Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
This Little Piggy Went To Market And This Little Piggy Went...
Posted 433 days ago
EXTIST'S ENTRY TO THE LITERARY COMPETITION
Rholl:
Cold and bitter were the winds upon high. They scorned those that dared climb for their arrogance. ''These frozen peaks are not for men to know'' they seemed to scream. ''Leave this hallowed place mortal; lest you seek to know our wrath.'' Rholl screamed wordlessly in defiance. It was a bellow instilled with all his might, yet the cruel winds snatched it away like the river did his beloved Thyen. So filled with water were these great mountain tops, but barren all the same. Frozen and lifeless they were; a most terrible glistening beauty; a most tempting conquest. With grimaces and snarls he clawed up the ice and rock, further and further. Relentlessly he climbed till the air grew too thin to keep the fierce pace. But he would not cease his ascent. The divine would know of his ambitions. He would not be defeated like the rest of its forsaken children. Slowed to a crawl, numb from cold and grief; Rholl placed a trembling hand on the top of the world.
The first men had lived in these lands it was said. So great were their cities that visitors from the heavens plucked out their own eyes when they left. For all else was hideous in comparison and it was the last thing they wished to drink with those eyes. Or so the withered crones used to say. But they were gone now, or at least the cities. Rholl’s kin and kith oft boasted that their blood ran true. He never dared voice his doubts. The very thought seemed to be all that kept some of them going. “And the silence will not last forever” they would add “our heavenly father will turn his gaze on us again.” Long they laboured, steadfast in devolution and keeping to the old ways his people kept the faith strong. They kept the memory alive. Alive… such a word was unwelcome up here.
Frozen and weary but not yet broken, he gaze down on the endless white expanse of clouds. Silently he prayed; deaf to the screams of the angry air whipping his hair and woollen outer clothes about and blind to glaring sun that made his bronze helm gleam with an iridescent lustre. His piety carried on till the sun had set and the brilliance of the constellations won through. He had been violently shivering since dusk and with the calming of the winds his frostbitten ears were filled with the rustle of the bronze scales of his armour, a sound that oddly complemented the twinkling night sky. For all his longing, for all he had sacrificed to reach here and all his people’s devotion, the god who had forsaken them remained aloof. The life had all but faded from Rholl, seeping out of his tired bones with alarming swiftness since nightfall. Despair began to grip his heart which mingling with his grief drowned out all his anger. He hopped that if not under the gaze of the heavenly father, he would at least be with Thyen soon.
Salty icicles clung to his face, his tears crusting about his eyes eventually spread down to his frost ridden beard. Like the hair on his head it was of a deep red hue. Touched by fire some said, kissed by life’s blood whispered others. Like his kinsmen he was hard and strong, wide of shoulder and lean with a face chiselled from stone. But his clear pale skin and hair colouring stood in stark contrast to the dark browns and dirty blonds of the others. At first this made him a curiosity but since the false spring of 3 years prior no less than 7 of a similar cast had been brought forth. Many seized on this as a sign of the return of the divine’s attention. Rholl saw it as a sign that he really ought to try seek his pleasures with men; 7 bastards were far too much for a lifetime, never mind only 3 years. And then along came Thyen...
The sweet, comforting embrace of his laments crumbled beneath the gaze of a blaze that sprung to life in the night sky. The new formed star was falling rapidly towards the ground, racing to meet it at a frightening speed. Delirious from his taxing rage filled pilgrimage, Rholl felt oddly calm. His grip began to loosen and his breathing grew slower. With a sudden flare of light and a delayed crash that he felt rather than heard; the wanderer clad in his fine bronze scales and brown wools finally gave up the pretence of survival. With a smile he let go and slid down the mountain top; his last thoughts were of how it wasn't for naught he suffered so. ''Mine father has heard me.'' was the last whisper he sacrificed to the wind. Metal scraping against rock gave way to the intermediate thumps and crashes from is swift descending.
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Mai:
The 3 continents and many archipelagos of Pluse were once filled with scores of petty kingdoms, nation-states, short lived holdings of warlords or wandering realms of nomadic hordes alongside vast expanses of wilderness. Now however, the political lines fit neatly into maps that rarely needed to be updated. In the times before the founding of the empire, nearly every village and tribe had their own god that they worshiped. As the settlements joined to form countries pantheons formed and complex mythologies emerged. It wasn’t until the Great Return that the people of Pluse learned of the truth; that these idols they worshiped were but aspects of the many faces of the one true god. The revelation occurred to the 10,000 witnesses lead by a great star to divine hill; the site where they built the Temple of the Many Faced God and the city of Creedo that surrounds it. Armed with the knowledge and the blessings of the divine they swept across the world tearing down the realms of heathens and building the great cities that would rule each province. Due to the length and frequency of the absences of the Many-Faced-God a regent was named from the ranks of his priesthood to rule in his stead, until such a time he would return to guide them.
In antiquity the distances between the cities lead to the creation of the office of Viceroy as the Regent own vicarious manner of ruling the provinces. With the expansion of population and increased taming of wild land the Viceroys sealed their existence despite faster and easier means of transportations and communication. With the growth of each viceroy’s holdings, new lords and noble houses were raised up who in turn created vassals of their own when they prospered or became vassals themselves when they faltered. This was in the feudal tradition that many of the 10,000 witnesses had come from that the hierarchy was formed. Mai of House Esprat was one such Viceroy. Like many of the Highborn of Aspra, he was tall and graceful with skin as dark as coal. His face was a pleasant balance between hard and angular and soft and fleshy. His nose was wide, his lips large and his teeth shone like starlight. His hair was braded black silk and face smoothly shaven.
Mai stared at the mighty beast in front of him and allowed himself a smile. “Truly a glorious site to behold, the Outlanders will be most impressed.” declared his Captain of the Guard Koku. When Mai nodded his yes men all eagerly agreed in chorus and for once Mai knew them to be telling the truth. On all fours it measured over a metre and a half at the shoulder and was thrice that in length from head to tail. Its thick fur was a mixture of blue-grey and black stripes that blurred into each other. Each of its great teeth looked as fearsome as any sword his honour guard wore and its large eyes were dark green wells that looked as if they could drown a man. But the feature that would stun them with awe was the vast pair of wings sprouting from its shoulder blades with its fur platted in a manner to make it appear they bore feathers. Decades of selective cross-breeding between everything from the winged ocelots of the southern Vyresh rainforest to the Blue Tigers of the Malateese Mountains had led to such a magnificent specimen that not only looked and fought extraordinarily but whose wings could actually bear its great weight.
A young woman of perhaps twenty years brought him drawings of the designs for the planned adornments on a large tablet computer. “As we speak the finest weavers and metalworkers are perfecting your matching armours out of the finest materials in all of the empire.” She said, every word dripping of ambition. Such a contract could enrich the lives of any fortunate enough to be associated with it; if they were successful that is. “How soon will they be ready?” asked Koku, as abrupt as ever. He had no love for the “vultures” that had been swarming around the viceroys since the announcement of the Extistian diplomatic mission. The lasses eyes narrowed at Koku before turning her gaze back to Mai. “Your Excellency, perfection cannot be rushed, it...” Koku cut her off with some crude remark about how much they were paying them but Mai wasn’t listening, he was watching the beast.
