Space Oddity (A Honkai: Star Rail Quest)

I think we've done enough. With a wonderful argument, Soothing The Savage Devil by @The Lowtide wins.

Alright, one last thing before I dip to start actually writing.

Extra: Songs Each Possible Player Character Would Like

Read the threadmark. This one will cover all three plans that were recommended in the first vote: All loving, Read Ahead, and Knight Who Lost Her Princess.

Read Ahead (Punklorde)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MZo9otAWAw Specialz-King Gnu
Reason: They seemed like the type of loser to like anime (affectionate) and the song represents how chaotic their life is, with the Nihility and Future SIght. Either this one, or Internet Yamero.

All Loving (Pterugis)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXFzqznNhA Can't Move Me: 2-Mello
Reason:Talks about chilling with your buddies, high energy and without hate, and features trumpets. If you need a theme song for our character, just search this one up.

Knight (Glamoth)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvXqmW-YmOU&list=RDxgH4Ez4ZhLw Fire-Queen Bee
Reason:Fire theming, which in canon Sam has, and multiple lines alluding to "Love" and "running out of time", both are themes that this character would have explored.

…Happy Late April Fools, I guess? The spirit is ironic but the song choices aren't.

All around the galaxy, we are hurtling towards Destruction. The Aeon who represents that Path draws closer and closer, planting the seeds of stars in the wake of innocent planets.

All around, all the galaxy's starting to fall down. The Factions of this world are fighting it out in the name of Aeons that couldn't. Care. Less.

And just at the start of the rehearsal, lies you.

My dearest Emanator.

The Hateless.

Just how will you play this one out, this cosmic game of chess where if the Destruction wins, we all lose, but the players are yet too stubborn to cooperate?

Let's see just how far your songs of love can take you.

Herta Space Station
Above The Blue
9:00 AM System Time.
Your eyes shoot open, an involuntary shudder running though your body. A gasp escapes you, but you-

[Technical Roll:
??? -20%]
[Fail.]

Just miss your opportunity to right yourself.

Your arms grasp for a rail that isn't there, and you nearly fall into the elevator walls, ruining your (very nice in your opinion) hair and face.

Thankfully, an arm reaches out and just barely grabs the collar of your outfit. It's Herta, the famous owner of the space station you're on.


On that note, why are you in this space station elevator with her again…?
Oh right! You accepted an offer to come here, budding socialite that you are.

Galaxy Close To The Blue
Two Days Ago
Being an Emanator of Harmony, you go around to more planets than most. Spreading hope and joy is part of your own destiny, and THEIR mission. (THEY, of course, being Xipe, the Aeon who you personally believe brings hope and joy to all.)

(…Not that you're unbiased, considering most of your power comes from THEM.)

You turn on the radio for entertainment, considering your personal spaceship's already on cruise. A couple channels, you easily flick through. IPC corpo ads, no…Penacony Charmony Festival in a year, not relevant for a while…there!

"Madame Herta is asking if there are any Emanators in the closest galaxy or two to The Blue who are willing to come to the Herta Space Station for experiments and academic discussion. Those who answer will be compensated in getting to know a member of the illustrious, vaunted Genius Society."

"…oh, and in credits of course."

"Herta?" You muse aloud, to no one in particular. "I guess she's awfully interesting, and even though the credits won't run dry for another month or so, it wouldn't hurt to get to know a Genius."

"And a fellow Emanator." A slightly more pragmatic part of your brain whispers.

In silence, you punch in the coordinates, the spaceship turning towards The Blue.

Present Day
Herta looks at you. Or to be more accurate, a puppet body controlled by her turns to look at you.

"Tch, are you falling asleep on the job, Ms. Trumpeter? I didn't ask for Emanators that can barely hold a conversation, you know."

You snap back at her, more in playfulness than in annoyance. "Well, you didn't specify what type of Emanator you needed, Ms. Genius. And besides, it's not like anyone else in the area would have answered."

Herta looks away, and in that moment, you look out of the elevator, seeing the station below. It's elegant, white and black platforms making way for holographic bridges and the people that walk them. The hundreds of scientists up above in the Master Control Zone and the hundreds more down below all work at a quick pace, science moving forward second by second.

Herta looks back at you, having taken out a few papers while you clearly weren't looking. "Here then, take this." She shoves a few papers into your arms, and you're just barely able to carry them all.

"Quick question, do you recognize what I'm working on?"

[Mental Roll:
Good Skill: +10%
Literally shoved into your arms:-15%]
[12! Success.]

