Cult Creator - The Pilgrims Journey
- Thread starter HeroCooky
- Start date
- Original Mature
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
1. And a lot of time to forget many things. Or lose them by attrition.1. 800 years between the first nations and today. That's a long time for Forge-Clans to develop stuff.
2. I wonder if crusading in that area is the tradition or if going on a crusade, in general, is traditional for a new Emperor/Empress. If it's the second, then I'm surprised the Empire hasn't overextended itself yet.
3. I wonder how that got started. If it was some pre-Collapse tech I would expect them to use specialized brain matter with built-in safeguards and restrains, similar to what the Cores had. That they used normal human brains means it's probably a post-Collapse development. But then why did they start using human brains instead of animal brains?
Even if we ignore the moral problems, breeding animals to harvest brains from is much easier and quicker than harvesting human brains.
4. Huh, it doesn't sound like they used bio-weapons. That's surprising for a Forge-Clan specialized in biological manipulations.
5. I would expect buildings to be designed to be deeper rather than taller. This planet is a death world, so there is always a chance that some flying monstrosity shows up. I guess building up is still easier than down but the extra risks...
6. He doesn't have a translator or some helpers that can do the talking for him? Huh, with a project of that size, I would expect him to have at least a dozen helpers to organize everything.
7. I'm not surprised that horses don't exist on this planet, the lizards are better than horses for most things. But what is the Eyeless Moon? One of the local moons?
2. Starting a Crusade in general is a tradition for a newly crowned Emperor/Empress. And the Empire has overextended itself thrice already, which made the rebelling/seceded territory a perfect target for the next ruler, or the current one. Thats why the current Emperor founded 5 Chapters in Starlight, they tend to keep the peace. Or painfully enforce it until the propaganda of the InSec starts working.
3.
It was a facility specializing in human brains and the study thereof. The children of the scientists kept doing what their parents did, and never really looked outside. For them, using human brains was easier than animal ones.
5. Thats true for towns and villages, but not cities. They have Bright-Lances, making any flying Mutated think twice before attacking, and subsequently die when they decide to risk it. But underground buildings do exist.
6. He does, but is currently venting.
7. The second moon of Calynth. There are two craters which look like hollow eyes, hence the name.
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Holy shit yes, the empire would love trains. Being able to tie your empire together and move things easily like that is an enormous advantage.
With the world being hostile to infrastructure and generally desert the solution is likely going to look a lot more like a tractor pulling several trailers full of people and stuff than a train on tracks. The tractor has traction issues and so can't pull as large of loads nor go particularly fast, but benefits from not having to worry about if an acid mouth mutant wandered through and chewed your rails or if some robot abomination decided to borrow a stretch to perform repairs.
The big thing will be getting transportation dense enough to make it economically viable to guard with Knights. With electric lighting powered by the steam engine you don't need to stop at night. With enough goods and people carried in one concentrated packet you can justify escorting the caravan with knights to drive off threats.
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Less mad max, more farmyard hay ride writ large. 5-10 Mph and a tractor pulling no more than 3 or 4 cars of cargo behind it. Passenger trains may stretch longer, but they likely cram people in like sardines.
Wouldn't it be better to have single car trucks though? That way if one engine's fucked they can pile some of the cargo/passengers in the other cars and keep moving.
I would do several engines pulling multiple strings of cars.
If an engine breaks you can theoretically abandon it and come back to fix it later. You just need to unhook the cargo and hook it to a spare, or even potentially have one of the knights pull it long enough to reach relative safety.
You want to keep each segment short so you have at least some ability to corner. Your engine likely limits that by it's length.
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A steam tractor isn't going to go very fast. If you have ideal ground and no curves, it goes maybe 15 MPH, but it would be putting the wagons at risk if it ran over something like a stone. Most places it would go 5 or so miles an hour. The advantage is how much weight it can haul and that it doesn't need to stop.
A person on foot could likely keep up over short distances. A knight with it's 5-6 foot stride should just be able to walk beside it.
[Canon] - Sins of the Feer
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
AN: Here is an Omake about Bolt reporting what happened to Bolt after PD told her to F off.
You return to your room on the 30th floor of the Pilgrim's Tree after that disastrous meeting with Persevering Defiance. Your Vanar Halberdier Bodyguard, Ash, followed you inside before locking the door. As she does her mandatory sweep of the 2 room home for bugs or traps, you collapse to a chair, smack your head on the main room's table, and let out a bone weary groan.
"Come now, don't be like that. Just look at the bright side."
"What bright side?"
"It didn't reach out and squish you."
You lift your head and give a deadpan stare at your bodyguard to let her know that you are not amused by her attempt to lighten the mood. You eventually relent as you know that Ash is immune to your fearsome gaze with a sigh and return to tapping the table with your face. After a few minutes of contemplating why the Goddess sent me here to suffer, Ash finished her sweep of the room and started brewing a cup of Ashleaf tea. It is nice to have access to electricity from the Vanar's solar panels to run all of your tools and equipment without needing to work for it.