“Does he have a name?” The young woman regarded him with suspicion. “Your Excellency may call him whatever he wishes.” she said. “His Excellency need not be told that girl.” growled Koku in reply. Mai ignore the grizzly captain and persisted. “Surely he must have been called something during his training; a name he was raised to recognise?” She looked back at the great cat before replying with “Sabbrin”. That amused him enough for a second smile to grace his face. The name was old Asparish for the precious blue metal used to decorate their grand buildings and minted as coins which were the highest store of value in the old kingdom. Weapons whose steel was mixed with Sabbrin were said to have magical properties and were fit only for the greatest of heroes. “Sabbrin it is then.” For a moment the young woman’s dark face remained tight, obviously wondering if he was mocking her or not. But after a moment she relaxed. “His Excellency is to kind to keep it as such”.
With some less than subtle encouragement from his old Captain of the Guard, they departed from the magnificent creature and went on to inspect the rest of the preparations. Each Viceroys regular involvement in the normal day-to-day running of their respective provinces had all but ceased. Much of the petty concerns that the Lords and Ladies insisted in dragging their Lieges into had been delegated away to civil servants, army officers, and the priesthood or more often than not were simply ignored or suspended. As the Lord Paramount of Aspra and ruling the surrounding lands vicariously for the Regent in the holy name of the Many Faced God, the deadlines were particularly pressing. His ancient city was chosen to be the first port of call for the Outlanders and Mai sure as hell wasn’t going to let anything fuck it up. The Regent wasn’t in the best of health it was known, and by pulling off the opening of the diplomatic tour in the spectacular style people had come to expect of him, the Regency would pass to him for certain.
Next they came upon the First Steward of the Opal Keep who was running around like a headless chicken. He was a man of sixty odd years but few would be able to tell you as such since the man barely stayed still long enough for anyone to ask him or even judge his face for an estimate. “No not the great hall! Bring them around back to the dungeons to be cleaned up; Maeve will have your hide if you have them dragging their filth all over her Kyrish carpets!” The First Steward was running after some carpenters before the boy had a chance to respond. A pair of Stewards with glum looks made their way over to Mai. “Your Excellency, we have cleared away all of the slums and the constriction is well on schedule but the Keep is full to bursting with all these new bodies!” Stewards were often chosen from a young age from the children of lords and paupers alike if they displayed a tendency towards attentiveness that bordered and often stepped into the realm of obsession. This pair of bees didn’t seem to approve of the disruption to their well kept hive.
“We wouldn’t want our dear new friends to have to look at those ugly old shacks when they come to visit now would we?” said Mai with yet another smile creeping on his lips. For a man that couldn’t remember the last time he laughed, today was certainly full of extravagant mirth. “And if space is scarce here then find somewhere else to store them, the sewers for all I care; so long as the great unwashed are out of sight and their grubby little hands can’t dirty the Outlanders experience.” With obvious unease the pair of stewards bowed and scurried off after mumbling “of course Your Excellency”. The thousands of dregs displaced during the “clean-up” were everywhere to be smelled if not seen or heard. “Perhaps it’s best if we don’t keep them all together lest this lot get any unpleasant ideas...” Mai knew exactly as to what Koku was insinuating. A little over a dozen years past there had been something of an uprising in Aspra. It had been brutally put down by the old Captain of the Guard before it could take on the form of a true rebellion. Koku’s predecessor never lived to see the end of that year. Some maddened widow had made sure of that by blowing herself up after throwing herself under his ceremonial carriage as he left a feast held in his honour.
They entered the Opal Keep through its main entrance, a great metallic door stained cobalt blue and handsomely crafted. Within, on their way to the Northwest tower, they witnessed the chimera that was the keep; ancient blue stone walls stood alongside tastefully designed modern technology that looked as though the two were created together. The tower offered an exceptional vantage point over a large section of the city. Below workers hurried back and forth with materials for construction or repair, cleaning utensils and waste or often food and drink to sustain the army that had been raised to prepare for the visit. Outside the walls of the Opal Sect (the inner city was divided into 8 sections including the mouth of the Great River Rhomar) performers could be seen practising in their various arts and far off, over several sets of walls, trading Galleys could be seen transporting heavy metals from the mines of the neighbouring province from up river. As of late the dock workers faced an unusual amount of krocphilns, lanky amphibians that often swam and crawled their way from their native swamps to the open sea this time of year. Though docile for the most part the flavour teeth cleaning pastes produced factories on the eastern edge of the city sometimes sent them into a rage if they caught scent. There had been much debate over whether hazardous wildlife should be culled or promoted in light of the Extistian Tour of Pluse. After it became apparent that many of the Outlanders were fascinated by the “exoticness” of some such vermin the latter option was chosen.
“I have heard that these outlanders hold another god in esteem;” Mai said, more to himself than any of his entourage, “a god with but one face who guides the people of its many planets regularly by directly communing with holy men.” So to do the other peoples of this Sovereign Empire’s Alliance of theirs know of their own gods’ divine intervention.” He turned to his yes men to see a pile of uneasy faces staring back at him, uncertain of how to react. Boldly one spouted some pious line of how all idols are but one aspect of the Many Faced God. “And why is it then dear sir that we who know such a truth are the only empire that seems to be left to its own devices? Where are out miracles; our guidance?” was Mai’s response. The man had little more to offer than lines for the canticles of the witnesses. “Enough, you tire me with your squawking. Koku, assemble your men, I wish to inspect them.”
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Rosa:
Rosa could not help but wonder if it was ironic that it was the smell of bacon in the air that pleased her more than the end of the fighting. Or perhaps it was human flesh, they were said to be nigh on identical and there were certainly enough charred specimens all around. “Several hundred galactic standard hours of bloodshed all over a few fucking pigs. Well a billion pigs, but who’s counting? Commander Rosa Trent that’s who…” Stock taking was far to a menial task for a woman of her superior station she thought. The star system had no official name as the 2 empires which occupied it couldn’t agree on what to call the red dwarf. Pluse was the sole planet in the Pluse Empire versus the 6 of its neighbour of which 4 shared a system with them. Despite being scarce on territory, its wealth was the envy of its neighbouring Golgi Empire. And despite this fortunate bounty for its populace to enjoy, the isolation imposed by the Golgites embargos stunted hopes of further prosperity. It was the desire to reach foreign markets that led to the Plusian offer to sponsor the production of the warp gate being planned in the local cluster. In light of the generosity offered, the Extistian Empire sought to send a delegation to them in order to discuss their possible ascension to the Sovereign Empires Alliance.
