Do you want a list of faction/race or would you prefer to find that out more organically in the quest?
The Shadow of Old Transgressions (Homeworld/Mass Effect Crossover Quest)
- Thread starter Arcanestomper
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- homeworld mass effect
Do you want a list of faction/race or would you prefer to find that out more organically in the quest?
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
I can't speak for the rest of the voters, but I reckon something along the lines of whatever our Bentusi would know IC would be preferable - if we haven't been taught or looked into the state of the galaxy, that's obviously on us to find out, so it ultimately leaves the decision of how much we know in your hands. Just establishes what we know and what we don't. From a Doylist perspective, I'm personally okay with finding out either way.
That option would be the codexes. I've been writing them from the perspective of what Valerius has learned about the galaxy. Right now I have been writing and posting them before you interact with the applicable faction. So you'd be getting a Taiidan Republic one next.
Arjac
Retreating Backwards
Well, it certainly wouldn't lead to Valerius becoming Sajuuk-Khar as an answer to a galaxy-wide existential threat. I doubt a Bentusi so young could even fly such a ship
Well, it certainly wouldn't lead to Valerius becoming Sajuuk-Khar as an answer to a galaxy-wide existential threat. I doubt a Bentusi so young could even fly such a ship
Bear in mind Karen S'Jet was a bit more than a hundred when she got plugged into Sajuuk. Valerius is already two hundred. Just because the Bentusi don't toss their kids into mothership class vessels right off the bat doesn't mean it's impossible.
Arjac
Retreating Backwards
I was being ~90% facetious there, but good to know
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
Can Luno build the new Bulwark Class?
Our previous Ship Body was a Frigate, so the Multibeam Corvette we designed would be a Size/Class upgrade?
Our previous Ship Body was a Frigate, so the Multibeam Corvette we designed would be a Size/Class upgrade?
I think you mean Aurora. Yes, she can build a Bulwark. It would take her a while though. And she wouldn't be able to jump away as the construction would be happening mostly outside her hull.
The Multibeam Corvette is a downgrade. I put in there as an option. I don't really expect you to pick it. That said it could be built a lot faster than the frigates or destroyers if you need to make a replacement out in the field.
i know nothing about Homeworld so... 🤷♂️
Codex: Taiidan Republic
The Taiidan Republic
It is impossible to talk about the Taiidan Republic without first talking about the Taiidan empire. It was a short lived polity, but it was instrumental in shaping much of current galactic society.
During the Bentusi peace the systems that would eventually form the Taiidan empire were controlled by three separate polities. These were the Sur'Kesh Union, Thessian Council, and Tuchankan Tribes. And it was these three more than any other that fomented the end of Bentusi power and rise of the galactic council. The long lives of the Asari matriarchs and Krogan warlords allowed them to amass impressive power bases and with the addition of Salarian intelligence they were able to create a web of conspiracies that spanned the galaxy. With a single message they fomented wars in a hundred systems.
The actual period of chaos and war lasted for approximately two decades before the architects of the plan were able to draw their webs shut and install the galactic council with themselves at the head. Nominally every nation in the galaxy had an equal say, but in practice the three co conspirators coopted most of the council's decisions by unifying as the single largest and most powerful of all the surviving polities, the Taiidan Empire.
It was not long however before the Krogans began to chafe at their place in their order of things. They desired more. More power, more room, more resources, and they felt that if they could not acquire such things peacefully, then they could only take them by force.
Splitting off from the Taiidan empire they formed the Hiigaran empire, as Tuchanka was well and truly dead by this point, and quickly grew in power to rival their former compatriots. When they discovered the Second Core they leapt past them, and quickly used their fleets to bomb the homeworlds of all the Taiidan races in a show of force.
As a result the galactic council called in the Bentusi, and thus the stage was set for the rise of the Turians. The Palaven Hierarchy was a recently founded vassal state of the Taiidan Empire, but had rapidly made a name for themselves with their disproportionately large military. When the Hiigaran decapitation strike took out the Taiidan homeworlds it also took with it most of the traditional Asari and Salarian crewed fleets, who had never been as big as the Krogan ones anyway. And so when Bentusi dealt with the Hiigarans an up and coming Turian admiral took center stage.
Rallying the navy he swept through the Hiigaran imperial systems and took their second homeworld. He decimated their remaining defenses and then returned to the galactic council in triumph. With the Taiidan homeworlds mostly rubble little of the old leadership, including the empress, remained, and the survivors crowned the admiral as the new Emperor with a mix of awe and fear.
For the rest of his life he reigned with an iron fist. The Taiidan empire grew from a first among equals to holding almost all settled worlds in the galaxy, either directly or through vassals. Rebellions sprung up frequently, but they were brutally crushed just as quickly. Entire worlds were decimated to keep them in line.
