The Secrets' Crusade

With the data retrieved by Iris, the more expected complexities of infiltration proved far less so. Access to files on the facility below were relatively sparse, but the purpose for which it had been built was made very clear. Protocol and etiquette for visitors, though pilgrims might be a better translation, were laid out quite clearly. The site was freely accessible to any with the right codes, and your access to the security system provided those. Of course, there was the possibility that all of them were false, but that struck you as slightly more paranoia than might be healthy.

That was not to say that you didn't have a plan in the event that that was the case, of course. Although the Adamant was effectively toothless by the standards of capital ships, the craft here were distinctly civilian. If needed, Jane could disable the ships in orbit, and Iris would bring up a systemwide jamming field to prevent messages being sent to the interstellar relay built into the system shell's access points. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would give you time to escape.

For now, though, that plan was far away from your focus. The Ministry of Security had studied what data Insight had been able to acquire on Shiplord culture heavily when designing the Masques. Although the species maintained a unified evolutionary template and physical structure, every member of the species was protected by a nanobiological shell that could be modified into almost anything the wearer desired.

Sixth Secret technology on its own couldn't match it; the nanoshells were breathtakingly more advanced than even your daughter's avatar. But with the aid of Practice, and a total disregard for resourcing limits, Trailblazer's R&D specialists had gotten very close. They only cost about as much as a heavy cruiser. Each.

"How are we doing?" You asked, trying in vain to distract yourself from those thoughts for a moment, watching the featureless silver plains of the world below grow larger in the shuttle's view-panes.

"All clear," Vega replied from beside you, her dark hair cloaked beneath the rippled cowl of her Masque. If she was exasperated with your constant repeating of the question, none could have said. "There's not a great deal down there, Mandy, and what they do have doesn't feel military grade at all."

"For them it isn't," Elil said from the helm station, his bright eyes flicking between various readouts as he guided your shuttle down towards the world below. With the internal sensor coverage of the system fully suborned, keeping him aboard the Adamant had been seen as less vital than ensuring that your own insertion went as smoothly as possible. The Adamant's standard stealth systems, in combination with the Accord of Harmonials aboard the vessel to keep its drive field hidden, would suffice against the civilian vessels in orbit.

"These, they're traffic control systems," he continued, dark face intent despite the slow, steady angle of the shuttle's descent. "No major functionality beyond keeping track of drive signatures, and we don't have one they can see. Wouldn't call this easy, but it's not hard. Of course, we go drilling holes in the planet, well," he trailed off, and you laughed good-naturedly.

"I know, I know," you said accommodatingly. He understood that it might end up being required, but for now you could joke. "Just a little bit more complicated."

"Just a touch," he agreed, his attention flicking back to the sensor readouts, and you turned your own back to the rest of your team. It was a small team, and you'd had the space and Masques for more. But given your uncertainty as to the truth of the place, you'd refused to take anyone who didn't have Unisonbound or close-to-it reaction time and manoeuvring capacity. And that had cut the pool down quite sharply.

Who have you brought with you? The core of your Landing Party is Amanda, Vega and Elil. You may select up to three (3) of the following candidates:

[] Iris – Your daughter, and the only non-Unisonbound on the list. As an AI, she is more capable in the infospace than any other member of your crew, and her avatar is fully capable of interfacing with a Masque. She can think even faster than you can, but her physical capabilities still lag behind a Unisonbound. But then, so long as she has lagless signal she's never in any real danger.
[] Kalilah Mishra – A risky choice, you believe, but she also wishes to see what the Shiplords have made of this place. Kalilah has and continues to change since the Third Battle of Sol, and her request to join you in this endeavour speaks volumes. If you are discovered, or this is a trap, there will be no greater ally in returning you all safely home.
[] Lea Halwood – A Mender like you, though through a different lens, Lea tends to act as a sounding board for you, and the younger woman is very good at it. Easily capable of keeping up, and would provide a backup medic in the event of combat.
[] Mir Hayes – Apart from you and Vega, the only Speaker on the mission. Mir also possesses a truly rare Focus of Peace, and believes that he may be able to turn this to your advantage in seeking undisturbed access to the Shiplord memorial site.

They were the team you'd chosen, however, and whatever awaited you it would be enough. That had stood you in good stead through countless trials, you needed only to trust it would here, once again. The moments of consideration passed quickly, but then, so too did your descent.

"Coming in on final approach now," Elil's voice intruded on the last of your contemplations. "Iris has gotten us a good spot, and will keep it clear of locals." His own Masque was up now, too, sealing him in beneath layers of angles so finely intermeshed that they almost looked smooth. Your own was more similar to Vega's, but with more solidity. Or perhaps it was more similar to Kagiso's, now that you considered it. The Masques were being run by your Unison Intelligences, and though their preferences were similar, that didn't mean the same.

:Ours, I think,: Sidra told you a moment later, and you smiled below the nanites that hid your face. :And a good thing, too. This will take all of us together, I think.:

:And even more if it is truly what they say it is,: you sent back, and a moment later you felt their presence bleeding away your concerns. :You shouldn't,: you began, only for them to interrupt.

