the Order. It was common sense. Not to mention that they had let everyone who thus willed to leave the Order's facilities unharmed - something the Augmented had attempted to stop them from doing by attempting to crush the entire facility under its own weight.

This all was absurd.

"Increasingly dire?! They must be losing it. The only situation that grows more dire is theirs, and it is all caused by their insanity."

The Spectator nodded silently.

"Tell the Dusk Elders to continue their scryings. They... May require our undivided attention in the future."