When the emperor died he had intended for his mind to be preserved in a clone body, but the rebels saw their chance. Many of them had been alive for the entire last few centuries of turmoil, and they hadn't overthrown the Bentusi just to serve a mad emperor forever. In the unstable period after his death they revealed his many crimes. The rebellions slaughtered, the worlds burned, and worst of all the fact that he had inflicted on the Hiigarans not just exile but a terrible biological revenge.
The Taiidan Empire erupted in chaos. The emperor's cloning facilities were torn down as were most of the imperial centers of power. His cronies were killed, and a new Republic established at the will of the people. At first there was an uneasy tension between the Asari, Salarian, and Turian populations given all that had happened. But over time a balance formed and settled into a peaceful coexistence that has lasted for nearly two thousand years.
The Taiidan Republic in the modern day covers nearly ten percent of the galaxy, and the galactic council exists as a de facto extension of it. The leaders of the Republic are not afraid to throw their political weight around and most other nations bow to their whims, but they do not launch wars of conquest anymore, and over the last few centuries some of their vassals have begun agitating for independence or at least a larger role in how things are run.
Appendix: Divisions of Power
The Bentusi stay out of the affairs of the galactic council for the most part, and the younger generations are not privy to what the elders might known about the inner workings of things, but the general consensus is that the Asari are the ones running things in the Republic. Of all the surviving races in the galaxy they are the closest to the Bentusi in lifespan and it gives them a very long time to get things done.
The Turians meanwhile seem content to run the military. Very likely the threat of a coup and second emperor is what keeps the Asari from just openly taking control. Many a young Bentusi has made friends with a Turian or two on pilgrimage as the militaristic species are ever present in the Republic's navy and there are usually at least a few that aren't as stuck up on military discipline.
The Salarians remain an ever present tragedy for the Bentusi. They are so brilliant, but so short lived. If the other races lead flicker lives, then Salarians are gone in a blink. There is always a movement among the Bentusi to offer them the technology to become Unbound. And in fact the Bentusi have made that offer multiple times. But there appears to be some cultural bias that prevents them from ever accepting. In any case they seem happy with their position as the scientists and spies of the Republic.
It is impossible to talk about the Taiidan Republic without first talking about the Taiidan empire. It was a short lived polity, but it was instrumental in shaping much of current galactic society.
During the Bentusi peace the systems that would eventually form the Taiidan empire were controlled by three separate polities. These were the Sur'Kesh Union, Thessian Council, and Tuchankan Tribes. And it was these three more than any other that fomented the end of Bentusi power and rise of the galactic council. The long lives of the Asari matriarchs and Krogan warlords allowed them to amass impressive power bases and with the addition of Salarian intelligence they were able to create a web of conspiracies that spanned the galaxy. With a single message they fomented wars in a hundred systems.
The actual period of chaos and war lasted for approximately two decades before the architects of the plan were able to draw their webs shut and install the galactic council with themselves at the head. Nominally every nation in the galaxy had an equal say, but in practice the three co conspirators coopted most of the council's decisions by unifying as the single largest and most powerful of all the surviving polities, the Taiidan Empire.
It was not long however before the Krogans began to chafe at their place in their order of things. They desired more. More power, more room, more resources, and they felt that if they could not acquire such things peacefully, then they could only take them by force.
Splitting off from the Taiidan empire they formed the Hiigaran empire, as Tuchanka was well and truly dead by this point, and quickly grew in power to rival their former compatriots. When they discovered the Second Core they leapt past them, and quickly used their fleets to bomb the homeworlds of all the Taiidan races in a show of force.
As a result the galactic council called in the Bentusi, and thus the stage was set for the rise of the Turians. The Palaven Hierarchy was a recently founded vassal state of the Taiidan Empire, but had rapidly made a name for themselves with their disproportionately large military. When the Hiigaran decapitation strike took out the Taiidan homeworlds it also took with it most of the traditional Asari and Salarian crewed fleets, who had never been as big as the Krogan ones anyway. And so when Bentusi dealt with the Hiigarans an up and coming Turian admiral took center stage.
Rallying the navy he swept through the Hiigaran imperial systems and took their second homeworld. He decimated their remaining defenses and then returned to the galactic council in triumph. With the Taiidan homeworlds mostly rubble little of the old leadership, including the empress, remained, and the survivors crowned the admiral as the new Emperor with a mix of awe and fear.
For the rest of his life he reigned with an iron fist. The Taiidan empire grew from a first among equals to holding almost all settled worlds in the galaxy, either directly or through vassals. Rebellions sprung up frequently, but they were brutally crushed just as quickly. Entire worlds were decimated to keep them in line.
When the emperor died he had intended for his mind to be preserved in a clone body, but the rebels saw their chance. Many of them had been alive for the entire last few centuries of turmoil, and they hadn't overthrown the Bentusi just to serve a mad emperor forever. In the unstable period after his death they revealed his many crimes. The rebellions slaughtered, the worlds burned, and worst of all the fact that he had inflicted on the Hiigarans not just exile but a terrible biological revenge.
