Sterbelicht - One Sacrifice At A Time Against The Galaxy (40K)

"Listen well, children, for I tell you this story so it may bring you peace one day," Caretaker Helioa spoke, curved lines of Thules sitting on the ground before them, ears sharp and eyes attentive. "For this is a story how Thules die," Caretaker continued, a book on their lap open and ready to read from, yet ignored as the story had been told so many times it had become ingrained, in both Caretaker and Thule.

"It was before the Great Storm when people yet slumbered and feasted and prayed in safety when they had no fear of the dark and eyes did not watch from shadowed places," Caretaker spoke, weaving the tale in mist and word, a thousand stars flickering into existence between outstretched hands and dancing fingers. "It was on an eve before a rightful night of sleep that a herd of Thules found themselves at the mercy of the N'Nomitron, her strict and exacting eyes piercing through veil and helmet to see all the wrongs and all the mistakes of the young Thules not yet bloodied." As they spoke, the stars changed to an image of 36 saluting Thules, clad in full pilot suits, a N'Nomitron stalking their ranks with slitted eyes of sacred gold and lithe limbs, no mistake uncorrected, and no fault hidden.

"Under her order, they boarded their craft, deadly and pale, armed and hale, 36 Thules for 18 Fighters, each a duet of souls forged in blood, sweat, tears, and time," the N'Nomitron stretched out an arm, and the 36 turned around, filing into their strike fighters in synchronized unison. "Some entered their fighters with their sibling-sisters dear and precious," two Thules, an arm locked around the other's shoulder, as they joked and smiled. "Some with those they worked with, respect and dedication fueling each other endlessly," and two Thules stood, side by side, proudly saluting the symbol of the Star Child, itself inscribed and waving on the flag of the Glimmering Federation. "Others...with those they loved," Caretaker spoke with mirth, a ripple of pre-teen disgust at the mention of love sparking from the sight of two Thules kissing, hands entwined. "But all thinking they would return one by one."

"They left their hangar, joyfully, and greeted the Lamenting Ones, those who weep for the lives they could not save and the lives that may yet be lost, who would be there for them to test themselves against." A scene of 19 fighters against five, one of Gold hanging back with the eyes of the N'Nomitron visible through the cockpit, with a bleeding heart on checker-boards proudly standing before them. "They thought to fight and win, take to home and bunk glory and glee...they would find neither."

The scene shifted. A dark mass ruptured through reality, and the Heavy Monitor found itself engulfed by a maw of eyes and tentacles, sharp teeth digging deep kilometers before it closed and swallowed the over two hundred thousand souls aboard with ease, already moving away for new pray even as it left behind bleeding fighters and raging hearts.

"A Warp Titan had wrought itself free of the Immaterium at the dawn of the Great Storm, and it had feasted well in its first moment of existence," Caretaker spoke, the Thules arrayed before her terrified and scared, tiny and weeping in fright. "We can only pray for those lost aboard the ship...but the 36 would not find themselves with the time for such. Duty called, imperious and raging."

Bleeding eyes of Gold stared out, cogs whirling within cogs as mechadendrites snapped into the minds of all Thules, a banner of pious hatred unfurled by the five, and a wedge formed with Golden Might at its tip. "The N'Nomitron knew the Titan sought prey, and prey it had found. Even as she bled from soul and mind, as her Sister-Siblings trashed and screamed in fear and from the touch of Ruin, she cast her gaze upon its bulk, a thousand sacred rites whispered by her machine, a thousand sacred rights imposed upon her sister-siblings, and a thousand sacred rites screamed into Void and Abyss."

"And thus they fought, though there was only death to be found, for even though the 36 had been granted mighty weapons and many missiles, they were but 18 armed fighters against a herald of Ruin made manifest," Caretaker spoke, stars twinkling between their hands, now but a hundred bleeding orifices of realspace offering glimpses into madness eternal. 18 Defiant Lights racing against the Titan, its bulk squirming and Not Quite Right to look upon. "They sent what they could under the N'Nomitrons shattering mind's direction, her lips never ceasing prayer and her fingers never ceasing corrections for those under her command, minds linked and souls intertwined by holy mathematics in the Noosphere of their time."

"72 missiles streaked from their bays and wings, ethereal munitions escorted by Bleeding Hearts, for they had not taken weapons with them in a fight with allies and friends, and 72 missiles struck against corrupted flesh and twisting will."