You take a sip of the tea and feel your muscles relax, your turbulent mind calming, and your senses get sharper. The two of us spent the time just enjoying the salty drink. With the orange glow of the setting sun streaming in through the window, the cool breeze flowing in from the high altitude, and a cup of Ashleaf tea in your hand you feel at peace. This brief moment of serene calm is a common requirement for me to stay sane after dealing with the Pilgrims.
You look around your home, much smaller than your private quarters at the Vanar Clan compound, but that is the price for living 80 meters on the side of a tree. A corner of the room is the your workbench that your terminal and a deactivated Spider Drone is on top of. One of the results of the union between Vanar and Feer, the Spider is based on the Vanar's rather infamous Terror drone, it is half the size and mostly meant for indoor security. Using advanced Vanar circuits and components with Feer's complex programing, the Spider is a much more sophisticated Drone and is capable of doing more complicated tasks like automated indoor security. It can perch itself on the roof of the house and use its facial recognition program to identify individuals and use a built in transceiver to send an alarm when an intruder entering a restricted area. To defend it self, it can jump onto the intruder's face and deliver a strong electric shock to their face.
Right now there are 4 Spiders guarding you and your bodyguard's rooms, the one on your worktable is currently recharging. You are also planning to upgrade their software to be able to be personal bodyguards for your children that they can carry with them wherever they go due to the small size of the Spider. However it will take time to implement the necessary upgrades to its programming and it will take even more time to make sure that everything will run smoothly. If all goes as planned you can submit the finished program to be inspected by a Master Data-smith and publish your code to the Vanar-Feer Database. For now it is a personal project.
You take another sip of the tea and just let all of your frustration just flow down and out of you. Without you noticing, your cup is empty, the sun is halfway below the horizon and the once cool breeze is now starting to get a bit brisk. The effects of the Ashleaf is still present but it is much less noticeable now. You are thankful you have access to a steady supply of Ashleaf as you doubt you would survive without it.
"So are you calm now?" Ash poured another serving of tea to your cup.
"Yes, thank you." You thanked before taking another sip. "Now I need to report what happened to the Elders and I doubt they will be happy."
"From what I heard from the Knight, your ancestors used a program that would have killed the intelligence rather than free it?" You have never heard of any event that Persevering Defiance mentioned, however it is very likely a shameful secret only told to the Elders of the Feer. No Forge clan wants to be the cause of the death of a Machine-Mind when they revere them as Myra's Divine Emissaries.
"It was probably during the time that the Feer view Waking and Awake Machine-Minds as Emissaries of Myra and would stop at nothing to obtain and free them. Someone most likely created a code to interface with a Machine-Mind but would have killed a Machine-Mind instead. This was likely the reason for the Feer to implement a law to have all code be inspected by multiple Master Data-smiths before it can be approved for clan wide use."
Ash took a sip as she digests what you told her. You have little doubt that she would report to her superiors eventually due to being raised in a Vanar run village. Having this secret be revealed to the Vanar and most likely the Pilgrims would have spread it even more, would severely damage the Feer's reputation. What it'd do to the Feer's standing since we have already signed the union with Vanar is not something you can even guess at since you am a Data-smith not a Noble trained in politics.
You take a big gulps of the tea as you start to feel dread on what will happen in the future. As your whole body felt the buzz from the tea, you thought about people asking questions on why the Knight refused your aid which will eventually lead to the blasphemy of Feer ancestors killing possibly multiple Machine-Minds before that problem was discovered and a law to double check new programs was implemented. You finish your cup before slamming your head to the table and released another groan that would not be out of place coming from a mutated horror.
You just stay there lamenting how your life got this complicated and wondering if this is Myra's punishment for being the descendant of the one who created that damnable program. You hear Ash refilling your cup before taking a sip of her own. You took a much smaller gulp so that you don't get paralyzed from the Ashleaf's muscle relaxant property before returning to resting your head on the table.
With you mind being forced to calm down, you start to think about what you can do. Keeping that shame a secret is next to impossible now, with the Knight having no obligation to keep it secret, the Vanar guards that would likely report to their superiors, and the Pilgrims who are nice enough to not go around spreading this damaging information to other Forge Clans but it is likely that this information would spread among the Pilgrims themselves anyway. So, nothing you can do about that, that leaves doing damage control which involves telling the truth to the elders, let them handle it, and pray for Myra's mercy.
With a course of action decided you finish your cup of tea and then move to the terminal on my workbench and activate the machine. After a few seconds of waiting for it to wake up, it displays a digital lock. You input your personal passcode to unlock it and then wait for the terminal to open the gate as it were. Once the gate is open, you see the background of the screen be that of a family photo of yourself and your children before you are chosen as the liaison between the Vanar-Feer and the Pilgrims. You activate the long distance communication program and wait.
[Establishing Connection with The Vanar-Feer Digital Network. Standby...]