The Taiidan Empire erupted in chaos. The emperor's cloning facilities were torn down as were most of the imperial centers of power. His cronies were killed, and a new Republic established at the will of the people. At first there was an uneasy tension between the Asari, Salarian, and Turian populations given all that had happened. But over time a balance formed and settled into a peaceful coexistence that has lasted for nearly two thousand years.
The Taiidan Republic in the modern day covers nearly ten percent of the galaxy, and the galactic council exists as a de facto extension of it. The leaders of the Republic are not afraid to throw their political weight around and most other nations bow to their whims, but they do not launch wars of conquest anymore, and over the last few centuries some of their vassals have begun agitating for independence or at least a larger role in how things are run.
Appendix: Divisions of Power
The Bentusi stay out of the affairs of the galactic council for the most part, and the younger generations are not privy to what the elders might known about the inner workings of things, but the general consensus is that the Asari are the ones running things in the Republic. Of all the surviving races in the galaxy they are the closest to the Bentusi in lifespan and it gives them a very long time to get things done.
The Turians meanwhile seem content to run the military. Very likely the threat of a coup and second emperor is what keeps the Asari from just openly taking control. Many a young Bentusi has made friends with a Turian or two on pilgrimage as the militaristic species are ever present in the Republic's navy and there are usually at least a few that aren't as stuck up on military discipline.
The Salarians remain an ever present tragedy for the Bentusi. They are so brilliant, but so short lived. If the other races lead flicker lives, then Salarians are gone in a blink. There is always a movement among the Bentusi to offer them the technology to become Unbound. And in fact the Bentusi have made that offer multiple times. But there appears to be some cultural bias that prevents them from ever accepting. In any case they seem happy with their position as the scientists and spies of the Republic.
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2.1 Arriving at the Core
Core Space
Arak System
The Grand Conclave
As you exit the quantum gates from your final hyperspace jump you ponder your journey into the heart of galactic civilization. Your little flotilla started out jumping between empty systems, but as you traveled further into the developed regions you started encountering first outposts, then colonies, then entire trade hubs.
It was a stark difference to the ancient routes you normally traveled, and a reminder that for all the Bentusi culture and knowledge the other residents of the galactic were not to be looked down on. Honestly you wondered if maybe the Bentusi should make contact more often. Yes, the pilgrimages were supposed to instill that respect for others, but what was a few decades of mingling compared to centuries of isolation?
Well that wasn't your decision to make, and you hadn't spent the entire trip on pure philosophy. After you convinced Iuno to switch over to an Ambassador, and chose a Bulwark yourself you were left with a bit of a conundrum. Mainly that three out of five of your little group were now effectively unarmed. Technically Laverna was as well.
Honestly it left you with a major feeling of uneasiness. Yes, you had made what you thought were the best choices, and you stood by them, but your tactical simulations were telling you that there were some quite obvious flaws in your approach. Mainly that dealing with mid sized capital ships was going to be a problem. Ulysses could of course destroy any frigates or cruisers that threatened you, but his massive cannon came with a cost in firing time. You could very well be overwhelmed by wolf packs.
You were safe enough here, in the heart of Republic space, but that was exactly the tactics that the Ebony Pirates had used on you twice already. You felt you should plan some kind of contingency, and as a result had been working on just that with the others while you traveled to the Galactic Council.
1. What did you come up with?
[] Cherub Fusion Bombers:
A simple variant of the acolyte drone with slightly heavier armor and the ion cannon replaced with a fusion torpedo. It's effective against all capital ship grade armor, which means you can deal with anything from a frigate to a dreadnought simply by sending more bombers. Although the bombers will need to return to Laverna or Aurora to reload. It's a bit unoptimized compared to the Acolytes unfortunately. There's simply no way the five of you can match the millennia of refinement that has gone into the Acolyte design. Fortunately fusion torpedoes are cheap so it actually ends up less costly to build than an acolyte, but you can tell it's more expensive than it really should be given its theoretical performance. Also it will have worse piloting than an acolyte even taking into account its lesser manueverability with the extra armor.
[]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes:
You already designed this ship for yourself, but now with Laverna and Aurora's help you have adapted it to be piloted by a drone core rather than an Unbound. This has the same optimization problems as the Fusion Bombers, but since you had the design on hand you were able to spend a bit more time on the drone AI. So it's not quite as bad, and in addition the larger body meant you could add more armor to make up for inferior piloting. Unfortunately they would be significantly more expensive than either the acolytes or cherubs.