Flowers bloomed against a mass of Wrong Things, their might ripping out chunks weighing tons upon tons upon tons...and doing little but shift some eyes and tentacles to swat the annoying pests.

"They fought, they screamed, they fired all they had and more, but the Titan barely noticed their numbers, barely slowing in its path to eat three million innocents seeking shelter before the Great Storm, their souls now praying for deliverance against Evil as the mighty engines of their ships could not escape the Titan's sprint."

A desperate battle. A shrinking distance.

"But in the darkest night, a candle shines like a star, and eight among the 36 burned fierce. They could give no more munitions, no more shells, nothing within their fighters that could be used...except their souls."

Eight lights shine against a maw made of abyssal darkness, horrors beyond sight screaming into their defiant charge.

"See brave Chikian, 789789th birth of her home, the station of N, who felt regret at having never found her One Love, never having worn the Veil of Binding with them, yet see her rage against the Titan, screaming defiance as she prepares to ram its soul into oblivion once more."

"See Alicia Lillywood, daughter of a Thule and one not, and know her soul wrote words upon parchments to delight and fright, incite and inspire. Know she left her last story unfinished, but she did not charge defiantly with regrets."

"See Raefa-11055, of the Line of Y, created by one out of love, and born with blessed machinery at the age of 2. See her heart bleed with those whose Heart Bleeds, for a debt once incurred made her scream their words of glory and cherished doom in the face of death."

"See Aynia, cursed to be born as the 69th of her pod, and as the 420th iteration, numbers of fortune and illness alike, casting shadows of excellence and dependency unto her soul that she rejected with her whole, cursing the Magos that did not skip her designation even as she spat words against the Titan; words to see her defiance bright and glorious."

"See Asteria-905G, who held in her heart the guilt and regret of never having apologized to an old friend over a minor thing, even as she always meant to do so. And know that she flew into the Abyss without fear of evil, for she was Thule, and her steed was mighty."

"See Valen Curium, an experiment to better your lives, variation 244891A performed and implemented across the generations to come, and whose mind could only wonder what that datapict a sister-sibling had given her contained, even as she screamed prayers of devotion to the Coming Salvation; the Star Child."

"See Shiori Shiratori, born from hallowed machines and consecrated with sacred oils alongside her beloved, dreaming of the lapping ocean waves and the scream of water-birds she had only heard in pict-recordings from worlds her feet had never known. Weep as she wept, for her beloved would stand in those lapping waves without her hand in theirs."

"See Hermanus Beta-8524, born as Thule, lived as Thule, and would now die as Thule, but whose soul was ordained to be no woman's but a man's, his journey one undertaken in his time by means far more arduous than today. Do not pity him his circumstance, but cry Rage like he did at the Titan, yet at the time robbed from him, for he would not graduate to become a pilot in full with his charge, like all eight would."

"See them all...and know that Duty is more than word and conviction to Those Whose Hearts Bleed," Caretaker spoke, shifting the scene to show five streaking comets racing ahead of the eight, their mighty souls blaring utter defiance and righteous hatred into the Warp, their lights piercing Immaterial Flesh and sundering Immaterial Soul.

"See their charge, see their cries, and weep. Weep in joy, for they chose the Final Sacrifice so that others may yet live. Weep in anger, for they had to die before a monster beyond nightmares could be banished. Weep...because there is nothing else to do but weep as Five Heroes charged to death in Glory. Yet...weep gladly, for the eyes of their Primarch smiled upon their charge, his children fighting unto the last for what was right and what is good."

"And dry your tears as the Titan now lays slain," Caretaker finished their story, the scenes shifting from the charge of the Five to show a sundered broken corpse drifting lifelessly in the void.

And dry their tears the Thules did...yet one glared, defiant and angry. A hand was raised, and they asked: "But did they die?"

Caretaker smiled, a sadness around their eyes.

And they said one word.

---

The Great Storm passed. For some planets, it was but a few days. For most, a week. One unlucky system had to endure for 36 years under its bleeding wails and creeping eyes stretching in the abyssal skies.

But all systems of the Glimmering Federation, one after the other, found contact with each other again, and life...resumed.

Except in Quintura Diablo, for there, the Warp Storm had left...not a tear in the Veil. Not yet.

But it would likely become a Warp Rift in due time if not counteracted swiftly.



You Have 3 [Three] Actions. You Have 2 [Two] Emergency Actions. Currently Active ISC: [New Dawn R&D]. Current Symphony: [None]. Current Warp Tremors: [Still].
(6-Hour Moratorium)

[] [Free] Consecrate In Sacred Sand (Write-In World)
Works of generations started today.
(Gain: A Consecrated World.)