It went well at first. Little was known about the mysterious planet apart from its abundance of ebony skinned beauties and exotic wildlife such as the giant winged cats used as ceremonial mounts. The ambassador’s party marvelled at the great blue stoned city of Aspra, the 200 metre tall forests of Malgia and the Temple of the Thousand Faced God in the centre of the sprawling metropolis of Creedo. Things began to turn sour at the sight of the mines of Siltbottom Vale with its mass of ill treated thralls. Or at least the evidence seemed to suggest as such. The hosts made an effort to keep the miners out of site. Where the Plusians saw an impressive display of mineral wealth, the ambassador saw a disquieting disregard for sentient life. While his disposition cooled slightly, no mention of disapproval or lessening of courtesy occurred. However disapproval turned to outrage when it came time for the ambassador to witness the agricultural powerhouse of the empire.
Bereta Valley laid host to endless fields of grain, giant mushrooms taller than a man, orchards and vegetable patches aplenty along huge artificial lakes filled with shellfish and kelp. All of this was a pleasant site to behold. The hordes of swine that laid cramped and fatting beyond that, ready for slaughter at first baffled the delegation. Safe to say the ambassador didn’t take kindly to the ill treatment and wholesale slaughter of sentient creatures. The tour of Pluse was cut short much to dismay of their hosts. The morale outcry from the report plastered over every news source coupled with the temptation of Pulse’s wealth quickly led to a crusade of sorts. And it was Rosa who was landed with both the job of leading the vanguard and cleaning up after the mess. “Ew… that’s nasty piggy”. One of the sows had taken it upon itself to attempt a little poetic justice. It was cautiously nibbling on a fallen soldier’s nose. The soldiers under Rosa’s command were well used to her talking to herself or thinking out loud as she liked to remind them, though a trio of pigs were looking at her queerly.
The seemingly harsh appraisal by her pink audience distracted her, a woman not known for her carelessness. “And what-“she was cut short by the distinctive wail of a rifle being fired. Instinctively she dropped, rolled and reached for her own weapon. Finger on trigger, ready to scorch whatever threat was out there, she spied yet another pig on top of a wounded Plusian she had taken for dead. Her men quickly seized the rifle that had been knocked from his grasp when they pig had gored him with its little tusks. Rosa got to her feet more than a little amused. “It would seem that I owe my life to you my gallant knight in muddy armour”. The pig trotted off the man who from the looks of it had finally died, though she dared not make the same mistake twice. With one quick pull of her trigger, her would-be killer’s head blasted off in a gory display of the beauty of up close modern violence. The young male swine stood unfazed by the shot, with his head raised high in a display of pride. “And what shall I have the honour of calling you my adorable defender? Ser Oinky?” He oinked in a manner that she thought resembled approval. “Yes… Ser Oinky it is then!”
The Plusians kept extensive records for each province that were accessible in full from every cities viceroy’s tower as well as a centralised version for the entire empire in the Regent’s own chambers in the Temple of the Many Faced God. The “most favoured” reflected the arrogance of his title in most all of his actions. In the end it took a sizable dose of hot plasma to silence his rallies to oust the heathen invaders. The only divine intervention that that took place on behalf of the Plusians was a ward that prevented the Extistian Vanguard from exiting limbo inside the reach of the planet’s atmosphere. Rosa shuddered at the memory. Travelling to and from Limbo was not a pleasant experience. It felt like her body was being both slowed down and speed up at the same time. The alteration of velocity was so sudden that it left one with the sense they were being squeezed from existence.
The minor inconvenience of being forced to begin from beyond the atmosphere did little to help the unsuspecting opposition. The last true war that the people of Pluse had experienced was the ground and naval battles that had consolidated the petty kingdoms into the world-wide empire nearly seven centuries prior. Beyond the odd localised uprising or Golgi raid the closest thing to a battle they had faced since was the Opal Sea incident nearly 50 years ago. The “incident” was nothing more than a pirate declaring himself king over a bunch of raiding ships and their crew that had seen better days and some barren rocks a over a 100 kilometres from any permanent human settlement. The air defences were pitiful, within an hour the fighting had reached ground level with thousands of seasoned troopers storming the capital. By the end of the first day Creedo had fallen.
Each city governed a province which varied from sprawling suburbs and satellite towns to huge expanses of industrialised land most notably mines and farmland though some consisted of vast wilderness such as the Jungles of Malgia. It was places like these that drew out the fighting as when word of the fate of the capital reached the public many Plusians either threw down their arms or joined forces with the Extistians. Some of Rosas troopers regarded these “turncloaks” with suspicion. But when the nature of the Plusian hierarchy became more apparent the eagerness of the miners and farmers to hasten the defeat of their empire grew ever more understandable. “They treat these workers worse than the swine” The Vanguard Commander recalled saying when she gave her report back to counterparts back in Extistia. Black Extistia to be specific as every planet in the empire was named the same apart from a preceding colour.
“Current estimates of loss of life are 11,781, though it would seem that 2 of the dead may in fact be 1. They were identical twins and we only found 1 smouldering pair of legs. Granted, each leg was over 100 metres apart so...” Rosa shrugged her shoulders and awaited the questions she already knew they would ask. “How many of them were our own?” questioned the Black Conduit, the highest officer on her home planet of Desa. Conduits ruled supposedly with direct guidance from Extist and officially were his voice in all matters whether civil, religious or military. “Two and...” Rosa checked her chart to confirm the figure. “...Seventy. Though we suspect some of them may turn up yet. We only recovered half that amount in corpses.” If the Conduit was impressed, his features didn’t betray him.
“And in terms of infrastructure and...” The elderly face paused in consideration and Rosa ever impatient offered up “The pigs and other denizens fared better than the Plusians overall, one even saved my life! We’ve taken to call him Ser Oinky!” The face in the hologram project cracked a smile, at the smell of a PR sensation rather than genuine amusement. Commander Rosa’s unusual manner was overlooked because she did her job better than any woman of her young age had the right to be. That didn’t mean her superiors had to like it but more often than not her they merely informed her of an end and left the means to up to her. ''The only notable damage done to Infrastructure is the destruction of 7 major airfields and 1 civilian airport near the Equatorial Jungles.'' The Conduit paused seconds before responding. “We will need to cement our control as swift as is practical. The other Conduits have agreed to send resources for the construction of a new Extistia. I will need you to have your people survey the planet for the most suitable location. Send on the data you have collected so I can decide on how to best integrate such a large population into our society. And do not worry, as we speak the Red Conduit is in negotiations with the surrounding empire. The blockade will be lifted.”
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Kyoon:
The vigil must always be kept by one of the Order of the Divine. Alone at the highest point in each Extistia Knelt one of the Vigilants waiting to receive guidance by means of revelation if the deity ever thought it necessary to intervene. Kyoon’s vigil was fast approaching an end and soon one of his siblings of the faith would relieve him. The only revelation the Divine thought him worthy to receive for these past 4 months was that a new nightclub should be built on the Bravodin Isles. Kyoon was one of the new blood that had been injected into the order and it sure as hell was in need of it. The vigilant that would be replacing him was a man to be revered in his prime who was even in the running once to become the Black Conduit. Now however he was but a shadow of his former self. Maintaining consciousness throughout his entire vigil would be an unusual accomplishment for him. Kyoon often wondered if the waning input from the Heavenly Father over the last decade was more to due to old men dreaming through their revelations than a lack of interest from Extist.