[]Gravity Pulse Emitters
Using data from the Megalith you have been able to develop a singularity weapon that can be deployed on the battlefield to trap and disrupt enemy vessels. It scales more or less with their engine power. Fighters and corvettes will be crippled. Frigates and Destroyers will be massively slowed. Cruisers and up will simply be somewhat slower. It's a great weapon. All previous gravity emitter designs have been much larger and only suitable for entire specialized ships, but you haven't actually been able to test it. It requires certain exotic materials you only have theoretical knowledge of. In fact the first time you actually saw them used was in the Megalith, and you didn't exactly stop to mine it. So you'd have to find a supply before you could build any.
[]Missile Pods:
Most weapons require power from the carrying ship, but missiles are self contained. You could outfit missile launchers to your entire flotilla. The downside is that only Aurora and Laverna could supply themselves. The rest of you would need to return to Aurora to reload. That might be possible to mitigate with resupply drones, but you'd need to put more work into designing those first. Also frankly missiles are fairly lackluster compared to ion cannons. You could also use fusion torpedoes or mines, but they have their own limitations and the same supply issues as the missiles.
[] Hire alien mercenaries:
You aren't very familiar with alien customs, but you do know that there are mercenary groups with all manner of ships roaming the galaxy. It shouldn't be too hard to find one that can meet your needs, especially here at the Grand Conclave. They would be more skilled than any drone. But you've never done anything like this before so the rest of the details on how exactly you would hire them and what they could do are unclear.
[]Write In:
Surprise me.
Bentusi Note: You are really only worried about the Ebony Pirates as their armor is extremely durable. Against normal Turanic Raiders or even most galactic militaries your acolyte drones should be more than capable of handling packs of frigates.
Quest Note: This is only the first part of this update. I have a bit of writer's block with the next bit along with a slightly busier schedule so I'm still working on it. I figured this was more or less self contained though. So at least I can get it posted first. I will post the next part tomorrow hopefully and voting will include both of them.
Arak System
The Grand Conclave
As you exit the quantum gates from your final hyperspace jump you ponder your journey into the heart of galactic civilization. Your little flotilla started out jumping between empty systems, but as you traveled further into the developed regions you started encountering first outposts, then colonies, then entire trade hubs.
It was a stark difference to the ancient routes you normally traveled, and a reminder that for all the Bentusi culture and knowledge the other residents of the galactic were not to be looked down on. Honestly you wondered if maybe the Bentusi should make contact more often. Yes, the pilgrimages were supposed to instill that respect for others, but what was a few decades of mingling compared to centuries of isolation?
Well that wasn't your decision to make, and you hadn't spent the entire trip on pure philosophy. After you convinced Iuno to switch over to an Ambassador, and chose a Bulwark yourself you were left with a bit of a conundrum. Mainly that three out of five of your little group were now effectively unarmed. Technically Laverna was as well.
Honestly it left you with a major feeling of uneasiness. Yes, you had made what you thought were the best choices, and you stood by them, but your tactical simulations were telling you that there were some quite obvious flaws in your approach. Mainly that dealing with mid sized capital ships was going to be a problem. Ulysses could of course destroy any frigates or cruisers that threatened you, but his massive cannon came with a cost in firing time. You could very well be overwhelmed by wolf packs.
You were safe enough here, in the heart of Republic space, but that was exactly the tactics that the Ebony Pirates had used on you twice already. You felt you should plan some kind of contingency, and as a result had been working on just that with the others while you traveled to the Galactic Council.
1. What did you come up with?
[] Cherub Fusion Bombers:
A simple variant of the acolyte drone with slightly heavier armor and the ion cannon replaced with a fusion torpedo. It's effective against all capital ship grade armor, which means you can deal with anything from a frigate to a dreadnought simply by sending more bombers. Although the bombers will need to return to Laverna or Aurora to reload. It's a bit unoptimized compared to the Acolytes unfortunately. There's simply no way the five of you can match the millennia of refinement that has gone into the Acolyte design. Fortunately fusion torpedoes are cheap so it actually ends up less costly to build than an acolyte, but you can tell it's more expensive than it really should be given its theoretical performance. Also it will have worse piloting than an acolyte even taking into account its lesser manueverability with the extra armor.
[]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes:
You already designed this ship for yourself, but now with Laverna and Aurora's help you have adapted it to be piloted by a drone core rather than an Unbound. This has the same optimization problems as the Fusion Bombers, but since you had the design on hand you were able to spend a bit more time on the drone AI. So it's not quite as bad, and in addition the larger body meant you could add more armor to make up for inferior piloting. Unfortunately they would be significantly more expensive than either the acolytes or cherubs.
[]Gravity Pulse Emitters
Using data from the Megalith you have been able to develop a singularity weapon that can be deployed on the battlefield to trap and disrupt enemy vessels. It scales more or less with their engine power. Fighters and corvettes will be crippled. Frigates and Destroyers will be massively slowed. Cruisers and up will simply be somewhat slower. It's a great weapon. All previous gravity emitter designs have been much larger and only suitable for entire specialized ships, but you haven't actually been able to test it. It requires certain exotic materials you only have theoretical knowledge of. In fact the first time you actually saw them used was in the Megalith, and you didn't exactly stop to mine it. So you'd have to find a supply before you could build any.