Your brain takes a second to figure it out, but it comes to you fairly quickly. You leaf through the documents, showing you an image almost ingrained into your head. "The Imaginary Tree?"

The famous multiverse theory posits that while everything came from one trunk, the world that you currently inhabit is but one leaf of a branch. Plenty of Pathstriders take at least some measure of power from it.

Herta nods. "Not only that, but look up here." At the very top of the tree are gigantic alien figures, the Aeons which influence everything. And just below them, are drawings of humans glowing with heavenly light.

Emanators.

"Here is a map of the Imaginary Tree, with us Emanators near the top." Herta says. "It's not just a multiverse, it's…a sort of hierarchy from what I've studied."

"And we're at level just underneath the Aeons themselves?"

"Higher level Emanators like us? Yes." Herta's puppet points out to the space station's windows, the entire galaxy brimming with stars. "I need someone like you for this project I have, which barely has any info on Emanator-"

BOOM!

Suddenly, the Space Station is shaken by a huge impact, you and Herta falling into the elevator's wall.

"What was that?!" You yell, a bit shaken. "Herta, you better have an explanation."

Herta looks at you in alarm, and in that moment-

[Social Roll:
Impressive Skill: +30%
Shared Topic: +10%]
[17! Great Success.]

You can tell that she has no clue what's going on either. Your tone changes immediately. "Ok, do you have any idea what could have caused this?"

Herta looks back at you, and quickly responds. "Most of the curios I keep in the ship are locked up well in security or emotion based. The only one that could cause that kind of explosion is-"

Something catches her eye.
"Behind you!"

You haven't known Herta for that long. She seems more focused on her work than the world.

But in the world of Devil Hunting, when someone you trust told you to drop, the only valid thing to do was to hit the floor.

[Physical Check
Good Skill: +10%
Surprised: -10%
Already, Trust: +20%]
[16! Success!]

Your head ducks down, barely avoiding a blade piercing through the glass wall. You turn, and it's something from your nightmares.

The Antimatter Legion.


It's just a Voidranger trooper, a sacrificial pawn which is thrown off the elevator as soon as Herta manifests her hammer and swings, flinging the trooper off. She then turns to the console of the elevator, sliding a key card and muttering profanities under her breath.

"The Stellaron I kept here must have been stolen, must have been those Stellaron Hunters, get out of this elevator and evacuate to the storage area," she mutters, moving as quickly as she speaks.

"But you?!"

"This is just a puppet body, remember? I'll be coordinating all my puppets to help out. My real body's moving away as we speak."

She turns away from you, typing at lightning speed, before turning back to you and giving a terse nod. The elevator stops mid ascent, and the door is forced open.

Your eyes meet, and even if you had any qualms about it before, now's the time to spring into action.

"See you on the other side, Ms. Genius."

And you jump out the door, landing on the platform below by kicking a Voidranger straight in the face.

Herta Space Station (In Distress)
Above The Blue
10:00 AM System Time.
Your trusted trumpet manifests to your hands, its bell (the part where the sound comes out of) immediately starting to spit fire. Legion soldiers surround you, one in white singling you out for the rest to attack.

You glance over at the platform beside you, where scientists are evacuating. At the edge of the bridge, a woman with pink hair is leading the effort, her arms waving at the crowd, moving them down the crowded halls.

"Everyone! Please go down to the supply area to evacuate!"

A Harmony Pathstrider just like you. Either way, she won't be able to do her job if she's being attacked, right? May as well make sure that all eyes are on you.

You rush into the encroaching army, your trumpet becoming akin to a hammer, as Legion helmets are set aflame. Your arms swing and your legs kick as if dancing, though you suppose most dances aren't nearly as exhilarating as this.

"You want to get the scientists here!?" you yell at the Legion, "You'll have to get through me first!"

You put both your hands on your trumpet. Your eyes and coat turn a brilliant shade of red.

As an Emanator you have a line to Aeons-

Your feet spin like a ballerina's, and you jump.

-a direct line to gods, the gas to your flames-

You put your lips to your trumpet.

-a power, used for great Harmony or great harm-

And blow.

-the line pulls taut, and the fuel in your soul ignites.
[Physical+Spiritual Check
+10% Good Skill
+20% Fire In Your Soul
+10% Partial Emanator Release]
[17! Spectacular Success!]

The note comes out, more of a roar from a ferocious beast than any sound a normal instrument could make. Fire comes out, and the Legion becomes ashes. You land back on the floor, kicking a poor Legion General who barely survived. It dies immediately, but the second it dies, it vanishes.

