Orbital Anomaly (Destiny 2 / SIGNALIS)

[Potato]

I have received messages that people may not be familiar with Destiny lore, since some readers come from the Signalis side of the crossover.

This is a summary of Destiny's lore.

---

Spoiler: Extremely Truncated Destiny Lore

Once upon before a time, there was a Garden. In the Garden there was a Gardener, who planted universes; and a Winnower, who reaped them. The Gardener didn't like that all universes eventually fell to the same pattern whereas the Winnower considered this majestic. Hence the Gardener injected herself into reality as a set of rules to disrupt this pattern, taking form as the Traveler. The Winnower, not to be outdone, did so as well, taking form as (probably) the Veil.

The Traveler is of Light, a wavelength of space magic concerning the material world. The Veil is of Darkness, a different wavelength of space magic concerning the mental world.

The Traveler is found by the Precursors. Through her blessings, they became prosperous, but sought meaning in a universe that didn't have it. The Traveler, despite their worship, never talked to them (she believes in ultimate free will - by talking to anyone, by offering guidance, she would be taking away their ability to choose). They became obsessed with the Final Shape, a complicated piece of philosophy about ending all suffering in reality by freezing all things in a moment in time.

The Precursors found the Veil, and attempted to link it to the Traveler to gain godlike power to reshape reality into the Final Shape. Only through linking the Traveler and the Veil are the Precursors able to gain control over the material (Light) and the mental (Dark). The Traveler disagrees and leaves. The Precursors, filled with anger, engage in mass suicide and link their minds with the Veil into a hive mind called the Witness - because it shall Witness the Final Shape of all reality. They make Disciples, devoted followers hell-bent on enacting the Final Shape.

For eons, the Traveler and Witness are locked in a cycle: the Traveler blesses a civilisation, the Witness and its Disciples arrive and genocide them, and the Traveler leaves.

Eventually, the Traveler finds Earth. She gives us a Golden Age. During the Golden Age, Exominds are created as a form of human immortality via transplanting human minds into machine bodies. Fran-11 is one such Exo. '11' means that he has been rebooted 10 times, prior to his resurrection. (If a person were made an Exo, their first designation is [Name]-1. A reboot iteratively increases this number. An Exo that has been rebooted once is [Name]-2, twice [Name]-3, et cetera.)

The Witness' forces arrive, and begin to genocide mankind. For some reason, the Traveler does not run. It stays, and repels the Witness. Savathûn, a Disciple candidate, kills Disciple Nezarec and steals the Veil to hide it on Neptune.

Injured, the Traveler falls unconscious, but not before creating Ghosts: little parcels of its power (the Light) to search out dead humans are resurrect them.

Humanity collapses into a Dark Age. Three groups of humans survive.

• On Earth, Light-bearing Warlords wreak havoc. Eventually, a group of Warlords called 'the Iron Lords' agree to use their powers for good, eventually leading to the construction of the Last City, somewhere in Peru (probably). The Iron Lords are wiped out (with two survivors) after they piss off Rasputin, a Golden Age defensive AI.
  • Lightbearers wield the Light, a form of space magic.
  • Unless their Ghosts are dead, they are immortal.
• On Neptune, survivors hide themselves on Neomuna. They find out that the Veil has been hidden on Neptune and use it as the basis of their technologies.
• In space, a group of humans emerge from a singularity after being caught between the Witness and the Traveler. Millions of years have passed within the singularity. They emerge as the Awoken to help their brethren in Sol.

The City Age begins. Earthbound humans consolidate in the Last City. Lightbearers become civilised, and are now sworn to protect mankind. They are called Guardians.

• Guardians have three Classes: Hunters, Warlocks and Titans.
• This is primarily a psychological thing. A Lightbearer could be all three, or none at all.
• It is a useful framework to learn the Light.

Around this time, aliens arrive in Sol.

