MissingAxis

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Willy Vereb Okay, it sounds like we're all on the same page. Once you've made the edits we've all discussed here, I'll take another look at your sheet.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Willy Vereb As long as your mechs aren't going to be mowing through battleships as easily as several of them just did in that video, I don't really care if they use energy weapons or ballistics.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Willy Vereb
1.) It's not the anime inspiration that is an issue, but rather the power levels present in anime. I can't say I've seen either of the ones you're drawing inspiration from, but I think you're misrepresenting the point Dragonruby was trying to make. The issue isn't with giant mechs flying around and blowing things up, it's with the implied scale of the weapons they are equipped with.

1.5) Terminology aside, I'm still going to have to ask you to tone down the power of your mechs' weaponry. Anything that can be described as "[approaching] the firepower of a warship-mounted [weapon]" that is carried by ten meter tall mechs that already have inertial dampening tech and apparently don't require that much re-mass/fuel is fairly out-of-bounds for me. I can deal with the inertial dampening and I can live with the re-mass/fuel thing, because these are common tropes in a space opera and just about everyone in this RP is using it in some way, shape, or form. But I personally can't accept weapons with warship-scale firepower on comparatively tiny mechs.

2.) No longer an issue for me, then.

3.) The concern isn't that synthetic singularities used as a powersource are OP. Rather, it's the possibility of abuse that led to us presenting our concern. As you're no doubt aware, using singularites as bullshit power sources or failsafes for victory is not uncommon. If you're willing to stay in the bounds that you yourself have just outlined, I have no issues with you using them as a neat way of getting around.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Dragonruby Posting to confirm that Dragonruby's post is an accurate presentation of our discussion.

@CowboyCommando We haven't made a chatroom, but if there is enough interest from active players, I will probably put one together. As it stands, there hasn't really been enough activity to justify one.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

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@Dragonruby

Amenmesh was silent for some time. The path he led them along was different from how they entered, and as they went further down the corridors, the change in architecture and materials became noticeable. It was more modern and simplistic, metal bulkheads replacing the carved stone walls of the other hallways. The Lord ushered the diplomats into a room and sealed the door before answering. The room was dimly lit, but as Amenmesh spoke, he stepped toward an illuminated control panel and began activating sets of lights until the room was totally visible.

"It means deathmatch."

With the lights on, the Terrans could see they were standing in some kind of armory, with racks of weapons lining the walls, and a few armor stands placed in the center.

"Zisuthra and I planned for him to rule the Assembly. Megalu was to nominate Zisuthra as well, solidifying the Steadfast's lead. It seems the Heretic decided to make the situation more interesting, and his vote persuaded Megalu to nominate me."

Amenmesh walked over to the wall on his right, running a bare finger -- the tail end of a worm in his hand -- along the items there. A hefty warhammer, a wicked looking sword.

"If Ugar's priest had not cast her vote for me, it would be Ugar and Zisuthra fighting. It seems the priest, though angering the Old One, has saved his life. Zisuthra would never have picked me if Ugar and I had tied. Zisuthra must think I have betrayed him."

The Lord stepped over to an empty armor stand, peeling off pieces of his environmental hardsuit. Compared to a warrior's armor, the hardsuit was thin, though still fairly hefty. It was comprised of plates linked by synthetic polymers, with thin hoses running under the surface. It was by no means intended for combat. Diplomatic missions, friendly meetings, and ruin surveying were the environments it was designed for.

With his arm bare, the Terrans could see parts of the metal endoskeleton that supported Amenmesh's body. The worms ran up and down its length, a twitching mass that looked like thick muscle fibers. With eyes and mouths. Here and there, nodes protruded up between the worms, especially around the joints of the skeleton. They were attachment points, where a new metal skin could become part of the Ophisian's body.

Amenmesh set the exosuit's gauntlet plates down and grabbed a fistful of armor plates to replace it. It took a few moments, but when he was done, Amenmesh had a forearm nearly twice as thick as before.