The room in which the order knelt was small and cylindrical with a curved ceiling tapered up into an ornamental antenna. It was simple but beautiful. Each Extistia had an identical room wroth out of the same coloured stone or metal that gave the city its name. 8 narrow windows faced each of the primary and secondary points of the compass and the surrounding walls were carved with delicate lines that looked pretty but ultimately represented nothing. Kyoon had heard that other empires’ equivalents often depicted the history of the planet or scenes from their local mythology. A violent fit of coughing announced the presence of his brother’s approach. There was talk of installing an elevator to accommodate the brothers and sisters of advanced age but nothing had materialised as of yet so, despite their frailty, the old members had to struggle up the iron ladder.
At the break of dawn the old man finally knelt beside him. “Anything?” wheezed the old vigilant. Kyoon shook his head while he rose and then approached the North-Eastern window. From this height the sun reflecting of the great river Deshtu looked like a great fiery scar amidst the Dark Granite, Onyx and Iron of the Black landscape below. Like the Chamber of the Divine Vigil, the tower and city centre it was housed in were very much the archetype. Every effort was made to keep symmetry and the colour theme at the forefront of every buildings construction and maintenance. Beasts of Burden and motor vehicles were severely restricted within the limits of the city proper. Most inhabitants either walked or used the extensive underground public transport system.
Kyoon left the old man just as his eyes began to close and wondered what the old man kneeling on the silken cushions name was. Within the order names were rarely used and most of a Vigiliants time was spend working with others who did not keep the Vigil. The length and frequency of the time one spend kneeling in the upper most room depended on the number of brother and sisters sworn and working from the city at the given time. With the recent deaths of some of the longest serving members the duration had increased to 6 hours but still only came once a week. As the newest member of the order he was given the rank of 28 which meant that if ever another of his 27 siblings had a revelation that contradicted his own, he would be overridden. Most of his time was spent with civil servants and military officers, though with the recent commotion on Pluse it seemed to be increasingly more of the latter.
Officially the Order was only subservient to the Heavenly Father. Yet unless they had a new revelation his brothers and sisters were treated as a sort of third wheel except for the Conduit who despite rarely keeping vigils, all of their actions were supposed to be the direct will of Extist. This was at least the case in the developed worlds. The Order is the instrument of change and as such he felt out of place here were routine reigns supreme. Kyoon had admitted to a military officer two days past that until the war he was underwhelmed by the lack of excitement. Now however he barely got a moments peace in his waking hours. His Vigil had been a welcome reprieve to meditate on all that had happened since vigilant Lins had revealed Extist’s intention for the people of Desa to use their stationed fleet to conquer Pluse, whose abhorrent practices had offended the deity. The moment she had made her announcement he had decided to request a transfer to the new Extistia once the conquest was complete. He just had to catch the Black Conduit in a good mood and put a smile on his comely face.
As the links to their benevolent god, most applicants to the Order were chosen as much for their brilliance academically as their superior good looks. Whether this was to please their god or vanity on behalf of the Conduits, Kyoon did not know. When he finally reached the last step of the ladder one of chief engineers from Green Extistia approached to inform him of the Conduits Summons. Kyoon thought it strange that such a high ranking person would act as a messenger and escort but said on the matter. When they reach the Conduits chambers Kyoon stole a glance at his reflection in the fountain nearby. He wasn’t a particularly tall or muscular man the likes of which was much esteemed in the city, but his face more than made up for his small stature. His skin was smooth with a light tanned colour to it on a face that was perfectly symmetrical, or near enough as to make no difference. The bridge of his nose was slightly concaved and large eyes were a soft brown that completed the short dark blonde hair that lay above his high cheekbones. His jaw was smooth apart from a hand length of braided hair that sprouted from his chin and full lips framed a dazzling white set of teeth. A dark hair woman approached them. “His holiness will see you now”.
The Black Conduit’s chambers included offices and other facilities for the highest ranking officials in Desa. They took up the entire floor and where under only the room were the Order kept their Vigil. The first time Kyoon had gazed upon them he was shocked by the utter lack of extravagantness. Later one of the elderly sister explained that the top brass liked to boast their wealth were it could be viewed by all. Beautiful statutes and sculptures do little good as status symbols if nobody can see them. There was also a surprising amount of water and plant life in evidence. Fountains and koi ponds alongside flower gardens and trees shaped to look like gnarled hands and mythological beasts were to be found everywhere. There were even a few birds fluttering about including raven that was muttering “corn, corn, corn...” to itself. The addition of the greenery was apparently a revelation of a long dead brother during the reign of the last Black Conduit and the current one saw no reason to change it. They weren’t particularly expensive to maintain and seemed to lower stress levels as much as the “Puppies for Politicians” program which had to be abandoned due to strain on the cleaning services.
“Please, sit” the Conduit gestured to one of the many chairs to be found around the circular table, in the centre of which was his own seat. If the table was full, at any one time the conduit would have to have his back to several of the other attendants. The conduit sat on a sort of spinning, floating throne, suspended by what it was unclear. Judging by the sheer amount of screens and other electronics that were moving alongside the hovering alongside the throne, Kyoon doubted it was by magnetism. As the pair of them sat the door from which they entered opened again and several people came forth to join them. “That appears to be everyone, so let us begin. My dear vigilant, let me introduce you to the men and women that shall be accompanying you on your voyage to our newest great endeavour.” Kyoon’s face displayed his puzzlement until it dawned on him what this might mean. “You will have plenty of time to acquaint yourselves on the journey to Pluse, for now I’m sure you can settle for distinguishing the Chief Engineers by the colour of their garb. The construction of the new Extistia will involve the input of ever planet in the empire, but it is our own that has earned the honour of establishing the Vigil.”
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Ser Oinky:
''Wine! More wine! We must have more wine!'' A balding chubby two-leg was shouting from atop a table. ''And a toast! A toast our dear new friends!” added a swaying counterpart attempting to climb that very same table. “The uh... ex-iz... ist-e-ums... exisheens!” Ser Oinky trotted on further on down the market street looking for the source of the delectable odour that the light breeze carried to his spotted snout. Many of the others kept to their old pens still, wary of the pale men rapped in metal shells and carrying their tools of screaming hot death. But not Ser Oinky the Gallant! He had become something of a favourite among the troopers. Ser Oinky had gathered that Ser was something that knights get called. He was still working on finding out what exactly a knight was, from what he could gather there hasn’t been any knights in a long time so that must make him extra special! The streets were awash with bodies, many of which were drunk, both on smelly juices and on the downfall of the lords. The death and destruction of the battle had been cleared away, replaced with a festival like atmosphere and sparkly lights everywhere. Ser Oinky liked sparkles, though not as much as he liked truffles! The smell had tormented him and his kin whenever the winds blew the scent their way. It had been to long since he was last allowed dig up the delectable treats but tonight he would have his cravings sated!