• The Fallen, insectoid space pirates.
  • Their species is Eliksni.
  • They are salty that the Traveler abandoned them for humanity.
  • They are divided into factions called Houses.
• The Cabal, space turtle rhino Imperial Romans.
  • They are here to conquer Sol.
• The Vex, the original pattern that dominated all realities in the Garden Before Time.
• The Hive, a race of undead bugs that become more powerful when they kill.
  • They would have been blessed by the Traveler, but were instead tricked by the Witness and its minions into becoming servants of Darkness.
  • They hate the Light, viewing it as the antithesis of their philosophy, the Sword Logic, and come to kill us all.
  • Savathûn is one of the Big Three Hive Gods, she is of Cunning. Xivu Arath, of War; Oryx, King of the Hive.

The Guardian, the Main Character, is resurrected at an old Russian Cosmodrome. They will become legend.

---

As of the in-story calendar in Chapter 1, the Last City is searching for a path into the Traveler, after the Witness found the Veil on Neptune and carved a path into the Traveler enact its Final Shape. The Last City has become allies with the House of Light, a group of Eliksni led by Mithrax, Kell of Light. They seek peace with humanity unlike other Houses. The Last City has also become allied with the Imperial Cabal / Cabal Ascendancy, a group of Cabal lead by Empress Caiatl. The Imperial Cabal are refugees from what remains of the former Cabal Empire, after their homeworld and many territories were attacked and destroyed by Xivu Arath.

 

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The three Guardians crowded around the computer terminal, anxiously tracking the red dot as it travelled across the CRT monitor. It crossed a dashed line before vanishing; the screen lit up with red warning messages as a lone beep cut through the silence of the control room.

There was a collective grimace by the three Guardians. Fran-11 sighed and placed his palms on his face; Wei Jie collapsed in a chair, deflated; and Hafiz abruptly stood, fists clenched and shaking.

"…same result as the last two," Fran said hollowly, looking up from his palms. "The probe was vaporised as soon as it crossed the barrier."

The other two Guardians remained unresponsive. Hafiz stomped around the deck, boots leaving dents in the metal flooring. Wei Jie continued to murmur under his breath, "Fear is the mind-killer…fear is the mind-killer…"

Fran glared at the CRT monitor and its flashing message: "SATELLITENSIGNAL VERLOREN". There was no good way to put it: Fireteam "Past Our Expiration Dates" were trapped on Leng and truly alone. A paracausal force had erected a barrier around Leng's atmosphere to stop anything from leaving. "…and if the readings were right, the barrier would annihilate anything making planetfall, too." Fran grimly concluded.

His mind wandered to the visions he'd experienced while unconscious. The voice that spoke to him. Did she have anything to do with this barrier? Did she have a hand in the paracausal energies that permeated Leng?

"Nothing for it but to try," he said to himself, taking a glance at the Kolibri's dissected corpse, his collected bio-samples weighing heavy on his belt. Charlie sent him a spark of worry over their link.

Fran-11 took a deep breath. He sent a wave of soothing assurance over the link, gathered his strength and stood. He stepped over the to Kolibri's remains and vaporised it in a spray of Solar flame, then turned to look at his despondent Fireteam.

He pinged them both on comms. "Hafiz, Wei," he said. "I know that we're all upset. But this isn't the place to mope. Let's return to base – and besides, I think that I've got a lead."

Wei Jie perked up, standing to his feet as Hafiz nodded resolutely.

Hafiz cocked his head at the exit, Wastelander already manifested in his hands. "You make a good point. Thanks, Fran. Let's go before our presence attracts any more of those freaks."

---

"…so this voice, it gave you instructions?" Hafiz questioned, eyebrow raised. Fran nodded in response.

"Yes, I'm fairly certain," Fran replied. "But the details are lost on me." He glanced at Wei Jie, who had commandeered a whiteboard to collate their findings: the whiteboard was filled with text and diagrams. It looked like the scratchings of the insane. Or the Drifter.

"Now all we need to determine is, if this entity is hostile," Wei Jie drawled. "And if it has ulterior reasons for luring you over to…?"

Fran shrugged. "I'm not certain. She wanted me to go somewhere on Leng. I'm just not sure where."

"So let me check: something spoke to you while you were unconscious, gave you directions, but you can't remember the details of what and where and why, yes?" Hafiz listed.

Fran nodded, feeling non-existent blood rush to his cheeks. "When you say it like that, it doesn't sound very credible, does it?"

The room fell silent, save for the hum of the HVAC.

"Then again," Wei Jie said, "We might not have a choice."