The Vanar-Feer Digital Network, the combination of the Feer Wireless Digital Delivery System and the Vanar Interconnected Information Network. For centuries various Forge Clans develop their own method of networking their compounds. Some, like the Feer rely on the orbital network developed by the ancients to wirelessly deliver information between various Feer compounds with that information being very well protected. All Forge Clans can use the Ancient Orbital Network however every Forge clan is only allotted with 20 minutes for their use. Thus the Feer developed methods to maximize their ability to use the network, like using bursts of transmission to deliver large amounts of data in a short span of time or developing signal boosters to maximize the range of connection to an Orbital Transmitter, allowing 1 Transmitter to cover multiple compounds. Of course anyone with the right equipment could intercept these transmissions and so the Feer developed sophisticated encryption to prevent such a thing from happening.
The Vanar by contrast went in an entirely different direction and use a much more basic system of underground wires to connect their compounds. This is a much more expensive method in terms of materials and maintenance, however the advantage of this method is that it circumvents the use of the Ancient Orbital Network and thus can be put to use indefinitely. They maximize their use of their information network with a variety of programs, from voice and visual communications, 3 dimensional modeling software, and even a digital marketplace used to sell various services. The drawback is that they have weaker wireless capability, but they have the resources to brute force the problem.
When both clans united, the 1st project both clans agree on was to combine both systems. The Vanar provided a variety of programs and their widespread infrastructure while the Feer contributed their encryption security systems and signal booster technology. Now, the proposed Vanar-Feer Diginet is still in development with the families in charge of maintaining their clan networks are working together to make it a reality. However the latest reports say that they are still arguing over whether to use the Vanar OS or the Feer OS as the main system. So for now, both native networks are temporarily linked together with translators in each link so the different Operating Systems can communicate with each other.
[Connection Established]
You open the communicator program and key a call for your Feer Elder, your mother Hexa Feer. She taught you everything you know about Data-smithing and is your assigned handler. She earned her Elder title through creating a diagnostic program to allow Data-smiths to find errors in code much more easily. Of course that is the main reason the clan sent me to that expedition, to use my expertise to find and fix any code that might have degraded over the centuries.
[Establishing Connection with Feer Elder, Hexa Feer. Standby...]
The screen eventually display and old and weathered face of your mother. She is currently reading at something off screen in her study, if the recognizable window and bookshelf you can see in the background is still the same as you remembered.
"Ah Bolt good to see you again. I assume you have just finished analyzing the Pilgrim's Knight."
You avert your eyes nervously as she said that, "Yes, about that.."
You can see her turn her full focus on you once you have said that. "Bolt, dear is something wrong? did something happen to the Knight?"
Whatever you want to say, got stuck in your throat. You are a grown woman with kids of your own, but no one likes to disappoint their parents.
"Come now, it can't be that bad."
You sigh and decide it would be best to get it over with. "Alright so the Knight reactivated itself, mentioned that the Feer almost killed her, and would want nothing to do with us in front of a lot of witnesses."
You see your mother open her mouth and widen her eyes. "Yes, that would be bad." She quickly looks off screen and contacted her secretary, "Vista, set up an emergency Elder's meeting in an hour, tell them that this is important." She returned her focus back to you, "Tell me everything."
So you did, told her exactly what happened and the exact wording the Knight used. When you are done, the both of you stay silent. Ash left the room a while ago, most likely to pick up the kids. Rivet and Spring are currently being taken care of at the Pilgrim's Daycare with Patch, your second guard, watching over them. They should be released from the Daycare by dinner so you'll meet them in the communal dinning area.
"Well, we knew that past is going to haunt us someday. It looks like that day is today."
"What do we do?"
"Right now? apologize profusely to the Knight and pray to Myra it understands that the child is not responsible for the sins of the father."
"What about the Vanar? I doubt they'd be happy with us once this detail reaches them."
"There isn't much we can do, they would probably be more than happy to throw us under a wagon if it meant having a positive relationship with an Awake Machine-Mind. The Elders will deliberate on what to send as a reparation, so in the meantime wait until we have a plan of action set up, that is about all you can do at the moment. I have to go to inform the other Elders what have happened, I'll send you a text on the results of that meeting. Take care Bolt."
"You too, mother."
With the matter settled for now, the transmission disconnected and you are now alone in your dark room. With the sun having set, you can hear the Pilgrims out and about down below, gathering for their communal dinner. You shut down your terminal and start to head down to ground level yourself. Using the water wheel elevator, you share space with other Pilgrims and their families as they too use the elevator to get to the ground.
You ignore their chatter and pull out your pad to start writing a script for an apology to Persevering Defiance on behalf of the Feer Clan. You'll likely need Martyris's or the Pilgrim's chosen pilot to be a mediator but that can be handled later. You may need help with this as you never actually apologized to anyone before, other than when you were a child and usually a short sorry and listening to a stern talking too is usually enough. How do you even make an apology on behalf of a clan for a crime several centuries old? yes you'll likely need help on that department.
When the elevator arrived at ground level, you follow the crowd to the Great Hall, which is a large open building with a long tables and chairs with a large table in the back where the food is served to everyone. Not everyone eats in the hall however, as you can see some youths sitting on the floor enjoying the cool desert air while eating what appears to be Goat Vegetable Stew with sandwheat flatbread being used to absorb the broth. As you near the hall, you smell a myriad of aromas from all of the food being served along with the bard of the night playing what sounds like a string instrument.