Before the night of screaming lights, when the two legs with metal shells dropped out of the sky, his kin spent most of their life in pens outside of the city proper. The only times they ever left, they never returned. That is except for a lucky few who were brought to the parks that flanked the canals to root around for the delicious fungus that hid below the soil oft next to gnarled trees. The roots ranged from mere whiskers to monstrous tentacles that gripped the ground with a ferocity that befitted their grandeur. Ser Oinky had been fortunate enough to have gone on such an excursion on 3 occasions. Each time the two legs blustered and shouted whenever he tired to feast upon the treasures he unearthed. The only reason they must have allowed him a second and third chance was that he made a habit of sniffing out the largest of the white ones. He was salivating now; the memory of the taste took away from his concentration and next thing he knew he had reached a gateway which led to a sort of loading dock for goods and people transported down the water way.
The canal he found himself was primarily used to transport goods on wooden and steel barges. Most were propelled and steered by an automatic system that could travel without intervention once a destination was selected. However the occasional more decorative model were moved by long poles operated by singers in costumes. None of that type of two legs was to be found today, though the advertisements for the service were still very much in evidence. The canal was quite deserted apart from a couple of drunks snoring on one of the barges on the opposite side. Ser Oinky trotted over to the nearest automatic barge and stared at the control panel. There were a number of switches and joy sticks but he quickly made up his mind that the best course of action was to hit the big red button. The barge detached itself from the dock so quietly it could barely be heard over one of the drunks mumbling “izzzz my cookie you feeef, gerrr yer own”. Swiftly he found himself approaching the place with the big trees he was brought last to dig.
It was difficult to make out in the gloom yet the scent was unmistakable, this had to be the place. The barge showed no sign of stopping as the approached the first of the trees and when it passed the small docking port a little further on Ser Oinky decided that he had to act. Jumping off and swimming didn’t seem like a viable option; the only thing he ever swam in was a few centimetres of mud and the only way out of the canal when not on a boat was to use a ladder. He approached the control panel once more and hit the big red button. The engines instantly shut off; it was a good start. Confidence growing he used his snout and fore trotters to press buttons and flip switches. An electronic voice started complaining to him but he ignored it. What did the boat know? It didn’t even have a nose to smell the truffles! He put his weight on one of the joysticks and slipped, he slammed into the big red button and the barge came to life again, rushing up to meet the edge of the canal. Ser Oinky barely had a moment to say “Oink” before the impact.
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Mai:
“’Nuther one of yer ‘lil lords ta’ keep ya company.” spat the gaoler as he unlocked his dungeon cell beneath one of Aspra’s keeps. Mai couldn’t say which one exactly; all dungeons looked the same to him. One as high import as him did not frequent them. After the Outlanders surprising reaction to what they saw at Bereta Valley, Mai had thought they would have never returned. After being seized during the second night of invasion, he wished they hadn’t. The man they shoved in was none less than his old chief Justiciar Tywain Mayland; once mighty and feared, now a shrivelled wreak long since broken by the indignation of being manhandled by the once dregs of society. The man’s once brilliant flowing robes were torn and soiled. At least the man had enough dignity left not to rush to the bars and demand his release or voice his disbelief as so many of the lesser nobility had.
“Any news?” Mai croaked; his voice dry from thirst and disuse. The cells were equipped with a water and food dispenser but these had not been restocked in quite some time. With so many Lords and Ladies crammed down here the supplies ran out on the third day of his incarceration and the spiteful gaolers were in no rush to rectify it. “There are nowhere near enough Outlander Officers to keep things running smoothly. They seem to be at a loss as to what they should be doing in many of the provinces. Only Creedo has any semblance of order. Looters and livestock clog the streets and authority seems to have been delegated to any who took up arms against the Empire, regardless of how ill suited.” was replied Tywain “Rumour has it though the Commander who lead the invasion is looking for the site to create the new capital or “Extistia” as they are wont to call it. Might be that she’ll call here soon enough, Aspra is a good a place as any the Outlander’s did seem mightily impressed when they first arrived.”
Mai could not help but notice the degree of familiarity in the ragged man’s speech. His yes men spouted titles and complements with such frequency that he barely heard them. In the absence of even “Your Excellency” however, the silence was deafening. “You near as bad as me” Mai managed to whisper. “Here I still have some Licheen vintage on me, wet your throat, old friend” said Tywain as he brought the bottle to Mai’s lips. The wine burned as it went down though Mai was focused on the thought of how they had never been anything remotely like friends. Tywain was a useful tool to him, and as with all his vassals he was ever fearfully careful to remain as such lest he be disposed of. “And what of you; have you any news to impart?” Tywains eyes lacked the sharpness he had before... before this atrocity had befallen Pluse. Surveying the drab stone and steel cell Mai whispered “look around at the mighty and how they have withered. These are the fortunate ones. Lord Mandry over there had his son torn apart by the mobs and saw his wife raped and bludgeoned before his eyes and that is a kinder tale than what has befallen most of my court.” With that Mai turned over in his bunk to brood upon his downfall before drifting off to sleep leaving the Justiciar to find a place on the floor among those who came too late to have bedding of their own.
Mai awoke to the sound of heavy foot fall, the sound of metallic boots on hard stone. “This way if it please you, Captain. Right through here, yes now watch the step.” Mai thought the voice to be one of the older gaolers though he did not recognise the voice that replied. “Unlock the cells” was the short and swift response of a man who was used to giving orders. Mai pushed himself onto his elbows and caught and saw nought but the backs of his cellmates; he was the only one who wasn’t crowded at the cell entrance. “Step away from the bars!” commanded a third voice. The crowd pushed back, allowing Mai to view the visitors. Apart from the grizzly turnkey, he could see several figures clad head to toe in black armour and carrying sizable plasma rifles. There were perhaps half a dozen, maybe more which were out of sight. One of the figures had neither a weapon in his hands or a helmet covering his face; Mai assumed this one was the Captain. The figure scanned the crowed that had made a hasty retreat to the back of the cell at the sight of the weapons. “That one” said the gaoler with his finger point at Mai.
They had brought him up from the depths of the dungeon and into the blinding light of day by stretcher. His starved imprisonment had left him slow and the impatient Extistians found his pace unacceptable. “You were the Viceroy” said the Captain, more of a statement than a question but he nodded anyway. That was the extent of their conversation. They carried him to the outskirts of the city, whether it was the glare of the sun or his own reluctance to see the evidence of his ruin, Mai could not open his eye on the trip. A shadow fell over him as he felt his stretcher tilt as if going up a ramp. One of the spaceships he guessed, though his curiosity did not alter his disposition. His still felt as if he just laid there with his eyes shut for long enough he’d drift to sleep and wake up with everything back as it should be. “Thank you, Captain” spoke a soft voice as he felt himself being lowered slightly before hearing a click as the stretcher slotted into place of some stand. Soft hands had pushed back the clothing from his right arm and Mai felt the prick of a needle. “Sleep now” said the voice again, barely more than a whisper.