"It is too late now. Zisuthra will not be holding back. I do not know how much of him I will have to kill to him to yield, but I know how much of me he will attempt to kill. I can not afford to die today, not even a small death."

With his new arm, Amenmesh stepped back to the weapon rack and grabbed the warhammer. He held it out in front of the Terrans, crouching slightly. Then, he pointed at a pair of indents in the hammerhead, one on either side.

"These are for the fuel tanks."

---

Fully armored, Amenmesh led the Terrans back through the halls. There were quarters prepared for the diplomats. The room was large, but the furnishings had been made with the size of the Terrans in mind. Still, the beds and chairs were a little larger than they may have expected even for lavish furnishings.

"The switch on the wall there will lower a privacy divider across the center of the room, from one corner to the opposite. I do not know if your people make use of such things, but it has been included. Stand clear as it lowers. I do not think it will kill you, but it will be painful. I hope these controls can be understood; we configured it with your script, but we have left the functions simple as a precaution. They will adjust the atmosphere in this room and the attached bathhouse to be more appropriate for your kind. We have noticed you breathe less oxygen then our people, and your trace elements differ significantly. One switch to bring it to your comfort levels, another is to be pressed a thousand seconds before you open the main door. You will find a similar panel in the bath-house, to adjust the water temperature and depth. We do not know how buoyant you Terrans are, or how long you can be submerged in the water. If you wish to breathe more oxygen for recreational purposes, there is an option for that as well. Be cautious. I do not want to explain two dead diplomats to my brothers or to yours."

The Lord paused to give the Terrans a moment to understand.

"No matter the outcome tomorrow, your people will be held in the same regard as before. Zisuthra and I have the same plans for you. We want to form a... I do not know what word you will hear it as... A brotherhood. A union. A Congregation of Lords, with Terrans and the Ouroboros side by side. Should I fall tomorrow and be rendered incapable for some time, this offer will still be made to your people by Zisuthra. I do hope our two kinds can work together some day. Yours and mine would make an effective warhost, I believe."

Amenmesh gave the Terrans a brief blessing, which they likely understood only a word or two of, and then excused himself to meditate.

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@ClocktowerEchos

:: THEN YOU COME SEEKING YOUR MASTER'S ARSENAL. TELL ME, WHERE HAVE THEY GONE TO DIE? ::

/𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑴 𝑨𝑪𝑪𝑼𝑺𝑬𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫/ brings its weapons to bear. It is not a warship, but carries a sufficient arsenal to defend itself. Several gimbaled coilguns are mounted on each flank, and half a dozen missile tubes accompany them on each side. The guns have sufficient power to damage or even disable systems if they strike true, but they were never intended to significantly penetrate armor except with sustained fire. The missiles are similar, their warheads designed to focus their nuclear discharge into a single cone pointed forward, for the precise application of God's judgement. /𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑴 𝑨𝑪𝑪𝑼𝑺𝑬𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫/ maneuvers to shorten the gap between the two parties, approaching at an angle to keep the xeno vessel within its firing arcs.

:: YOU CLAIM TO BE PACIFISTS, BUT ARE YOURSELVES PART OF YOUR MASTER'S LEGACY. GOD FROWNS UPON YOUR EXISTENCE. IS THERE NOT A LINGERING MALICE IN YOUR BLOOD, INHERITED FROM YOUR PROGENITORS? IF NOT, WHY SEEK YOUR INHERITANCE HERE? ::

NEXT >>>

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Roosan Yeah, go ahead and PM the WIP to the GMs.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

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@ClocktowerEchos

The Church of Ouroboros was founded at least ten thousand years ago, according to the records they diligently maintain. Ten thousand years of war, and the Lords of the Ouroboros have made little to show for it. Cyclically, they have destroyed themselves and their worlds, barely surviving each self-produced cataclysm. As the earth is blasted, more and more of it burns and turns to glass. As they run out of vaguely safe living space, they move on, finding new worlds to wage their wars from. Over ten thousand years, the Lords have burned and blasted the planets of perhaps a dozen star systems, leaving their burning surfaces to smolder in their wake. Each generation of Lords, with few individual exceptions, has taken the Church for granted. They use it to build casus bellis, justifying their destruction and borrowing blueprints that they can use to ensure the wars can continue after near total annihilation.