You eventually reach the entrance where a Pilgrim attendant pour a jug of herbal water onto your hands while another attendant wiped your hands dry with a cotton cloth. As you enter the Hall itself, you see the usual sight of tables lined up in several parallel lines and being packed with people eating and conversing with each other. The bard started to play a new song with his instrument and various Pilgrims donate a few coins for his performance.
You swivel your view to find your guards and spot them in the corner of the hall with your children and the rest of the room in their view. As you approach them you can see Rivet and Spring eating their stew by using their sandwheat flat bread as spoons while Patch and Ash nod in your direction before continuing their watch whilst eating their meals.
"Welcome back, so Ash filled me in on what happened. What is going to happen now?" Patch asked before pushing a steaming bowl of soup and a plate of flat bread in my direction.
"Well, the Elders seem to have planned contingencies in the event something like this happened. They will likely send someone to represent Vanar and give a diplomatic apology. The Feer will have to provide a gift as a reparation for what our ancestors did. They will likely send a Mobile Workshop to speed up repairs but I won't know what the Workshop specializes in until I meet them."
"Alright, is there anything Patch and I can help you with?"
"I need to talk to Martyris and let him know that a Feer convoy would arrive sometime next year bearing a gift to PD as a reparation for our ancestor's actions. For now, there isn't anything we can do other than loiter around, since Perpetual Defiance wants nothing to do with the Feer. I'll most likely just work on my personal projects in the meantime."
"I have met with Martyris a couple of times when he visits Silvia at the Daycare. I'll let him know when the two of you can meet."
"Thank you Patch." With that matter settled for now, you fill your time between bites by asking your kids how their day went. Rivet spent his free time between lessons learning how to read the children story book you gave him with Patch helping him explain what that word means, while Spring was engaging with the other children in a game of Scavenger Expedition where various items are hidden around the area and the children are told to go team up and find all of the items.
Once their bellies are full of warm stew and bread they start to get drowsy so you and Patch carry them back to the Tree to tuck them into bed. Ash said that Genny and Spark, the Vanar night shift Guards, should be here momentarily, and she will fill them in on what happened. As you leave the Hall, an crowd of people are lined up outside, they most likely have a night shift later. You see Genny and Spark waiting in line and get a nod in passing before continuing to your abode.
As you reach your home, you unlock the door by placing your eye on the peep hole on the door, on the other side is an eye scanner which scans your eye and compares it to its list of approved people and unlocks it when it finds a match. When the door automatically unlocks you get inside and walk toward the back corner of the house and into the bedroom.
On the left, is your section with a closet for your clothes, a charging station for your terminal, and an adult sized bed while on the right is your children's section with bunk beds, a chest for their toys that were gifted to you by your sisters, and a drawer for their clothes. You tuck Rivet on the bottom bunk before letting Patch put Spring in the top bunk.
"Thank you for the help, Patch."
"No worries, it is my job after all. Goodnight ma'am."
With a nod he exited the home and is likely going to bed. As you turn to go to be yourself a small voice stopped you from doing so.
"Music?"
With a sigh you place your portable terminal on their drawer and activate its music setting. As a soft music fills the room you can see your children close their eyes and quickly lulls themselves to sleep after a tiring day. You quickly change out of your work clothes into something a little more comfortable before turning off the lights and getting to bed. Since you are now not obligated to watch over the Pilgrims examine PD, you have an excuse to sleep in. As you lay in bed you slowly drift to sleep as the lullaby music you copied from the Vanar Network does its job.
Hope you enjoyed this omake. Please let me know if there are any mistakes that I missed.
Sins of the Feer
You return to your room on the 30th floor of the Pilgrim's Tree after that disastrous meeting with Persevering Defiance. Your Vanar Halberdier Bodyguard, Ash, followed you inside before locking the door. As she does her mandatory sweep of the 2 room home for bugs or traps, you collapse to a chair, smack your head on the main room's table, and let out a bone weary groan.
"Come now, don't be like that. Just look at the bright side."
"What bright side?"
"It didn't reach out and squish you."
You lift your head and give a deadpan stare at your bodyguard to let her know that you are not amused by her attempt to lighten the mood. You eventually relent as you know that Ash is immune to your fearsome gaze with a sigh and return to tapping the table with your face. After a few minutes of contemplating why the Goddess sent me here to suffer, Ash finished her sweep of the room and started brewing a cup of Ashleaf tea. It is nice to have access to electricity from the Vanar's solar panels to run all of your tools and equipment without needing to work for it.
You take a sip of the tea and feel your muscles relax, your turbulent mind calming, and your senses get sharper. The two of us spent the time just enjoying the salty drink. With the orange glow of the setting sun streaming in through the window, the cool breeze flowing in from the high altitude, and a cup of Ashleaf tea in your hand you feel at peace. This brief moment of serene calm is a common requirement for me to stay sane after dealing with the Pilgrims.