[]Missile Pods:
Most weapons require power from the carrying ship, but missiles are self contained. You could outfit missile launchers to your entire flotilla. The downside is that only Aurora and Laverna could supply themselves. The rest of you would need to return to Aurora to reload. That might be possible to mitigate with resupply drones, but you'd need to put more work into designing those first. Also frankly missiles are fairly lackluster compared to ion cannons. You could also use fusion torpedoes or mines, but they have their own limitations and the same supply issues as the missiles.
[] Hire alien mercenaries:
You aren't very familiar with alien customs, but you do know that there are mercenary groups with all manner of ships roaming the galaxy. It shouldn't be too hard to find one that can meet your needs, especially here at the Grand Conclave. They would be more skilled than any drone. But you've never done anything like this before so the rest of the details on how exactly you would hire them and what they could do are unclear.
[]Write In:
Surprise me.
Bentusi Note: You are really only worried about the Ebony Pirates as their armor is extremely durable. Against normal Turanic Raiders or even most galactic militaries your acolyte drones should be more than capable of handling packs of frigates.
Quest Note: This is only the first part of this update. I have a bit of writer's block with the next bit along with a slightly busier schedule so I'm still working on it. I figured this was more or less self contained though. So at least I can get it posted first. I will post the next part tomorrow hopefully and voting will include both of them.
Solarshade
Friendly Local Dyson Swarm
[x] Cherub Fusion Bombers:
- Location
- U.S.
[X] Cherub Fusion Bombers
Geas
Meat Thing
Hmmm...
On one hand, Aurora and Laverna would be able to crank out Cherub Fusion Bombers almost as well as Acolytes, and bombers are the natural enemy of capital ships. Yeah, they're less maneuverable, but they're not supposed to be dogfighting with other strike craft anyways. They're supposed to go, "My oh my, that's such a nice cruiser over there. It'd be a terrible shame if something happened to it. I'm gonna go say hello with fifteen friends of mine!" which is soon followed by screaming and explosions and catastrophic hull breeches. The extra armor will be good in the case of fighting anything that happens to have even halfway decent point-defense systems. We'd still probably lose a bunch of them though which is why bombers should always have escorts to defend them from hostile strike craft, which means less Acolytes harassing the enemy in the next engagement.
On the other hand, the Dervish could be a very useful multirole corvette. Its armament is based on the artillery-class ion cannons of our old chassis so it should probably have similar damage per ion cannon (though I'm honestly expecting somewhat less punch), but presumably it'll have 4-6 ion cannon placements. Assuming the drone AI is decent, it could be a vicious nightmare against everything from strike craft (if its targeting systems are precise/fast enough) to frigates. However, despite being named a Dervish, it's a little too soon to say if it's as nimble as the infamous Somtaaw multi-beam frigate of the same name... which in turns leads me to remember that that ship usually wasn't able to bring most of its ion cannons to bear on a single target simply because the damn thing never stopped moving long enough to line up a proper shot. Of course, that can also be a plus here - if this corvette is similar, swatting the thing will be a massive pain in the ass given that it has a corvette's size, speed and maneuverability.
Gonna have to think about this for a while before I vote, but I am currently leaning towards the more expensive Dervish. Yeah, we won't be able to build then en masse as we would the Cherub bomber, but it also wouldn't have to rely on Laverna and Aurora for reloads.
On one hand, Aurora and Laverna would be able to crank out Cherub Fusion Bombers almost as well as Acolytes, and bombers are the natural enemy of capital ships. Yeah, they're less maneuverable, but they're not supposed to be dogfighting with other strike craft anyways. They're supposed to go, "My oh my, that's such a nice cruiser over there. It'd be a terrible shame if something happened to it. I'm gonna go say hello with fifteen friends of mine!" which is soon followed by screaming and explosions and catastrophic hull breeches. The extra armor will be good in the case of fighting anything that happens to have even halfway decent point-defense systems. We'd still probably lose a bunch of them though which is why bombers should always have escorts to defend them from hostile strike craft, which means less Acolytes harassing the enemy in the next engagement.
On the other hand, the Dervish could be a very useful multirole corvette. Its armament is based on the artillery-class ion cannons of our old chassis so it should probably have similar damage per ion cannon (though I'm honestly expecting somewhat less punch), but presumably it'll have 4-6 ion cannon placements. Assuming the drone AI is decent, it could be a vicious nightmare against everything from strike craft (if its targeting systems are precise/fast enough) to frigates. However, despite being named a Dervish, it's a little too soon to say if it's as nimble as the infamous Somtaaw multi-beam frigate of the same name... which in turns leads me to remember that that ship usually wasn't able to bring most of its ion cannons to bear on a single target simply because the damn thing never stopped moving long enough to line up a proper shot. Of course, that can also be a plus here - if this corvette is similar, swatting the thing will be a massive pain in the ass given that it has a corvette's size, speed and maneuverability.