The Church, however, exists for a totally different reason. It exists to observe, to remember, and to save. It is God's will that the people of the Ouroboros survive each cataclysm, though they could easily have been left to die after the first. Without fail, the Lords of the Ouroboros have been genetically flawed, wired for jealousy and violence, spiteful to the core. God's creatures are flawed, for there is no part of them that is even vaguely part of It.

The Lords serve their purpose, however, as the archives show. Over the last ten thousand years, there have been threats to the Ouroboros that only the Lords could remove. Xenos, wretched and filled with more Godless hate than the Lords themselves, have been recorded in the Church's archives. Each time, the Lords band together just long enough to push the xenos back, only to return to their quarrels and destroy themselves. But it is only through the violence committed by the Lords that the Ouroboros has survived the genocide of the xenos.

The Mon'hali were one such xeno threat, driven by a malice and hatred that had never been seen before or since. The Church incited the first strike, urging the Lords to go on the offensive before the Mon'hali could. Though the initial assault was effective, it was hard won and was only to be the beginning of a long war. No Ophisian alive today can remember the Mon'hali. However, though the records of the war hold little detail, the archives of the Church have not forgotten the Mon'hali or their tongue. So when a chapter of the Church is sent to explore a region of space that the Ouroboros has left behind, and they encounter xenos bearing the traces of that wicked tongue, the cathedral itself is struck by fear.

---

Met-Um was kneeling, heads raised in prayer and reverence. Somewhere ahead of her in the darkness, ЯЅДЩ lurked. It knew what she came to know, but Met-Um hadn't yet asked the right question. So it waited patiently, satisfied to feed off the phylactery until Met-Um left in frustration or discovered what she was looking for.

"I beg your cooperation, ЯЅДЩ. Have you knowledge of these xenos?"

It remained silent. Nutrients and amphetamines steadily pumped into its form, its first feast in nearly a decade.

Met-Um tried again. "The archivists are working to translate the message of the xenos. They have found similarities to another tongue, but the matches are tenuous."

It could not be coaxed. She still had not asked the right question.

"Are they Mon'hali?"

Silence.

"Should we make haste back to Ouroboros space?"

"No." The answer came among a cacophony of gurgling and shrieking. Perhaps a hundred worms had replied, though at least a thousand more were unintelligible. Met-Um was struck silent.

"Learn the fate of God's enemy. God will guide you from that point."

Met-Um uttered a prayer and left ЯЅДЩ's chamber. Some minutes after she left, the phylactery's power was lowered. Soon, it would leave its low-power state. Or never again.

---

Met-Um drifted into the command deck of the /𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑴 𝑨𝑪𝑪𝑼𝑺𝑬𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫/. Her crew was waiting for a command.

"Hail them. The archivists will tell you how."

The message was sent not long after, a computerized vocalization of the Mon'hali tongue.

:: WHO COMES FORTH AND SPEAKS IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE DEAD? BE YOU REVENANTS, COME TO AVENGE YOUR DEATH? OR BE YOU REFUGEES, LEFT BEHIND BY THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED ON? ::

NEXT >>>

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@Willy Vereb The more the merrier.

@ClocktowerEchos Sorry for the wait on my post. A lot of unexpected things came up at once, so I've only just now gotten a chance to sit down and work on it. It should be coming up here in a couple hours.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@ClocktowerEchos All right, I'll get a post up for you in a few hours, when I get home from work.

[SCI-FI] The Stars Above

@ClocktowerEchos It'd probably be better if you start. I gotta take off for a few hours here in a little bit.