:But I want to,: they said. :You need your mind clear, Amanda. It won't be, of course,: you felt the rueful chuckle, :but I can help you be better than you are right now. And I will, too.:

Their presence flooded through you, washing through the anxiety and concerns that had grown to a fever pitch during your descent. You'd kept them controlled, but you were just you, and with the burden shared you found your world expanded. Just in time for the soft hum of the ship's drive to fade, and a wave of it to try and come crashing in again. The first humans to visit a Shiplord planet, as far as you knew – but you'd keep the mark in the history books clear until you were back on the Adamant.

"Ready?" You asked, flowing up into a standing position, the Masque shifting to support you completely without revealing the presence of your subtly extended Aegis. It was another reason you'd refused to take non-Unisonbound or close enough, actually. An Aegis allowed you the Masque to far more effectively mimic the fluid movements that Insight had reported.

"I'm always ready to make history with you," Vega replied in the Shiplord language, the intonation one of acceptant joy. A third reason: the Unison Intelligences were far more efficient interface points for the Masque. Getting the language right would matter as much as looking right. Elil hit the hatch switch, and a vista that no non-Shiplord had seen in scores of millennia stretched out before you.

The world's surface was as smooth as your sensors had told you it would be, yet here that perfect marble had been marred by a small…settlement was the wrong word. Even as you thought it, it felt wrong, and you let yourself trust that. You weren't a match for Vega, but you had your own skill in connecting with what was felt, not seen. The arching spires, ancient by the standards of humanity, stood as if bearing an endless weight, and your first step into that well of utter and ancient sorrow almost staggered you.

Despite whatever the truth might be, the Shiplords who had come here for millennia believed that this had been a failing of their people. They believed it still, and in that moment you recognised that your pause wouldn't be noticed. Not with so many others around you, upon that field of dead silver, reacting exactly the same way. Feedback rippled down your arm as Vega gently grasped it with one of her manipulators. Looking at her was to see through the Masque, and the nod that confirmed your own feelings. And with that confirmed, your mission priorities had abruptly simplified.

:Find out how this was their failure,: you flicked out to the network between you. :Anything you can find, once we're inside. Observation is now secondary.:

:Understood,: there was a mess of emotion and subtle meaning below those responses, but they came without pause.

"This way, I believe," Elil said verbally, keeping to the language of the place as he motioned towards a gate built between the landing field and the mournful structures that awaited you. The flow in and out was unsecured, yet as you approached, one of a small group of more uniform figures moved out from the gate.

Curious, your nascent link to the web told you, though also dutiful, and moving to discharge the dictates of such. An…attendant? Was that even the right word?

"Greetings, travellers," they said as they reached a more personable speaking distance. "Be welcome beneath the spires." The phrase was pure ritual, but there was a depth to it that defied that classification. "My grant-name is Yhelir, and I would ask only one thing to you new travellers here." There was a feeling of…something between pity and pride in their voice, something in response to the reaction they'd seen in you.

"Of course," Vega gave a small dip of their presence, their own voice solemn, and not one shred of it an act.

"There are two paths to understand all that transpired here, all that we did," Yhelir explained. "Both are open to you, but only one may be experienced first, and none of the Hearthguard will speak of either without first knowing your choice. Would you remember first, or would you witness?"

There was a complexity to that question that defied your understanding. Something deep, almost primal, and the translation matrix couldn't make sense of it. The way it was said made clear, there was no right answer, but also no wrong one. Yet beneath that… Pings flashed between your internal network, but it was too opaque. Both answers were equally valid, both led to understanding, but the difference? Nothing any of you could find. To witness implied what the word meant, to see. But you could see memories, too. And there was no time, even at accelerated speeds, for you knew Shiplords could think at such speeds too. There was no advantage there, only what would be expected.

What, then, would you choose?
[] Witness
[] Remember

Please vote by plan, to allow for votes that involve taking fewer than six team members. Your options for the team vote are listed again below, you may select up to three of them:

[] Iris – Your daughter, and the only non-Unisonbound on the list. As an AI, she is more capable in the infospace than any other member of your crew, and her avatar is fully capable of interfacing with a Masque. She can think even faster than you can, but her physical capabilities still lag behind a Unisonbound. But then, so long as she has lagless signal she's never in any real danger.
[] Kalilah Mishra – A risky choice, you believe, but she also wishes to see what the Shiplords have made of this place. Kalilah has and continues to change since the Third Battle of Sol, and her request to join you in this endeavour speaks volumes. If you are discovered, or this is a trap, there will be no greater ally in returning you all safely home.
[] Lea Halwood – A Mender like you, though through a different lens, Lea tends to act as a sounding board for you, and the younger woman is very good at it. Easily capable of keeping up, and would provide a backup medic in the event of combat.
[] Mir Hayes – Apart from you and Vega, the only Speaker on the mission. Mir also possesses a truly rare Focus of Peace, and believes that he may be able to turn this to your advantage in seeking undisturbed access to the Shiplord memorial site.

I have provided a more in-depth Pros/Cons list below. Be aware when voting that this is as much a vote to balance emotions as it is a vote to provide a spread of abilities. In fact, it's probably more the former than the latter.