You look around your home, much smaller than your private quarters at the Vanar Clan compound, but that is the price for living 80 meters on the side of a tree. A corner of the room is the your workbench that your terminal and a deactivated Spider Drone is on top of. One of the results of the union between Vanar and Feer, the Spider is based on the Vanar's rather infamous Terror drone, it is half the size and mostly meant for indoor security. Using advanced Vanar circuits and components with Feer's complex programing, the Spider is a much more sophisticated Drone and is capable of doing more complicated tasks like automated indoor security. It can perch itself on the roof of the house and use its facial recognition program to identify individuals and use a built in transceiver to send an alarm when an intruder entering a restricted area. To defend it self, it can jump onto the intruder's face and deliver a strong electric shock to their face.
Right now there are 4 Spiders guarding you and your bodyguard's rooms, the one on your worktable is currently recharging. You are also planning to upgrade their software to be able to be personal bodyguards for your children that they can carry with them wherever they go due to the small size of the Spider. However it will take time to implement the necessary upgrades to its programming and it will take even more time to make sure that everything will run smoothly. If all goes as planned you can submit the finished program to be inspected by a Master Data-smith and publish your code to the Vanar-Feer Database. For now it is a personal project.
You take another sip of the tea and just let all of your frustration just flow down and out of you. Without you noticing, your cup is empty, the sun is halfway below the horizon and the once cool breeze is now starting to get a bit brisk. The effects of the Ashleaf is still present but it is much less noticeable now. You are thankful you have access to a steady supply of Ashleaf as you doubt you would survive without it.
"So are you calm now?" Ash poured another serving of tea to your cup.
"Yes, thank you." You thanked before taking another sip. "Now I need to report what happened to the Elders and I doubt they will be happy."
"From what I heard from the Knight, your ancestors used a program that would have killed the intelligence rather than free it?" You have never heard of any event that Persevering Defiance mentioned, however it is very likely a shameful secret only told to the Elders of the Feer. No Forge clan wants to be the cause of the death of a Machine-Mind when they revere them as Myra's Divine Emissaries.
"It was probably during the time that the Feer view Waking and Awake Machine-Minds as Emissaries of Myra and would stop at nothing to obtain and free them. Someone most likely created a code to interface with a Machine-Mind but would have killed a Machine-Mind instead. This was likely the reason for the Feer to implement a law to have all code be inspected by multiple Master Data-smiths before it can be approved for clan wide use."
Ash took a sip as she digests what you told her. You have little doubt that she would report to her superiors eventually due to being raised in a Vanar run village. Having this secret be revealed to the Vanar and most likely the Pilgrims would have spread it even more, would severely damage the Feer's reputation. What it'd do to the Feer's standing since we have already signed the union with Vanar is not something you can even guess at since you am a Data-smith not a Noble trained in politics.
You take a big gulps of the tea as you start to feel dread on what will happen in the future. As your whole body felt the buzz from the tea, you thought about people asking questions on why the Knight refused your aid which will eventually lead to the blasphemy of Feer ancestors killing possibly multiple Machine-Minds before that problem was discovered and a law to double check new programs was implemented. You finish your cup before slamming your head to the table and released another groan that would not be out of place coming from a mutated horror.
You just stay there lamenting how your life got this complicated and wondering if this is Myra's punishment for being the descendant of the one who created that damnable program. You hear Ash refilling your cup before taking a sip of her own. You took a much smaller gulp so that you don't get paralyzed from the Ashleaf's muscle relaxant property before returning to resting your head on the table.
With you mind being forced to calm down, you start to think about what you can do. Keeping that shame a secret is next to impossible now, with the Knight having no obligation to keep it secret, the Vanar guards that would likely report to their superiors, and the Pilgrims who are nice enough to not go around spreading this damaging information to other Forge Clans but it is likely that this information would spread among the Pilgrims themselves anyway. So, nothing you can do about that, that leaves doing damage control which involves telling the truth to the elders, let them handle it, and pray for Myra's mercy.
With a course of action decided you finish your cup of tea and then move to the terminal on my workbench and activate the machine. After a few seconds of waiting for it to wake up, it displays a digital lock. You input your personal passcode to unlock it and then wait for the terminal to open the gate as it were. Once the gate is open, you see the background of the screen be that of a family photo of yourself and your children before you are chosen as the liaison between the Vanar-Feer and the Pilgrims. You activate the long distance communication program and wait.
[Establishing Connection with The Vanar-Feer Digital Network. Standby...]
The Vanar-Feer Digital Network, the combination of the Feer Wireless Digital Delivery System and the Vanar Interconnected Information Network. For centuries various Forge Clans develop their own method of networking their compounds. Some, like the Feer rely on the orbital network developed by the ancients to wirelessly deliver information between various Feer compounds with that information being very well protected. All Forge Clans can use the Ancient Orbital Network however every Forge clan is only allotted with 20 minutes for their use. Thus the Feer developed methods to maximize their ability to use the network, like using bursts of transmission to deliver large amounts of data in a short span of time or developing signal boosters to maximize the range of connection to an Orbital Transmitter, allowing 1 Transmitter to cover multiple compounds. Of course anyone with the right equipment could intercept these transmissions and so the Feer developed sophisticated encryption to prevent such a thing from happening.