Mai could not say how long he slept in dreamless slumber, only that when he awoke that his circumstances had improved. Instead of a filthy, cold, dank dungeon beneath the reach of the sun, he found himself in a warm, brightly lit room. The walls were white enamelled steel and as he looked around for a window, he came to realise that the ceiling was one big light source. His was not the only bunk, though it was the only occupied one. All in all the room seemed... sterile. After a quick look around the place on unsteady legs, he lowered himself back into his bunk; unsure as what to make of the place. Eventually one of the walls parted, opening a door way he didn’t even realise was there and in came a medical looking person, accompanied by a pair of guards in that same style of black armour hat had escorted him from the cell. “We saw you having a walk about there, nice to see you awake and moving. You must be famished!”
He had tried to query the man, who turned out to be a military doctor; however he was very insistent that they get him to a good meal first. “Here we are” the doctor almost sang, Mai began to think him almost sickeningly cheerful. They entered a canteen of sorts, largely empty except for a few other small groups the size of his own; two Extistian soldier escorts and a doctor accompanying dark skinned charges like him. He began to notice for the first them the strange clothing himself and the other Plusians wore. Gone were the torn finery, replaced with a simple pair of cloth trousers, shirt and think sock-shoes. The meal presented to him was an unappealing bowl of... something. It looked almost like dark vomit, but the smell... the smell was intoxicatingly enticing. Despite his reservation he found himself shovelling it down, with none of the dignity befitting one of his... former station. What he was now, remained to be seen. He found himself engrossed in the sensation of warmth filling him up, sating a hunger he hadn’t quite been aware of. By the end of it, he allowed himself a few moments to study the pale face of the doctor before pressing on with his questions.
“Where-” Mai began “are you?” interjected the doctor. “You are aboard the “Sweet Silver” and have been for quite some time.” The doctor stared into Mai’s eyes, as if searching for a reaction. “How-” he started saying before being interrupted again. “Your fellow Plusian’s weren’t treating you very well. We induced coma of sorts. During your stay underground you had managed to get yourself bitten by some nasty little critter; much to displeasure of the powers that be. They have been eager to talk to you it seems; waking you to early might ease their impatience, but at what cost? We are still only beginning to understand your planets ecology, especially the pathogens.” Mai wondered, for what purpose they could require of him and: “what has been done with my court?” The doctor looked confused for a moment before he said “ah yes, the other Lords and Ladies... Well they’ve been broken up and transported to every corner of the empire. Those that lived that is; you weren’t the only one to get infected.”Mai spent the following hours having medical tests run on him and informing himself on the events since his capture, little of which pleased him. “Who are the other’s that remain here?” he asked while having is brain scanned by some white machine, on a white table, with white walls and floors... everything seemed to be white or bright shiny grey on the ship. “Don’t you recognise any of them?” replied the doctor.
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Rosa:
“Flew into me I swear it! The pig’s magic I say!” declared the trooper. “Mine mother said that I would be a general if pigs could fly she did!” Rosa stared at the soldier with more than a little amusement. “And I don’t suppose the giant flaming wreck of a barge had anything to do with that? Explosions do have a tendency of making things go really, really fast through the air...” Private Pedra looked genuinely disappointed that the commander didn’t offer him an instant promotion. “Yes ma’am...” he replied sullenly. The damage done to the pier wasn’t near as bad as she would have expected. While those automatic barges could move with surprising speed the canals were built to be sturdy and had not shamed their designers. What surprised Rosa most though was the trail of destruction to be found further on inside the park where the soil around roots of grand oaks and blossoming purple leaved species she had no name for was scatter around holes of varying size. At the end of this trail, half submerged, they found a pair of pink and brown legs pushing out great heaps of earth while their owner squealed in delight.
She had waited patiently for the swine to pull out the large white truffle; it must have weighed a kilo or more. “Ser Oinky!” Rosa gasped in delight. “I had wondered where you had gone. I’ll have to assign you an escort if you keep getting into trouble like this!” After spending the first half of the day, after the end of the fighting, counting thousands of the four legged creatures, Rosa would have swore she’d gladly never look at one again. However she had become quite smitten by the bravado of her charming little saviour. So much so in fact, she had decided to bring him along to the cities she would be visiting on her search for the location of the newest Extistia. When her junior officers queried her decision she justified it by saying she was in need of a tried and tested bodyguard, when the Conduits had asked she declared him her mascot. A total of 6 Conduits had decided to get involved directly in the assimilation of her conquest to the rest of the Empire. While this meant more fleets carrying much needed bodies and supplies, it also meant she had to explain everything half a dozen times.
''Well we best be off Ser. We unfortunately haven't left enough airports or planes functioning and I don't have the patience to spend weeks on trains. So unless you fancy trying out one of those winged kitties...'' Ser Oinky snorted at the mention of using one of the flying cats. They were often fed on pigs flesh. “Not a fan huh? In that case we will need to use one of our space fairing vessels. As fuel inefficient as it is, they do have really comfy seats and it’s always fun to blast some space debris! We certainly made enough of that! Oh Extist I love my job!'' Dawn was beginning to break yet many still were deep in their cups failing miserably at dancing. They soon came upon the circle of ships that surrounded a large ice sculpture that nobody seemed to know where it came from or when exactly it appeared but Rosa thought it a nice place to set up her command post so she had the ships she required moved there. ''Captain Frieser, so very good to see your enjoying yourself'' Rosa commented with a smirk. The man was clumsily fumbling at the buttons on a pair of women's clothes as the two, equally as in intoxicated we dry humping him. ''Since you seem to enjoy here so much I think I'll leave you in command until our civilian friends from the empire grace us with their presence.” The Captain look like he was about to respond but Rosa moved on before he could think of what to say.
The ships that were currently being used as Rosa’s command post were but a tiny representation of the fleet used for the invasion; most of the vessels still orbited the planet and none larger than a cruiser class remained on the surface. It was far easier and safer to have the ships drift as satellites, ready to activate their weaponry at a moment’s notice, than to find somewhere suitable to dock the them all and risk the delay of launching them again in the event of a surprise attack. The bulk of the firepower under the commander’s control did not require a large crew per ship to operate, as such she had most of her soldiers acting as a police force below, leaving only a token garrison to man her fleet. The sight of the massed ships would undoubtedly act as a deterrent to any of the bands of pirates which had become uncharacteristically daring in the surround clusters as of late. Rumour had it that a fleet of some empire in the area had gone up against a giant space creature of some description; despite slaying the monster the fleet was decimated. After a horde of smugglers, raiders and other such outlaws began using the carcass as a base, outfitting it with the wreckage of the destroyed fleet.
Fortunately the smaller vessels which were at her immediate disposal on the ground were capable of landing and taking off much like the advanced commercial aircraft used throughout the Extistian empire. This was fortunate as the method used when she first entered Pluse with her vanguard simply wouldn’t allow her to bring her new body guard along. Unlike the bulk of the force which was unloaded off larger vessels en masse, the initial invasion party were launched while the battle for air control still ensued. The metallic armour that covered their entire bodies used a variety of technologies that bordered on magic to allow the individuals soldiers to land quickly at very specific locations, without harm and able to being assault immediately without any disorientation. There was a time when Rosa had understood how every piece of equipment she used operated, but ever since a treaty between the Sovereign Empire’s Alliance members required increased spending on military research, she felt near clueless. Rosa’s own flagship, the “Black Rose” had been one of only two vessels chosen to be equipped with some of the higher end experimental technology.