Gonna have to think about this for a while before I vote, but I am currently leaning towards the more expensive Dervish. Yeah, we won't be able to build then en masse as we would the Cherub bomber, but it also wouldn't have to rely on Laverna and Aurora for reloads.
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- Pronouns
- He
[X]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes
[X]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Dervish Multibeam Corvettes
2.2 The Committe on Securing Intergalactic Trade
Core Space
Arak System
The Grand Conclave
With an effort you pull yourself out of your own thoughts. You had already gone over this repeatedly after all, and your surroundings really were quite fascinating. The Arak system was the home of the Grand Conclave where the Galactic Council met and conducted its business. Thus it was both neutral and well protected. That and the fact that it was fairly central in the galaxy made it the perfect location for a trade hub, and over the thousands of years of its existence it had well and truly lived up to that ideal.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of ships flew back and forth in defined lanes between bustling trade ports. You felt the constant hum of hyperspace as freighters jumped in and out with their quantum gates resonating in your ears. You could spot hundreds of different warships from a dozen races as multiple patrols of frigates and cruisers floated through the system. You even spotted a massive battleship, a rare sight in this era of relative peace.
But the most impressive thing in the system was the Grand Conclave. It was a massive station dozens of kilometers tall and floating like a majestic cathedral in the void. Once it had been a progenitor ruin. A relatively intact piece of one of their megastructures that Bentus had found and partially restored as a meeting place for the galactic polities to relate their woes to the Bentusi. When those same races had overthrown the Bentusi they had retained the station for their new council.
And you had to admit that for all the historical treachery still stung the Conclave had a certain vitality to it that was lacking in the old archive footage. Graceful liners continuously dock and depart carrying the elites of the galactic government. Stern warships overlook a defensive array that could probably vaporize you in a heartbeat. Even from here you could feel the cast off radiation from millions of regular citizens just going about their lives on the station.
This isn't actually your first time here. You visited once when you were on pilgrimage. But on that occasion you had merely docked at the lower spire and only briefly perused the Conclave's internal network as just another of the millions of tourists that visited daily. Now you were an official envoy and treated to the majesty of the Conclave's upper spire, where the diplomats lived. You even had a small honor guard of the Conclave's Custodians arranged along your path as you approached the docking hangar .
It did feel nice to be treated as someone important. And your little flotilla had not stinted in your own preparations for making a good first impression either. There was the Bentusi reputation to uphold after all. Aurora had performed a thorough repair and refurbishment cycle in the system before you jumped here, and all your hulls gleamed with a golden shine. Now she cruised sedately in the middle of your formation. Her long stately hull dwarfing the Custodian warships in the honor guard. In front of her you and Ulysses presented a stern duo of defense. With both of you wearing gatekeeper hulls it was nicely symmetrical and intimidating. Iuno and Laverna trailed behind and unfortunately lacked that symmetry, but still you thought they were quite impressive in their own right. With Laverna's Acolytes arrayed in formation, and Iuno's graceful elegance.
With aplomb the five of you sailed into your assigned hangar and linked up with your docking cradles. Normally diplomats and government officials would disembark at this point, but obviously you didn't have any. Instead Iuno deployed an Envoy. The ovoid robot hovered down her boarding tube and into the station proper. For ease of interaction Iuno had it project a figure of golden light above it, the standard Bentusi form when having in person conversations with the Bound. Iuno was the one actually puppetting the envoy. She was clearly the best person for talking with outsiders, but all five of you had networked into the robot to provide advice and see what was going on.
After a brief wait a duo of cloaked Custodian escort the envoy to a waiting room. It's a nice waiting room as far as you can tell. Finely carved furniture, a table of refreshments, and even a little water feature in the corner all set off by a floor to ceiling window looking out over the Conclave's hull. Totally meaningless for the Bentusi of course, but you suppose they are following standard protocols for greeting diplomats.
And then you wait. For hours. Honestly if you were actually in that room and not browsing the Conclave's internal data network it would be fairly boring. You wonder if this is some kind of political thing or just normal protocols. You aren't versed enough in galactic politics to tell. And Iuno's busily reading all the latest political gossip so you can't ask her.
After an interminable waiting period your attention is called once again to the Envoy as it registers a Turian clerk entering the room and asking it to follow. Wandering through a maze of hallways your Envoy is at last introduced to the Committee on Securing Intergalactic Trade. From your readings you know they are the Galactic Council's answer to pirates. The Council has no military forces of its own, but the committee can pass down warnings to merchants to avoid certain areas and request member nations, usually the Taiidan Republic to conduct anti pirate operations.