"Come again?" Hafiz asked.

"Look, Sue, we've got no other way out," Wei Jie said. With a thwack, he hit the whiteboard with a pointer stick. "The path back to Sol through the Penrose remains inaccessible to us. Orbital escape isn't viable. This is our last lead."

He hit the whiteboard again. The pointer stick landed on the words: 'UNKNOWN PARACAUSAL FORCE BEHIND ALL THIS?'

The thwack of the pointer stick echoed in the room. The oppressive haze of knowing they were well and truly stranded from Tower and Vanguard support hung above their heads. The threat of falling into depression seemed to linger. Everyone knew the stories of Guardians who suffered Final Deaths after they were stranded from external support – the Kentarch-3, Eris Morn's failed expedition into the Hellmouth, and Pahanin's dead Fireteam, just to name a few.

"Well," Hafiz answered, rubbing his forehead. "You make a good point, I suppose. Still rubs me the wrong way, making contact with an unknown paracausal force of unknown intent. But it's all we have left. Now the problem is, how can we follow its instructions when Fran isn't clear on the details?"

Fran raised an arm, catching the eye of the Hunter and Titan.

"About that…I may have an idea." He waved a hand at the table.

The sample canisters of KLBR bio-components appeared on the table with a flash.

Fran smiled, synthetic teeth bared. "I believe I may have just the thing," he smiled as Wei Jie and Hafiz leaned in.

---

"For the record, I think this is a bad idea," Wei Jie said as he secured Fran to the chair. He grabbed the belts and looped them around Fran's limbs.

"Wasn't it your idea to purse this Voice?" Fran shot back with a grin. He tried to ignore the growing sense of unease at the bottom of his stomach, or the disgust in his throat at being strapped into a former torture device. Bloody Eusans, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, but it wasn't my idea to strap you into a chair and blast you with an unknown paracausal force using parts scavenged from a dead psychic android's brain." Wei Jie retorted as he kneeled to begin tying down Fran's legs.

"If my calculations are right," Fran defended, "The bioresonance should tune me into the Voice's channel, so to speak. Give me some leeway, I spent two days on the maths and another two on the device." He pointedly looked towards the projector-like device pointed at his skull.

"Now's not the time to chat," Hafiz chastised as he adjusted a dial on the makeshift device. The Replika's salvaged bio-components had been jury-rigged with a salvaged computer and bits from a satellite array. "We can joke around later. Fran, these readings seem okay to you?"

He brought a tablet over to the restrained Warlock. Fran surveyed the figures, then nodded. "Seems about right to me."

"Then after Wei has finished securing you into the chair, we should be clear to start. Ghosts, are you ready?" Hafiz asked authoritatively.

The Fireteam's three Ghosts bobbed in agreement, each flitting about Fran as they collected scan data.

"Aaand I'm done." Wei Jie announced. He gave his ties a tug. "Not too tight, I hope?"

"Seems fine to me," Fran replied. Nervousness had begun to creep into his throat.

"Then, good luck to you," Wei Jie mock-saluted. "We, who are about to die, salute you," he joked as he turned on his heel and left.

"Am I not the one in danger?" Fran chuckled. "Wrong quote, Wei."

Hafiz grunted as he stepped towards the Warlock. "Fran." He spoke. "Thank you for putting yourself at risk for us."

"Jeez, boss, I'm not dying here."

"I know." Hafiz turned away. The door slid shut with a hiss, and the Arc isolation field clicked on with a buzz that seemed to rattle his bones.

With the Titan and Hunter gone, Fran was alone in the isolated chamber with the three Ghosts. He took a deep breath and met Charlie's eye. Words unspoken passed between them.

"Send it."

Charlie bobbed, sending a pulse of assurance. "Roger."

The machine beeped once, power draw spiking as an electronic wail filled the room, icy knives digging into his skull and eyes as Fran's mouth opened wide and he screamed—

---

Fran woke up, feeling metal on his fingers. He hurried up, eyes bleary. He reached for Arc Logic, but found nothing. His utility belt had also disappeared. He reached within: his Light still bubbled and crackled under his skin. Shaxx's voice echoed in his mind, "Until you've lost your Light, you're not unarmed!" He chuckled at the memory, then focussed.