[] [General] Develop The Federations'...
-[] Food Production XI (0/1)
-[] Civilian Infrastructure XVI (0/1)
-[] Heavy Industry VIII (0/1)
-[] Void Industry XII (0/1)
-[] Medical Services VI (1/2)
-[] Military Industry VI (1/2)
(Gain: A boost in production focusing on the chosen option.)

[] [General] Colonize (Planet/s)
It is time to bring four more worlds into the fold. Thanks to the Kil'drabi becoming our Kin, we can now categorize Frozen, Ash, and Volcanic Worlds as Habitable instead.
(Gain: Four colonized Worlds.
Habitable Worlds: Ivuh - Ubraka (Planetary Mangroves), Llolanov - Kriegar (Temperate Forests and Mild Arctic)
Hostile Worlds (-1 Void Industry): Olutia - Grace of the Labors (Dry Tundra), Magisch - Hexe (Arctic and Island)
Deathworlds (-1 to All): Qulach's Forge - Qulach's Forge (Fallout, Glass, Industrial Ruins, and Chemicals))

[] [General] Terraform (Planet) - (Auto-Terraformation - 200.M43)
Thanks to the aid of the Irrita (against payment), we will be able to donate life to planets that do not yet have any of their own.
(Gain: Three Terraformed and Colonized Planets.)

[] [General] Research:
01001101 01100001 01100100 00100000 01000010 01101001 01101110 01101000 01100001 01110010 01101001 01100011 00100000 01010011 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100001

[] [General] Ministry of Subversion, Infiltration, and Interstellar Communication
A new age of peace dawns on the Glimmering Federation, and with it rises the required needs of its various branches and plans to come to fruition, from subverting hostile polities to maintaining friendly relations with good neighbors. Thanks to an expansion in resources, the Ministry of SIIC can now focus on multiple things simultaneously.

[] [Military] Create Grand Army (Write-in Name) for (Sub-Sector) or Knight Order (Write-in Name)
Grand Armies are composed of 2 SAGs per Sub-Sector System, which are composed of 4 Units each. Though each SAG will have its own Battle Standard and Motto, only those existing will be recorded in detail. A Grand Army requires you to specify each SAG as either Light, Medium, or Heavy, with the further moniker of Infantry/Mechanized/Tanks/Augmetic Legions Formations attached. All other specializations will be taken care of within the Grand Army itself. A Knight Order contains 20 War-Packs, one War-Pack consisting of One Questoris per Four Armigers, of variable Patterns.
(Gain: One Grand Army or Knight Order.)

[] [Military] Sector Battle Group Construction And Repair
-[] 2x Nomadic Fleets [Automatic] (0.4/1)
-[] Hydralisk and Necrolisk (0/1)
-[] Gryphon and Gorgon (0/1)
-[] Wyvern and Cyclops (0/1)
-[] 2x Long Range Anti-Duchy Specialist Fleets (0/1)
A Sector Battle Group consists of 4 Heavy Cruisers, 8 Carriers, 6 Light Cruisers, 8 (Heavy) Frigates, 4 Destroyers/Corvettes, and 3 Guide Ships. A Nomadic Fleet consists of 1 Battlecolony, 2 Heavy Cruisers, 4 Light Cruisers, 14 Frigates, and 2 Guide Ships. A LRAD consists of 4 Pegasus-Class Command Cruisers, 13 Hydrus-Class Rad Cruisers, 6 Scutum-Class Shield Frigates, 5 Sagitarrius Lance Frigates, 2 Lupus Destroyers, and 3 Guide Ships.
(Information: All Action Costs must be paid to receive the ships.
Gain: Filled out SBG/Nomadic Fleets.)

[] [Military] Design New Voidship Classes - [Available: Destroyer (1 DP), Frigate (2 DP), Light Cruiser/Freighter (4 DP), Heavy Cruiser/Freighter (8 DP), Temple Ship (25 DP)] - [25 DP]
From what we can tell, thanks to our history, what information we, the Kil'drabi, Yeeni, and the archives of our planets tell us, the difference between a prosperous interstellar polity and one naught but ash is the strength of their navy. At the moment, we have the beginning of a proud Void Fleet, yet purely defending against our enemies is a great way to get ground down into dust over time; we need to be able to bring the fight to them.
(Information: Ship Classes requiring more DP than you possess take more than one Action to design.
Gain: Newly designed and built Ship Class/es.)

