[b]Redana![/b]

An indigo hand catches the coin out of the air. Zeus smiles as she passes by, ruffling your hair with a hand that feels like a birthday gift - static and excitement and paternal warmth.

"The reason why I am king and Athena is not," said Zeus, showing you the wreaths side of the coin. "Is that there are paths to victory other than battle."

She's gone in the next step, on her way to visit some distant affair, coin jangling in her pocket.

[b]Vassilia![/b]

"Be reasonable, friend," came the voice in return - young, brash and reckless. You get the sensation of a loyal dog barking - so fixated on chasing the stick that it's blind to anything else. "We just want the princess. That's all! Keep the ship. Take a dozen! Take a royal title! The Admiral has a lot of job openings going right now."

You've never been in a position to negotiate with the Empire before, and oh [i]wow[/i] this is different from shaking down rusty old merchant tubs. You could double the strength of the Starsong pirates at a [i]stroke[/i].

[hider=The King]
[b]King Jas'o[/b]
[i]A royal warrior, armed with the might of Zeus[/i]
[b]Thunderbolt Strike:[/b] King Jas'o has the weapon tags [i]ranged, dangerous, piercing[/i]. 
[b]Commander:[/b] Cannot be harmed or distracted while surrounded by his soldiers

[b]Imperial Phalanx[/b]
[i]They're not the best, but they're impossible to shift.[/i]
[b]Shieldwall[/b]: A Phalanx in good order is immune to damage from anything short of a Dangerous weapon
[b]Immobile[/b]: Any attempt to Get Away from the Phalanx automatically succeeds on a 10+
[/hider]


[b]Alexa![/b]

Athena's warnings are not idle. They are immediate and specific and terrible.

You realize much too late that the Phalanx was not heading to the reactor as doctrine demands. Instead they're hunting for individuals like you, not caring if the ship continues to have mobility. Distracted by your brooding thoughts you don't realize until it's too late that you've blundered into the worst possible tactical position. 

You're in a narrow corridor with a full Phalanx blocking the way either direction. It's reminiscent of a trash compactor - unbreakable, unyielding walls of steel and spears slowly closing in on you from both directions. You're trapped between two rocks and the void of space.

[b]Bella![/b]

The seating arrangements were weaponized. All the elderly, sensible, restrained figures are at one end of the hall, and all the young hotheads are at the other. Insults and snubs were leveled against the young, while full respect was paid to the old. You can see how the dominoes fall in accordance with the Admiral's scheme - a group of hotheads is gathering to rush the Admiral with drawn swords in a pre-emptive act of suicide. The Admiral, despite her threatening posture, cannot simply order her soldiers to attack at a feast in honour of the gods - but defending herself from a charge of young fools is a different matter. Pallas Athena walks amongst them, whispering words of panic, and the wise are still too far to give their restraining council.

There are only two points of stability around you.

One is the priest of Hades, Ivory Smile. He's eye-wateringly blonde, bookish, simply dressed with no honours or embellishment other than a large black book handcuffed to his wrist. Hades, while necessary, is seen as unpleasant by the Empire and he has been seated here with the servitors, aliens, mercenaries and you. He's a priest of Hades, in a landscape that is sacred to the God of the Dead - that's [i]useful[/i]. He's a human, which might save you a lot of trouble, and despite his coolness you're sure that you could break him. From what you know about him he has a chip on his shoulder about all the humiliations he's put through, so he might be a kindred spirit.

On the other side is one of the Azura mercenaries, Parchment of Bronze. Deep violet scales, adorned with bones and trophies and scrips of paper bearing her oaths to the gods. When you were cheating your way through the Olympics one of your most important acts of cheating in the wrestling was to make sure you never fought Bronze - after seeing how effortlessly she demolished the competition in the first two rounds, easily manhandling the previous champion, you collapsed the entire hallway outside her room to stop her making it to your match. Pound for pound there's no scarier muscle at this table, but she's not the sort that'll easily accept a subordinate role.