"Charlie? Sidonia? Sparkle?" he called. There was no reply. "Alone, then," he surmised.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings. Unfamiliar environment, metal plating, ship bulkheads it looks like, pressure gauges, agitprop on the walls – wait, am I on the Penrose?

He traced the room's outlines. Yes it was – this was one of the Penrose's chambers, a hub area of sorts. Though it was remarkably well-kept, looking much cleaner and less decrepit than the real one.

"Though, who's to say that this isn't the real one, and the one orbiting Earth is fake," Fran mused before shaking his head. There would be time for ruminating. Not here, in unknown territory.

The plan had been to establish a more solid connection to the Voice he'd heard while unconscious using salvaged KLBR bioresonance emitters. Something like Eris Morn's setup for delving into Calus' mind. But this – this result was something else entirely.

"It all comes back to that ship," he murmured as he began to explore. Just what connection did the Voice have with the Penrose? And how did they end up in Sol?

Fran searched the first room: some form of housing for the Penrose's reactor. He left quickly, a primal part of his psyche screaming at him to run. In any case it wasn't a good idea to stand next to a leaky nuclear reactor, dream-state or not, if the dials and the large puddle were correct.

The next room was a storage area. Nothing of note, although the unfinished painting on an easel seemed to elicit a strange sort of psychic stirring. He mentally noted it before carrying on. No weapon, but a blunt metal pipe would suffice.

The third room – well, he saw it again. That same slumped-over LSTR android. Another confirmation that this was a representation of the Penrose, Fran noted. He almost heard a whisper on the ship's ventilation as he examined the defunct android. He chose to ignore it. It was neither active nor corrupted, and as far as he was concerned, that made it a non-threat.


Done with his investigation, he stepped towards the last chamber, metal pipe at the ready.This door looks the same as the rest, he pondered as he accessed its mechanisms, so why does it feel like I'm stepping into a Wizard's lair?

Fran steeled himself, pushing Arc through the pipe. The pipe began to glow blue, licks of electricity jumping from its surface onto a nearby bulkhead. He took a deep breath, took a combat stance, then unlocked the door.

Reddish-black light spilled from the impossibly long chamber, harsh whispering filling his ears as his widened eyes took in the sight, liquid fear filling Fran's every pore.

"Nightmares…! Here on Leng?!" he breathed.

A terrible moment passed as he watched them float, Arc coursing through his limbs as every part of him screamed in fear.

Then, in a moment that threatened to send him running, one of the larger ones turned to him.

It descended, coalescing into a familiar form, polymer limbs and synthetic flesh clawing forth as Fran watched, transfixed, the Nightmare growing like a tumour.

[NIGHTMARE OF STCR-████: BRUTAL HAND OF THE NATION]​

It drew a sparking stun baton from the ether and leered at Fran, violence on its very breath and murder on its lips.

Then, in a blink, it dashed forward, baton a blur as it swung down at Fran.

 

[Twei]

More and more I wonder if the occasional use of the wrong name has been intentional all along. Since, y'know, identity issues are kind of half of the plot.

That might not have anything to do with this chapter in particular, I just wanted to say it.

Oneironaut Fran... good luck in there. I forget the lore/narrative mechanics of Nightmares, so I can't comment too much on this one showing up here? Other than that it's probably not good, but like, duh.

 

[Potato]

More and more I wonder if the occasional use of the wrong name has been intentional all along. Since, y'know, identity issues are kind of half of the plot.

Click to shrink...

Definitely not, I'm just editing this on my handphone and being careless, sorry. Also I'm 100% sure I haven't gotten any names wrong this chapter.

 

[Potato]

Spoiler

I have to end this quickly.

Fran-11 immediately raised his arm, years of close-quarters experience taking over as he braced for impact. Simultaneously, he condensed a Flashbang into his left palm, mentally counting down as the Storch approached.

Then, the Storch slammed into the metal pipe with a crash, forcing Fran backwards as his arm shook from the impact. He charged himself with Void Light as he dropped the Flashbang at his feet. As the Flashbang hit the ground, he dodged another haymaker from the Storch and flung a Fusion Grenade onto the Storch. As the Nightmare struggled with the sparking Fusion Grenade, Fran threw himself backwards with a Blink, heart pounding like a jackhammer.