They are currently meeting in a large conference room. A podium is set up in the center of the room with a semicircular table in front of it. Nine ministers look down on the podium like angry gods gazing upon a mortal. Or really more like bored gods. Four Asari, three Turians, and two Salarians make up the committee, and Iuno is tagging all of them as having expressions of boredom or annoyance. It's a good thing she ended up in the Ambassador. You'd have no idea how to read faces otherwise.
As agreed previously Iuno does the presentation. She shows the footage of the fight, and your estimates on their capabilities. During your journey here you received word that the pirates had been spotted in two more systems so you've added that to the map as well. The ministers ask a few desultory questions, but you get the feeling that most of them don't really want to be here. There are only three exceptions.
High Minister Telassa heads the committee. She's asked a lot of questions, but you get the feeling she's actually more interested in you as Bentusi than she cares about the pirates. Then there is Minister Scrimius, he asks some rather pointed questions about the two battles you were in. It's pretty obvious he doesn't care about the pirates as such, but he does care about ships that can give the Bentusi a run for their money. Finally there is Minister Fiheo. He asks questions about everything, and especially the Megalith. So many questions that the High Minister Telassa has to call the committee back to order. You're pretty sure one of the Turians actually fell asleep before his neighbors elbowed him.
Finally High Minister Telassa speaks, "Thank you for your warning about this threat. We appreciate your efforts in this manner, and will consider all due measures that can be taken to combat it." It doesn't take Iuno's diplomatic databank to tell you're being given a polite dismissal.
The five of you have a lightning quick conference to decide how you want to respond. Sometimes being Unbound has major benefits when dealing with more constrained races. Ulysses wants to try and fire them up to hunt the pirates. "The more ships that are out there hunting these rats down the better. We need to force them to see what's going on." Iuno favors a more diplomatic approach to make sure they take the threat seriously. "They probably just don't think we brought enough information. We should ask them to send out to some scouts to gather information for themselves." Laverna and Aurora don't really care. They aren't invested in any outcome here, in fact they're barely paying attention as some engineering problem they found in the Conclave's logs has caught their eyes.
How do you want to answer the committee?
[] Try to persuade them:
It might not be major races who use these outer rim trade routes, but there are people out there all the same. They deserve protection and consideration, and you need to try your best to convince the committee of that.
[]Try to scare them:
The Ebony Pirates are a danger to everyone. They fought with you on an even level. Which means they'll tear right through the galactics. They're out in the rim now, but that just means they can grow unchecked until they have a horde that will wash through galactic council space.
[]Let them be:
You gave them a warning. The Bentusi can take care of themselves and so can the galactics. If they don't want to take you seriously it's not your problem. Just leave gracefully and let the committee do its job however it wants to.
Quest Note: Remember that voting is still open for the anti frigate option as well. Though Dervishes seem to be well in the lead.
Arak System
The Grand Conclave
With an effort you pull yourself out of your own thoughts. You had already gone over this repeatedly after all, and your surroundings really were quite fascinating. The Arak system was the home of the Grand Conclave where the Galactic Council met and conducted its business. Thus it was both neutral and well protected. That and the fact that it was fairly central in the galaxy made it the perfect location for a trade hub, and over the thousands of years of its existence it had well and truly lived up to that ideal.
Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of ships flew back and forth in defined lanes between bustling trade ports. You felt the constant hum of hyperspace as freighters jumped in and out with their quantum gates resonating in your ears. You could spot hundreds of different warships from a dozen races as multiple patrols of frigates and cruisers floated through the system. You even spotted a massive battleship, a rare sight in this era of relative peace.
But the most impressive thing in the system was the Grand Conclave. It was a massive station dozens of kilometers tall and floating like a majestic cathedral in the void. Once it had been a progenitor ruin. A relatively intact piece of one of their megastructures that Bentus had found and partially restored as a meeting place for the galactic polities to relate their woes to the Bentusi. When those same races had overthrown the Bentusi they had retained the station for their new council.
And you had to admit that for all the historical treachery still stung the Conclave had a certain vitality to it that was lacking in the old archive footage. Graceful liners continuously dock and depart carrying the elites of the galactic government. Stern warships overlook a defensive array that could probably vaporize you in a heartbeat. Even from here you could feel the cast off radiation from millions of regular citizens just going about their lives on the station.
This isn't actually your first time here. You visited once when you were on pilgrimage. But on that occasion you had merely docked at the lower spire and only briefly perused the Conclave's internal network as just another of the millions of tourists that visited daily. Now you were an official envoy and treated to the majesty of the Conclave's upper spire, where the diplomats lived. You even had a small honor guard of the Conclave's Custodians arranged along your path as you approached the docking hangar .