The Vanar by contrast went in an entirely different direction and use a much more basic system of underground wires to connect their compounds. This is a much more expensive method in terms of materials and maintenance, however the advantage of this method is that it circumvents the use of the Ancient Orbital Network and thus can be put to use indefinitely. They maximize their use of their information network with a variety of programs, from voice and visual communications, 3 dimensional modeling software, and even a digital marketplace used to sell various services. The drawback is that they have weaker wireless capability, but they have the resources to brute force the problem.
When both clans united, the 1st project both clans agree on was to combine both systems. The Vanar provided a variety of programs and their widespread infrastructure while the Feer contributed their encryption security systems and signal booster technology. Now, the proposed Vanar-Feer Diginet is still in development with the families in charge of maintaining their clan networks are working together to make it a reality. However the latest reports say that they are still arguing over whether to use the Vanar OS or the Feer OS as the main system. So for now, both native networks are temporarily linked together with translators in each link so the different Operating Systems can communicate with each other.
[Connection Established]
You open the communicator program and key a call for your Feer Elder, your mother Hexa Feer. She taught you everything you know about Data-smithing and is your assigned handler. She earned her Elder title through creating a diagnostic program to allow Data-smiths to find errors in code much more easily. Of course that is the main reason the clan sent me to that expedition, to use my expertise to find and fix any code that might have degraded over the centuries.
[Establishing Connection with Feer Elder, Hexa Feer. Standby...]
The screen eventually display and old and weathered face of your mother. She is currently reading at something off screen in her study, if the recognizable window and bookshelf you can see in the background is still the same as you remembered.
"Ah Bolt good to see you again. I assume you have just finished analyzing the Pilgrim's Knight."
You avert your eyes nervously as she said that, "Yes, about that.."
You can see her turn her full focus on you once you have said that. "Bolt, dear is something wrong? did something happen to the Knight?"
Whatever you want to say, got stuck in your throat. You are a grown woman with kids of your own, but no one likes to disappoint their parents.
"Come now, it can't be that bad."
You sigh and decide it would be best to get it over with. "Alright so the Knight reactivated itself, mentioned that the Feer almost killed her, and would want nothing to do with us in front of a lot of witnesses."
You see your mother open her mouth and widen her eyes. "Yes, that would be bad." She quickly looks off screen and contacted her secretary, "Vista, set up an emergency Elder's meeting in an hour, tell them that this is important." She returned her focus back to you, "Tell me everything."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
So you did, told her exactly what happened and the exact wording the Knight used. When you are done, the both of you stay silent. Ash left the room a while ago, most likely to pick up the kids. Rivet and Spring are currently being taken care of at the Pilgrim's Daycare with Patch, your second guard, watching over them. They should be released from the Daycare by dinner so you'll meet them in the communal dinning area.
"Well, we knew that past is going to haunt us someday. It looks like that day is today."
"What do we do?"
"Right now? apologize profusely to the Knight and pray to Myra it understands that the child is not responsible for the sins of the father."
"What about the Vanar? I doubt they'd be happy with us once this detail reaches them."
"There isn't much we can do, they would probably be more than happy to throw us under a wagon if it meant having a positive relationship with an Awake Machine-Mind. The Elders will deliberate on what to send as a reparation, so in the meantime wait until we have a plan of action set up, that is about all you can do at the moment. I have to go to inform the other Elders what have happened, I'll send you a text on the results of that meeting. Take care Bolt."
"You too, mother."
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With the matter settled for now, the transmission disconnected and you are now alone in your dark room. With the sun having set, you can hear the Pilgrims out and about down below, gathering for their communal dinner. You shut down your terminal and start to head down to ground level yourself. Using the water wheel elevator, you share space with other Pilgrims and their families as they too use the elevator to get to the ground.
You ignore their chatter and pull out your pad to start writing a script for an apology to Persevering Defiance on behalf of the Feer Clan. You'll likely need Martyris's or the Pilgrim's chosen pilot to be a mediator but that can be handled later. You may need help with this as you never actually apologized to anyone before, other than when you were a child and usually a short sorry and listening to a stern talking too is usually enough. How do you even make an apology on behalf of a clan for a crime several centuries old? yes you'll likely need help on that department.
When the elevator arrived at ground level, you follow the crowd to the Great Hall, which is a large open building with a long tables and chairs with a large table in the back where the food is served to everyone. Not everyone eats in the hall however, as you can see some youths sitting on the floor enjoying the cool desert air while eating what appears to be Goat Vegetable Stew with sandwheat flatbread being used to absorb the broth. As you near the hall, you smell a myriad of aromas from all of the food being served along with the bard of the night playing what sounds like a string instrument.
You eventually reach the entrance where a Pilgrim attendant pour a jug of herbal water onto your hands while another attendant wiped your hands dry with a cotton cloth. As you enter the Hall itself, you see the usual sight of tables lined up in several parallel lines and being packed with people eating and conversing with each other. The bard started to play a new song with his instrument and various Pilgrims donate a few coins for his performance.