And twelve more show up to take its place. You step back, the release of your powers more than you remember, but nothing too tiring. What is tiring, however, is how many Legion are spawning. As soldiers that are made only to destroy and be destroyed, you can't possibly destroy all of them, except by hitting at the source.

You keep on fighting, breaking through helmets and blaring out notes of pure fire. You take a step back to breathe, as men in black run past you. The security of the Space Station is here to hold back the Legion. Finally. A man in blue walks up to you in the back of the battle after giving the soldiers their orders.

"Are you alright, miss? You shouldn't be out here on the front lines." You push his hand away.

"The name's Shelley. It's alright, Mr…?"

"The name's Arlan."
"It's fine. Besides, as a retired Devil Hunter, it's my responsibility to take care of monsters."

You don't miss his mildly suspicious look-while the retirement clause is true, most Devil Hunters aren't in as tune with the Harmony as you are, what with the conductor's getup and the weaponized trumpet.

But he shakes his head, and motions to go forward. And you follow him, using your notes as ranged projectiles, protecting the staff.

"Shelley, follow my lead!"

"Don't worry. I'll make sure nobody has to get hurt!" Words you've always abided by, a motto of the Devil Hunters. And once again, you'll see it through.

Herta Space Station (In Distress)
Above The Blue
10:30 AM System Time.
You bash in one more Legion head, and breathe out deeply. The staff of the Security Department have managed to seal the Legion into a door. It's just this one last Eliminator, and you're done.

You look over to congratulate Arlan, but he's over on the other side of the Space Station by now with the Security Department. Aeonspeed to him, you suppose.

The Eliminator raises its huge gun, and you raise your trumpet to try and deflect it. But then, you hear her.

The person who you swore you'd never hear again.

"Well, what are you doing here, my old friend?"

Kafka?!?
[Physical Check
+10% Good Skill
-50% It's Her.
-30%Your Friend, The Hunter.]
[2. Crushing Failure.]

Bullets of Destruction slam into your face, knocking you to the ground and giving you a splitting headache. You hit the floor, and you don't miss the taste of blood running down your tongue.

Everything goes fuzzy for a bit.

You hear voices, bullets…the sounds of violence. Then, everything else goes silent.

You open your eyes. By your estimation, it's been…five minutes? Maybe six. And you see Kafka, her eyes as terrifyingly empty as ever.

"Agh…you should have gotten rid of those contacts."

"Oh please Shelley, I think it adds to my image."

She touches your head.
[Social Roll
+30%: Great Skill
-100%: Too Tired to Resist]
[Inevitable Failure.]

"Listen, Shelley." And you've been caught up in her Devil's power. The Spirit Whisper. Not much you can do now.

"I'll give you some time to recuperate, but after you've done your job, come over to where I am. I'll be on the top floor."

"Jeez…you're really not giving me a choice here, huh?" you stammer out, trying to clutch your stomach to numb the pain.

"Sorry babe, Elio's script has you as a key player. See you in a bit. C'mon SIlver Wolf, time to go."

A silver-haired girl who had been trailing behind your old friend stands up, and walks away with Kafka. When they start talking, they're out of earshot. Shame. You would've loved to have a conversation with anybody right now.

It takes three minutes to get up, your body aching. It's a shame, but you never learned the art of healing. Maybe some other you, pledged to Yaoshi…

Hah! Like that would happen.

You look over, and the Security Department's at the other side of the room, seeming to have been pushed back. On the other side, researchers are still evacuating the station, the last stragglers barely making it through. Thanks to Kafka's Whisper, you can only help one. Then, you'll be dragged upstairs to do whatever Elio needs for you in that stupid script.

You groan.

"Looks like I've gotta help others, once again. Not that I hate it, I just wish the Aeons would give me a break for once…"

(Character Sheet Updated.)

Arc 1/Prologue: Spacial Sensation - Start
"Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns."

You have two actions.
Because of the effect of Kafka's Spirit Whisper, you may only pick one option. Going with Kafka is mandatory.
[ ] Go with Arlan to fight off the Legion (Physical)
-[ ] What role will you take in the fight? Offense, or Support? (Write In)
Someone's got to help them out. And clearly, you're one of the most powerful fighters on the station.
[ ] Go with Ms. Pink Hair to evacuate the civilians. (Social)
As a Devil Hunter, you may be used to violence, but as a Emanator of Harmony, you know when to help out the needy.
[X] Go with Kafka.
The Spirit Whisper calls. No way to resist. (ACTION LOCKED IN)