It did feel nice to be treated as someone important. And your little flotilla had not stinted in your own preparations for making a good first impression either. There was the Bentusi reputation to uphold after all. Aurora had performed a thorough repair and refurbishment cycle in the system before you jumped here, and all your hulls gleamed with a golden shine. Now she cruised sedately in the middle of your formation. Her long stately hull dwarfing the Custodian warships in the honor guard. In front of her you and Ulysses presented a stern duo of defense. With both of you wearing gatekeeper hulls it was nicely symmetrical and intimidating. Iuno and Laverna trailed behind and unfortunately lacked that symmetry, but still you thought they were quite impressive in their own right. With Laverna's Acolytes arrayed in formation, and Iuno's graceful elegance.
With aplomb the five of you sailed into your assigned hangar and linked up with your docking cradles. Normally diplomats and government officials would disembark at this point, but obviously you didn't have any. Instead Iuno deployed an Envoy. The ovoid robot hovered down her boarding tube and into the station proper. For ease of interaction Iuno had it project a figure of golden light above it, the standard Bentusi form when having in person conversations with the Bound. Iuno was the one actually puppetting the envoy. She was clearly the best person for talking with outsiders, but all five of you had networked into the robot to provide advice and see what was going on.
After a brief wait a duo of cloaked Custodian escort the envoy to a waiting room. It's a nice waiting room as far as you can tell. Finely carved furniture, a table of refreshments, and even a little water feature in the corner all set off by a floor to ceiling window looking out over the Conclave's hull. Totally meaningless for the Bentusi of course, but you suppose they are following standard protocols for greeting diplomats.
And then you wait. For hours. Honestly if you were actually in that room and not browsing the Conclave's internal data network it would be fairly boring. You wonder if this is some kind of political thing or just normal protocols. You aren't versed enough in galactic politics to tell. And Iuno's busily reading all the latest political gossip so you can't ask her.
After an interminable waiting period your attention is called once again to the Envoy as it registers a Turian clerk entering the room and asking it to follow. Wandering through a maze of hallways your Envoy is at last introduced to the Committee on Securing Intergalactic Trade. From your readings you know they are the Galactic Council's answer to pirates. The Council has no military forces of its own, but the committee can pass down warnings to merchants to avoid certain areas and request member nations, usually the Taiidan Republic to conduct anti pirate operations.
They are currently meeting in a large conference room. A podium is set up in the center of the room with a semicircular table in front of it. Nine ministers look down on the podium like angry gods gazing upon a mortal. Or really more like bored gods. Four Asari, three Turians, and two Salarians make up the committee, and Iuno is tagging all of them as having expressions of boredom or annoyance. It's a good thing she ended up in the Ambassador. You'd have no idea how to read faces otherwise.
As agreed previously Iuno does the presentation. She shows the footage of the fight, and your estimates on their capabilities. During your journey here you received word that the pirates had been spotted in two more systems so you've added that to the map as well. The ministers ask a few desultory questions, but you get the feeling that most of them don't really want to be here. There are only three exceptions.
High Minister Telassa heads the committee. She's asked a lot of questions, but you get the feeling she's actually more interested in you as Bentusi than she cares about the pirates. Then there is Minister Scrimius, he asks some rather pointed questions about the two battles you were in. It's pretty obvious he doesn't care about the pirates as such, but he does care about ships that can give the Bentusi a run for their money. Finally there is Minister Fiheo. He asks questions about everything, and especially the Megalith. So many questions that the High Minister Telassa has to call the committee back to order. You're pretty sure one of the Turians actually fell asleep before his neighbors elbowed him.
Finally High Minister Telassa speaks, "Thank you for your warning about this threat. We appreciate your efforts in this manner, and will consider all due measures that can be taken to combat it." It doesn't take Iuno's diplomatic databank to tell you're being given a polite dismissal.
The five of you have a lightning quick conference to decide how you want to respond. Sometimes being Unbound has major benefits when dealing with more constrained races. Ulysses wants to try and fire them up to hunt the pirates. "The more ships that are out there hunting these rats down the better. We need to force them to see what's going on." Iuno favors a more diplomatic approach to make sure they take the threat seriously. "They probably just don't think we brought enough information. We should ask them to send out to some scouts to gather information for themselves." Laverna and Aurora don't really care. They aren't invested in any outcome here, in fact they're barely paying attention as some engineering problem they found in the Conclave's logs has caught their eyes.
How do you want to answer the committee?
[] Try to persuade them:
It might not be major races who use these outer rim trade routes, but there are people out there all the same. They deserve protection and consideration, and you need to try your best to convince the committee of that.
[]Try to scare them:
The Ebony Pirates are a danger to everyone. They fought with you on an even level. Which means they'll tear right through the galactics. They're out in the rim now, but that just means they can grow unchecked until they have a horde that will wash through galactic council space.
[]Let them be:
You gave them a warning. The Bentusi can take care of themselves and so can the galactics. If they don't want to take you seriously it's not your problem. Just leave gracefully and let the committee do its job however it wants to.
Quest Note: Remember that voting is still open for the anti frigate option as well. Though Dervishes seem to be well in the lead.
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