In moments, the Flashbang and Fusion Grenades detonated in a scream of blinding Arc and howling Solar. Fran's visor automatically polarised in response as he charged his legs with Arc to dash back forward, the crude metal pipe swinging down as he overcharged the crude weapon.

The metal pipe connected with a slam, and Fran felt something deform under its impact with a sickening crunch. But in the same instant, the Storch lunged out with an arm and seized Fran's neck.

Fran felt his eyes bulge out and his throat choke as the Storch lifted him to eye level, its rictus grin replaced by rage, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. Oxidant openly poured from a blackish wound on its deformed cranium, drenching its hair and face red. Its external plating had become darkened with soot.

It roared at him, a scream more animal than human that echoed in Fran's skull, every last decibel promising violence and torture.

It raised its other hand to show Fran the sparking stun baton. His eyes widened for a moment before the Storch slammed it into his chest, servos and artificial muscles seizing painfully as Fran shouted in agony.

The shout emboldened the Nightmare, who leaned in to leer at Fran. It opened its maw and laughed at Fran in a guttural, grinding snarl.

Fran took a breath as he spasmed and looked within, willing dormant subroutines to activate as his mind frantically raced to plan a route of attack. As in-built Exomind combat instincts kicked in, he felt his mind sharpen and the pain dull as he regained control of his body. Steely determination replaced fear as he evaluated his options.

Ignoring the lingering discomfort, he gathered his Light, reared his head and then slammed it into the Nightmare with as much force as he could bear. As the steel prongs on the edge of the Crown punched into the Storch with a crunch, he discharged the stored Light into the Storch with a roar.

As if struck by lightning, the Storch was thrown backwards by an explosion of force, a high-pitched scream tearing itself from its throat as uncontrolled Arc energies were let loose into its body, ripping up armour and tearing open wounds. It landed with a crack on the concrete floor, writhing in excruciating pain as the Arc currents continued to wreak havoc in search for a ground.

Fran was flung back as well; with a minor force of will, he called his Light to bear to arrest his momentum to bring him to a stop on the concrete. He lay there, panting as he flushed his body with healing Solar Light. The wounds on his synthetic skin and inside his artificial organs were sealed shut, as if they had never been there in the first place.

He grunted as he stood up, then looked down with a grimace. The metal pipe in his hand had been blackened with soot and was ripped open at the seams. It was too deformed now; one more strike would likely shatter it to pieces.

"The Arc energies must have exacerbated existing stress fractures…tch."

Fran tossed the broken pipe to the side where it landed with a clang. He took a look at the Nightmare; it had finally stopped seizing, and had started to climb back to its feet. It was smoking and looked pissed.

Fran gritted his teeth and swivelled his head. "Need a weapon, need a weapon…" But the room was empty, save for the other howling Nightmares that laughed and screamed in equal measure. His eyes then fell upon the Storch's stun baton, which lay on the floor where it had been dropped.

Fran emptied his mind and called forth the Void, Blinking forwards and scooping the stun baton off the ground. He turned to look at the Storch and winced. If it was pissed earlier, it was now furious. Its face was contorted in anger, the very shadows seeming to bend inwards at it.

He looked down at the newly acquired baton and gave it a few swings, feeling his eyebrows raise. Unlike the usual plastic flimsies in the real world, the baton in his hands felt sturdy, more…permanent, even. The weapon seemed to call to him, begging him to give it power. It clearly wasn't a normal stun baton.

He ignored his nagging doubts. There was a proper time and place for tangling with dream logic, and it wasn't here.

The Warlock took a keen eye at the Storch. It bled from every inch of skin, the previous Arc blast having done nothing good for it. Its stance was unstable and its gait was weak.

You're hurt, huh? Good.

He took a combat stance, leaning forward as he held the baton in a guard. He raised his left hand and curled his palm in a taunt – "come get me".

The Storch exploded with force, lashing forwards in a blink. In moments it had returned to melee distance, black polymer fists raining down on Fran in a flurry of enraged blows. Fran grunted as he backpedaled, his entire being laser-focussed on keeping out of the way. His eyes keenly tracked the Storch's movements for holes in its defence.