The device in which hers had been outfitted with was a weapon so destructive she only had the justification to use it once, on a rival flagship during the Week War with the Ashnid Confederation. The strength of the blast had decimated the rival flagship, but had also drained the “Black Rose’s” power supply to such and extends the emergency lighting came on and the kick back sent the huge ship hurdling back several kilometres, smashing into smaller vessels of friend and foe alike. There were also reports of radiation poisoning among the engineers who had operated and maintained the gun. The crew of the “Black Rose” had taken to calling it a variety of names such as “Gamble”, Last Resort” and “Spite” but Rose preferred to simply refer to it as her “Pistol”. In contrast the other flagship picked to field test the expensive fruits of the newly raised investments was the Green Leviathan. The device it was equipped with sent of shockwaves designed to collapse every cavity in a living body effectively flatting the lungs, bursting every blood vessel and turning the brain to pulp. It had however proved completely ineffectual in the vacuum of space, doing little else apart from pushing away smaller ships.
Just like every Commander of a fleet had the right to name their flagship whatever they wished, every captain could choose the name of their own ship. Some took fanciful names such as Captain Tarsk’s “Moonrider” (despite having never been in the vicinity of any moon or natural satellite). Others took descriptive names that had some personal meaning to the captain or boasted an achievement of the crew such as Captain Feyn’s “Raider’s Bane”. Others still were named in the honour of their god, great leaders, loved ones or homelands such as Captain Jonad’s “Meric’s Pride”. The ship that Rosa would be using however was called simply “Pew! Pew!”. When she queried Captain Urfdesclarf about it, he merely shrugged and said “my youngest son” and then “we have a room prepared for you, though I wasn’t expecting we would have to cater for a pig also. I don’t suppose he’s house trained?” Rosa looked down on Ser Oinky, who was already running off down one of the corridors and replied “doubt it”.
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Kyoon:
The ship they had travelled on was one of the many trading vessels that had joined with the fleet from the neighbouring planet Vern. And the Conduit was certainly correct about him having plenty of time to acquaint himself with the Chief Engineers. Unlike the fleet from Desa which had travelled through limbo, their own means of travel did not involve any divine intervention or even the use of a warp gate. In the greater scheme of things the distance wasn’t overly far, though any interstellar travel was far by human standards. Even by the time they arrived on Pluse, Kyoon still found it hard to grasp the responsibility that had been entrusted onto him. Even the long serving Chief Engineers and the Commanders of the fleets on or orbiting Pluse were subservient to him. While no Conduit would ascend on Pluse until after the completion of the Extistia and full integration of the planet into the empire, he was to be the highest ranking member of the Order. Well presently the only member of the order, though one of his duties was to find and train new members, a task which would likely be aided by additional Vigilants being transferred from other parts of the empire if their own local Order’s numbers allowed for such.
Although heavy laden with materials and people brought along to aid with the construction; Kyoon, nor any of the more senior passengers, lacked neither space nor comfort. It was not long after they had set out on their way to Pluse that word was given as to the location chosen for the new Extistia. Though the decision to adapt and existing settlement certainly did cause a great degree of commotion among the engineers who were divided as to whether it was a genius or moronic move. Medris Akind, Chief Engineer of Cathena (home of the Red Extistia), was quick to point out that very little options were available. There were very few areas left on Pluse that weren’t already built on. Pluse had no option but to have a highly dense population as it lacked the access to other planets. Stannic Kraver, Chief Engineer of Wyrvine (home of the Grey Extistia), insisted they could simply demolish a large section of suburbs or nature reserves as they saw fit, saying it was “the obvious choice”. Most however found Stannic’s proposal appalling. When asked, almost in unison, by those heading the teams from the Purple, Orange and Brown Extistias, Kyoon expressed his concerns over the potential destruction of buildings of such historic value that would inevitably occur, though it was preferable to all else apparent to hm.
When they had finally arrived, little time was wasted before the construction began. It had been decided that much of the material from the demolished infrastructure would be reused were possible. One of the most appealing aspects of the city that the Commander of the Desa fleet had picked to be the new Extistia was that it already had a colour scheme of its own. Aspra, as it used to be known, had an ample supply of blue metals and stonework. This was not the first attempt to create a Blue Extistia however. On the planet of Ecular the sand storms and acid rains had covered the materials with so much red, most of the blues had been stained purple and it turned out to be far easier to adapt to that rather than attempt to force blue on a red land that was to adverse to it. In the early days of the empire, the Divine Father had let it known to his children that each of the worlds under his benevolent gaze must have a city to act as a conduit to him and be mirror images of each other, divided only by spectrum. The idea of a personified conduit came later after the first conquest of a planet outside of the core system.
The Fleets military occupants were dispersed across Pluse to reinforce the soldiers attempting to bring about some sort of order. Even after so long since the conquest, the streets were still prone to unrest with people who once had nothing, killing each other over the trinkets they had “inherited” from their former masters. The only civilians who did not descend to Aspra and the surrounding area were missionaries, sent out to spread the word of Extist to the masses. There was plenty of room to be found in the old blue city as Commander Rosa of Desa had ordered that everyone be evacuated well in advance of Kyoon’s arrival. He had heard accounts from some of the soldiers that hordes of people had been found in sewerage that ran like a labyrinth beneath Aspra with plenty of bloated corpses floating among the living who smelled near as bad. Such a find did not bode well for the former nobility which were being held captive in dungeons across the city and planet.
He was meeting now with the two fleet commanders currently on Aspra to discuss what to do with these incarcerated people. “We have ships enough to resettle them across the empire; I would suggest we do as such and soon. We cannot hope to release them into the general populace...” said Commander Rosa. “The locals would tear them apart” finished Commander Qwen. “I agree, though I’d go one step further and send along many of the other Plusians as well. The planet is bloated with people, we could invigorate the other parts of the empire with new blood whilst easing the burden of assimilating Pluse.” was Kyoon’s counsel. “Perhaps even settle born and bred Extistians here en mass...” a squeal from beneath the table they were discussing over interrupted the thought. “Ah yes, thank you Ser Oinky for reminding me” Rosa said with a grin “what of all the pigs?”
The ill-treatment and wholesale slaughter of the swine had been a major factor in the decision made by the powers that be to go to war. Whether those powers were Extist himself or the whims of his mortal servants, Kyoon could not be certain. In either case he could just turn them all into food. “How many of them are there?” he asked. “One billion, three hundred and eighty-four million, six hundred and seventy-five thousand, two hundred and eight as of noon yesterday; more if any of the fat sows have gave birth yet.” responded Rosa without hesitation. Qwer chuckled at the young Vigilant’s expression. “The conduits were very adamant about accuracy in stock taking. We have been spending have our days trying to keep track of much and more besides. It’s not what we signed up for, as the rank and file oft remind us, though your own Black Conduit thinks it necessary.”