You swivel your view to find your guards and spot them in the corner of the hall with your children and the rest of the room in their view. As you approach them you can see Rivet and Spring eating their stew by using their sandwheat flat bread as spoons while Patch and Ash nod in your direction before continuing their watch whilst eating their meals.
"Welcome back, so Ash filled me in on what happened. What is going to happen now?" Patch asked before pushing a steaming bowl of soup and a plate of flat bread in my direction.
"Well, the Elders seem to have planned contingencies in the event something like this happened. They will likely send someone to represent Vanar and give a diplomatic apology. The Feer will have to provide a gift as a reparation for what our ancestors did. They will likely send a Mobile Workshop to speed up repairs but I won't know what the Workshop specializes in until I meet them."
"Alright, is there anything Patch and I can help you with?"
"I need to talk to Martyris and let him know that a Feer convoy would arrive sometime next year bearing a gift to PD as a reparation for our ancestor's actions. For now, there isn't anything we can do other than loiter around, since Perpetual Defiance wants nothing to do with the Feer. I'll most likely just work on my personal projects in the meantime."
"I have met with Martyris a couple of times when he visits Silvia at the Daycare. I'll let him know when the two of you can meet."
"Thank you Patch." With that matter settled for now, you fill your time between bites by asking your kids how their day went. Rivet spent his free time between lessons learning how to read the children story book you gave him with Patch helping him explain what that word means, while Spring was engaging with the other children in a game of Scavenger Expedition where various items are hidden around the area and the children are told to go team up and find all of the items.
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Once their bellies are full of warm stew and bread they start to get drowsy so you and Patch carry them back to the Tree to tuck them into bed. Ash said that Genny and Spark, the Vanar night shift Guards, should be here momentarily, and she will fill them in on what happened. As you leave the Hall, an crowd of people are lined up outside, they most likely have a night shift later. You see Genny and Spark waiting in line and get a nod in passing before continuing to your abode.
As you reach your home, you unlock the door by placing your eye on the peep hole on the door, on the other side is an eye scanner which scans your eye and compares it to its list of approved people and unlocks it when it finds a match. When the door automatically unlocks you get inside and walk toward the back corner of the house and into the bedroom.
On the left, is your section with a closet for your clothes, a charging station for your terminal, and an adult sized bed while on the right is your children's section with bunk beds, a chest for their toys that were gifted to you by your sisters, and a drawer for their clothes. You tuck Rivet on the bottom bunk before letting Patch put Spring in the top bunk.
"Thank you for the help, Patch."
"No worries, it is my job after all. Goodnight ma'am."
With a nod he exited the home and is likely going to bed. As you turn to go to be yourself a small voice stopped you from doing so.
"Music?"
With a sigh you place your portable terminal on their drawer and activate its music setting. As a soft music fills the room you can see your children close their eyes and quickly lulls themselves to sleep after a tiring day. You quickly change out of your work clothes into something a little more comfortable before turning off the lights and getting to bed. Since you are now not obligated to watch over the Pilgrims examine PD, you have an excuse to sleep in. As you lay in bed you slowly drift to sleep as the lullaby music you copied from the Vanar Network does its job.
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Hope you enjoyed this omake. Please let me know if there are any mistakes that I missed.
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HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Some flow and perspective errors, but very enjoyable nonetheless!
Canon.
Bolt asked Martyris and Aria to help her apologize to PD on behalf of the whole of the Feer-Clan. This apology was accompanied with Bolt saying that the Clan would be willing to foot the bill for a Mobile-Workshop. After great reluctance, and the realization that her harsh reaction to the Feer had much greater consequences than intended, PD agreed to the services of a:
[ ] Armor Workshop (+25 permanent Armor)
[ ] Machinery Workshop (+5 to Initiative for the first 3 Combat-Turns)
[ ] Sensor Workshop (Ambush Damage is rolled with Disadvantage.
Choose your additional Lore:
[ ] Eversun's Knights - Scrap Or Genius?
[ ] The Italica Awakens
[ ] Paladin Mk.2
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
@HeroCooky I can't decide on what workshop to pick. It doesn't help that I don't know how big of an advantage any of these are. Like how effective is +25 armor compared to normal? How influential is +5 Initiative? How does Disadvantage work when calculating Ambush Damage?
[X] Paladin Mk.2
Come on, this is my baby of course I'm going to pick this
[X] Paladin Mk.2
Come on, this is my baby of course I'm going to pick this
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HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
PD has 296 Armor, meaning that the 25 would not be much, but could be the difference between getting trashed, and surviving another round against rare level enemies. The +5 would be to the d50 rolled for who attacks first, meaning a 10% increase in the chance to do so. The disadvantage is that the damage is rolled twice when ambushed, then the worst roll is taken, meaning that you could take up to 50 damage less in the extreme case.
Story coming up in a moment.
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
@HeroCooky what type of Knight is Aria going to be? a Tank, a DPS, or a Guard? If she is defensive I'd pick the armor, If she has good offense then getting a first hit would a big advantage especially for 3 turns, if she is gonna be a Guard running escort missions and acting as support I'd pick sensors.
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
It will wholly depend on what you will use Aria and PD as. They can do all three roles.