[] [Military] Begin Military Operations (Assign SAG/s) (Choose Location/s) (Designate Objective/s)
There is war to be had and battle to be made. Send troops to resolve issues, squash opposition to the Star Child and Humanity and all Their Protectorates, and send ships to scout neighboring systems to understand what is happening there.
(Gain: Military dispatched to put down opposition violently. Scouts are sent to look at other systems.
Scouting Range: ~20 Systems from Claimed Systems. Scouting Efficiency: N/A (70% Three+ Systems, 45% Eight+ Systems, 25% Fifteen+ Systems.)
Note: For use outside your territory or in support of forces specified within another Action.)

[] [Psykana] Conduct Six Melodies (0.4/1 - Auto Complete) - [Choose Melody]
The Celestial Choir has been given the means; with time, they shall conduct their songs. They will listen to the Warp and filter out the false whispers from the slumbering guidance of the Star Child. In halting prayer and stumbling humming, the truth will be stripped until nothing but it remains in the hands of those who shall make it anew into power to be wielded by the Choirs to come. As there are 10 Celestial Choirs free to pursue research, the High Council can ask them to pursue a target instead of what comes close. This will, naturally, be lost once they dip below 10 Choirs.
(Total: 20
Uncovered: Revenant and Prophecy II.
Secret: Slumber, and Silence III.
Star Child: Compassion II, Mercy III, Health II, Innovation II, Justice II, Wisdom II, Death II, Ruthlessness III, Brutality II, and Love.
Kil'drabi: Paths II, The Void III, Community II, and Family II.
Irrita: Growth II, Plants, Harmony, and Hunger.
Gain: Six Melodies newly Conducted.)

[] [Psykana] Sing two Songs (Choose at least Three below.) - (0.2/1 - Auto Complete) - [N/A]
Mere Melodies are not the end of the journey, nor should they be the start. They are the middle, from which all things shall grow and wither.
(Uncovered: Technology III and Prophecy I.
Secret: Perception III, Silence II, and Grounding III.
Star Child: Protection III, Fire III, The Sun V, Humanity III, Creativity III, Song III, The Home III, Logic III, Unity III, Progress III, Compassion I, Hope III, Health I, Death I, Justice I, Wisdom I, Innovation I, Machinery III, Ruthlessness II, Brutality I, Mercy II, and The Star.
Kil'drabi: Void II, Struggle III, Paths I, Community I, and Family I.
Irrita: Growth I.
Gain: Two Songs.)

[] [Psykana] Sing a Symphony (Choose Five Songs)
Words beyond meaning, songs beyond uttering, a hum of power that is the Warp reveling in its own power unleashed. A Symphony crafted from labor centuries long, and one that shall burn itself into history eternal, both mortal and Immaterial.
(Gain: A Symphony)

[] [Psykana] Warp Observatory (0/3)
Though our Symphonies are powerful, they extract a cost by turning the Warp tumultuous. Enough so that the enigmatic Eldar threatened war if we did not cease casting our Cry For The Future into the same for the benefit of our people. With skill and patience, the Celestial Choir has figured out how to observe the tremors in the Warp that result from singing a Symphony, hoping to find a way to indicate when it would be safe again to let our Cry loose. Yet, with the recent, and worryingly increasing, tremors reverberating through the Warp, more than casual observation is required. A station shall be built in Holy Irridanus where thirty Choirs shall work around the clock to observe and study the ripples in the Warp, both to better sing Symphonies and to divine any problems that Chaos may throw at us.
(Cost: 30 Choirs.
Gain: Warp Tremor Indicator Gauge.)

[] [Psykana] Budding Warp Rift Studies (0/3)
There is a Warp Rift, or rather a budding Warp Rift, in Quinturas Diablo. We should investigate what it is doing there, where it leads, and how to shut it down ASAP.
(Gain: Warp Rift Information.)

[] [Faith] An Unborn Guide Sought Out (Write-In)
...
(Gain: Guidance on how to deal with or gain something.)

[] [Knightly Orders] Expand A Little. As A Treat. (0/2)
Back to the training yards...ugh...
(Gain: Knight Orders gain +5 War-Packs.)

[] [Chapter] A New Fleet (0/2)
New fleets are required, and old ships need replacing. 3000 Brothers are enough for now.
(Gain: New Lamenter Ships.)

[] [Other] Take Care Of [Future Or Current Problems]
(Write-In the problem being addressed.)