Amidst the pair of Commanders outfitted in their impressive armour and himself in his robed finery, Kyoon thought it a strange sight when the pig waddled out from underneath the table. Stranger still was the contraption on its back. “What in Extist’s name is that?” Kyoon blurted out. “Oh, well I made Ser Oinky here my bodyguard and well not that he’s isn’t quite capable with those tusks of his, but I thought he should do better with a weapon befitting the role. It’s a downsized mimicry of the turrets the Plusians had on some of their not-so-ceremonial mounts. He can aim it with a camera-contact-lens and... Well we are still working on a firing mechanism that’s safe. We tried sticking little triggers in his teeth but we soon found out that ran a big risk whenever he decided to bite down. Meal times were... interesting.” Kyoon blinked a few times before he responded. “Commander, I can’t decide whether you are brilliant or insane but you might have the solution to our piggy-problem.”
Last seen 141 days ago
3'250
Re. Forsworn and Forsaken
Posted 433 days ago
Ser Oinky:
“Ser” saluted the guardsmen in unison as he trotted up the corridor to the entrance of the ships bridge. Every day the sky brought forth more and more giant metal hulks that each deposited more two-legs. They had long since had to move to a larger vessel to accommodate all the bodies that swarmed around his charge in their shiny hard skins and colourful clothing. The night’s sky was now full of new stars with the new fleets reflecting the light of the sun like so many little moons. One of the metal mountains, which each have a horde of smaller vessels swarming around it, had landed to accommodate the increase in jabbering people. It was this ships commanding chamber in which he entered now. Engineers and architects, holy men and money men, generals and scholars, each and more could be found here vying to be heard above the rest. Though on the world beyond these gleaming walls was said to have been calmed, the chaos had taken hold here, reborn in a new form. Ser Oinky made his way through the sea of men and women to take his place by the Commander’s side.
Ser Oinky gave a little snort in gratitude at the person who helped push his hind legs up onto his chair, which turned out to in fact be another fleet commander, a tall, silvery-blonde haired man with youthful features yet eyes that appeared ancient and weary. Below their elevated platform, the commanding stations had been converted with tables replacing consoles, frantic arm-waving civilians replacing collected officers and everywhere puddles of ledgers and blueprints. The table in which he sat was placed on a high platform that over looked the rest of the room, and for the most part seated military leaders, heads of various sections of the construction project and a revolving door of presenters. Currently the table were doing their best to ignore the roar of voices filling the colossal room and focus on the demonstration displayed on a large screen at the opposite end on the table. “Well that is truly inspired…” said the silvery haired commander after it had finished “what sort of ratios can we expect without performance being unduly affected?” The question was directed at the pair of presenters standing at each side of the screen.
The presenter on the right hand side, a grey haired woman in a white lab coat, answered first. “While anything beyond 1:1 will affect the effectiveness of the controller’s input, it entirely depends on the situation at hand and the degree of training and integration the parties at hand receive, as to the extent of the decrease…” Her counterpart on the left hand side, a somewhat younger man in grey overalls, continued with “…potentially on a large-scale battlefield style scenario, a single controller could command millions if there was a clear, well defined target. Perhaps a huge structure or amassed apposing force…” the grey haired woman cut in with “this is due to the system’s design which only requires a single pig to look at the target for each synced group. The controller picks a point of view, commands the weapons of the group to aim at that target and so long as there are no immediate obstructions…” the man in overalls added “goodbye giant evil death robot!”
Another of the commanders a stout man with a heavily creased brow spoke up after a few moments of awkwardness. “I still don’t understand how you manage to get the swine to look at or find the target in the first place.” The pair exchanged a worried look. “Well we can’t… yet. The current plan is to just send them running in the direction you need to go and keep on the lookout for one that sees something off interest.” The stout commander raised an eyebrow. “Why not just install a camera on the turret and manually aim it?” It was the man who answered “the mechanisms we plan to used, when produced over the quantity we are talking of, will be very cost effective. Any old weaponry below a certain mass that has a trigger mechanism can be used. The weapons themselves don’t require any electronics and all the rotating part needs is a very basic microchip wired up to receive an electrical input from the ocular nerve. The only piece that has any notable cost is the transmitter that converts what the pig sees into something that can be interpreted by the commander on a screen half a world away.”
As the commanders discussed the project amidst the maelstrom below a great surge in the lights preceded the sudden enveloping of darkness. The bridges shutters had been closed since landing so until the emergency lighting kicked in the crowd remained still, silent and blind in the dim. Within a second of the backups blinking into life, the commanders rose in unison and began barking orders, all apart from Ser Oinky's own charge, Commander Rosa. ''Come'' was all she said to her guard; and so they came. Together they made haste through the corridors and down the ramp of the great ship; a commander, her dozen guards and the four legged knight. In the light of day men and women were rushing to and fro, soldiers to their officers, civilians to either safety or to get a glimpse on what was causing the commotion. “To me!” Rosa shouted, not slowing for a second, and so the patrols converged till her numbers neared 4 dozen. They followed the direction of the largest throng of civilians, who appeared to be converging on a secondary landing site which ships were used as a medical bay. Soon a captain and his smaller entourage converged with them.
“It seems the viceroys were we keeping under observation have mounted some sort of escape attempt. I don’t know how but one of them got their hands on an EMP or damaged a ship enough to cause some similar effect.” informed the Captain. By then they had reached the gathering crowd. Ser Oinky helped the others clear a passage through the civilians with his little heart beating rapidly in excitement. They beheld one ship, a great white thickset vessel smouldering from one end with a score of charred bodies strewn around it. Most were either pale Extistians in lab coats or their Ebony skinned patient-prisoners; though a pair of guards could be seen dying in the wreckage. One was impaled on a large jagged piece of the ship’s hull that jagged out of the ground and the other crushed beneath the remains of another wall with her legs twitching pitifully. Their group split up, some attempting to round up the escapes, other to tend the wounded and dying. “It appears to be over…” said Rosa quietly “ …we have arrived too late.” Just as she finished her sentence, Ser Oinky spotted a two leg jump from the wreckage and broke into a run.
Ser Oinky ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, determined catch the two-leg. His target was armed with one of the weapons of screaming hot death and has he turned his head back to glimpse his pursuer, Ser Oinky thought he would turn him into pork chops. Alas he did not; in fact he almost seemed amused at the sight of him. The dark-skinned runner made his way to the edge of the landing site towards one of the smaller ships, a tiny thing in comparison to the monstrous one he had been spending his time around the past few weeks. The vehicle was unmanned, emptied by the curiosity of men. Its owner has probably somewhere in the crowds around the wreckage. The escapee had far longer legs that Ser Oinky and as such made it to the ship well in advanced. By the time he had reached on his own two pairs of trotters, the entrance was closing and ramp receding. We all his momentum from the chase Ser Oinky just managed to leap inside before the door had sealed shut. Triumphant, his allowed himself a moment to gain back his breath and entered the cockpit to confront the man sitting there. With a rumble, Ser Oinky spied from the window in front of the controls, the world receding swiftly from view.