[Canon] - Paladin Mk.2
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Many would look at the Paladin and see the epitome, the masterwork, of a generation of work. Most would think that it is the Magnum Opus of their creators, that this Knight will be the tip of the mountain of success for the Vanar. All believe that it will take at least a century for another pattern to be produced that will even stand an equal, as the Paladin-Pattern lines are spooled up.
Everybody is wrong.
The Paladin was never intended to be the end-all-be-all that many have seen it as. It was not designed to eternally prove against what horrors roamed the lands or the dangers of war, nor was it ever intended to stand the test of time. In truth, this revolutionary Pattern, which had catapulted the Vanar to be the equals of all other Great Forge-Clans, was nothing more than step one. It was a prototype, nothing more. All those built, all that was sent out and who died against the Flood, those that have been issued to the Elite of every Chapter, that perished, killed, and inspired, was only a test. A Pattern that existed solely as the pedestal, as the stepping stone for its successor: The Paladin Mk.2.
It would be a Titan amongst Titans, standing 13-meters tall, possible by the knowledge and experience from dozens of Clans, a hundred years of study condensed into a single form, an empire worth of resources, and the full backing of three Emperors and one Empress. With the data gained from the Paladins systems, the final adjustments could be made, the last twists and fixes to the plans, that last bit of work to eke out a single percentage-point of performance. As experts closer to a hundred years than seventy bickered, as their apprentices ran to and fro to deliver the last reports, gigantic machines were readied for the mass-production of this Pattern, their intended production not measured in the dozen a year, but the hundreds. Even as the vast and deep treasury of the Empire strained to provide the resources, as the Master Of Coin of the Emperor's Council barely survived his third heart-attack, their numbers were already being allocated in secret plans.
And while the Paladin would go down in archives as a revolution, the Paladin Mk.2 would enter history with a bang.
It would be the tip of the spear for the Empire against the Eversun.
On the 32.12.1149, they would strike, setting a wrong right, a millennium in the making.
Istilfarn will burn.
Everybody is wrong.
The Paladin was never intended to be the end-all-be-all that many have seen it as. It was not designed to eternally prove against what horrors roamed the lands or the dangers of war, nor was it ever intended to stand the test of time. In truth, this revolutionary Pattern, which had catapulted the Vanar to be the equals of all other Great Forge-Clans, was nothing more than step one. It was a prototype, nothing more. All those built, all that was sent out and who died against the Flood, those that have been issued to the Elite of every Chapter, that perished, killed, and inspired, was only a test. A Pattern that existed solely as the pedestal, as the stepping stone for its successor: The Paladin Mk.2.
It would be a Titan amongst Titans, standing 13-meters tall, possible by the knowledge and experience from dozens of Clans, a hundred years of study condensed into a single form, an empire worth of resources, and the full backing of three Emperors and one Empress. With the data gained from the Paladins systems, the final adjustments could be made, the last twists and fixes to the plans, that last bit of work to eke out a single percentage-point of performance. As experts closer to a hundred years than seventy bickered, as their apprentices ran to and fro to deliver the last reports, gigantic machines were readied for the mass-production of this Pattern, their intended production not measured in the dozen a year, but the hundreds. Even as the vast and deep treasury of the Empire strained to provide the resources, as the Master Of Coin of the Emperor's Council barely survived his third heart-attack, their numbers were already being allocated in secret plans.
And while the Paladin would go down in archives as a revolution, the Paladin Mk.2 would enter history with a bang.
It would be the tip of the spear for the Empire against the Eversun.
On the 32.12.1149, they would strike, setting a wrong right, a millennium in the making.
Istilfarn will burn.
Honesltly I think we should turn her into DPS.
We use stealth for defense. A tank is only somewhat useful.
We use scouts for detection. A guard is only somewhat useful.
On the other hand when we find something that needs to die right now 100% it would be nice to have a knight who hits like a tank to drive directly at the target and take it out before retreating back to safety and allowing our scouts to continue exploring in secret.
Tank and guard are proactive uses, but we only have one knight. We can't be proactive everywhere. DPS is an active use. We can have a single DPS unit that goes where it needs to go and kills what it needs to kill.
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HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Yes, that was her intended use, but that was her intended use within an army. Outside of it, and well. You need to get creative if you have a role to fill.
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
@Fouredged Sword, I agree I think the Initiative is the best option. I was mostly on the train of thought that getting the first hit and killing what you hit can change an encounter drastically from my many xcom playthroughs but you also have a point. Being the 1st to act means being able to intercept attacks too so it fulfills her motivation to protect people.
@HeroCooky
[X] Machinery Workshop (+5 to Initiative for the first 3 Combat-Turns)
Also I have a name saved up for the official designation of the Paladin Mk2. The Seraphim Pattern. What do ya think?
@HeroCooky
[X] Machinery Workshop (+5 to Initiative for the first 3 Combat-Turns)
Also I have a name saved up for the official designation of the Paladin Mk2. The Seraphim Pattern. What do ya think?
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HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
Research And Development Of The Pilgrims - [Incomplete]