Eventually, the Storch overextended and stumbled, its eyes fractionally widening as it fell.

I've got you now.

Fran stepped forward under the Storch's guard, then rammed the stun baton with two hands into its gut in one smooth motion.

The Nightmare roared in pain, spraying blood and gore over Fran. Fran felt himself grin under his helmet as he pulled on his Arc Light and pushed it into the Replika.

In a burst of Light, the baton in his hands greedily drank from him, then discharged everything in a single, blinding spray.

The paracausal lightning lanced through the Nightmare, Arc ripping electrons from atoms and tearing molecules apart. The Storch bulged once then detonated in a shockwave that flung Fran to the ground. It screamed one last time, a howl that pierced Fran's very being and echoed through his mind as the reddish-black light disappeared from the room.

Gore and oxidant were thrown outwards, staining the concrete red and splashing viscera onto Fran who lay flat on the ground, panting. He began to laugh hysterically. "Still got it," he chuckled as his laughter subsided, the tension leaving him with each breath.

"If you're quite done?" a female voice dryly asked.

Fran became instantly alert again, baton at the ready as he leapt to his feet. "Who's there?!" he shouted. "If it's more Nightmares, then I must warn you, it didn't go well for the last one of your lot!"

A pod in the middle of the sterile-white room hissed open as pneumatic seals unlocked. Amidst the cryogenic gas, a white-haired figure sat up, blood-red eyes peering at Fran with a slight frown.

"Franciszek-11. We have to talk."

---

WEAPONS ACQUISITIONS:​

STROMSCHLAG ??? ???

 

[Fire=Shaman]

And finally, we meet the main gal herself. Didn't expect her to come across as sarcastic though.

 

[Potato]

And finally, we meet the main gal herself. Didn't expect her to come across as sarcastic though.

Click to shrink...

If you've been dealing with [REDACTED] as long as she has I expect that some level of sarcasm would be allowed.

 

[RisenIre]

New friend get! And she has already provided loot. Truly the beginning of an auspicious friendship indeed.

 

[Potato]

Spoiler

"Who are you?" Fran-11 asked, stun baton in a tight grip.

The girl sighed as she began to climb from the cryo-pod. She landed with a thump on bare concrete, seemingly uncaring of the bloody aftermath of Fran's battle against the Nightmare as she waded through the carnage towards Fran.

Fran stepped backwards as the girl approached. Despite her stature, seeming frailty and lack of any observable weapons, her entire being screamed danger at him. And the paracausal energies rolling off of her were almost unbelievable in scale. To Fran, it almost felt like the explosion of Light from the Traveler that ended the Red War.

After several moments of watching him, the girl sighed before waving an arm at him. The air in front of Fran rippled as if underwater for a moment before a table and two chairs appeared.

Fran leapt backwards in fright. The girl simply rolled her eyes before walking over to sit at one of the chairs. She then cocked her head at the bemused Warlock.

"Take a seat, Fran. This following conversation is going to be difficult and it would be best for you to be sitting for it."

Fran-11 gingerly stepped forward. He cautiously placed a hand on the chair, hesitating for a moment before taking a seat. His hand never left the stun baton.

"So," the girl said, clasping her hands. "I shall be frank with you."

"My name is Ariane Yeong. I will do my best to explain the situation at hand. But I sense that you have a few questions." She gestured at him with an open hand. Fran suppressed his instinctive disgust and curiosity at the limb's necrotic appearance.

Fran thought for a moment, before nodding expectantly. "I do. Firstly, where are we? For what reason have you sought me out?"

"We are in a dream. I am using the dream as a means to talk to you," the now-identified Ariane said, gesturing to herself. "My true body is elsewhere. Exactly where? I'm not sure."

"That explains the Nightmares."

"Is that what those pests are called?" Ariane cocked her head to the side, like a curious avian. "Fitting, I suppose. They are quite horrific. As for your second question, I will be blunt."

The girl leaned forwards, a sudden intensity in her narrowed eyes. Are they glowing? Fran wondered as he nodded along.

"There is a malignant force here on Leng that I want you to kill."

The statement hung in the air, like the coppery stench of spilled offal. Fran worked his jaw as he digested the message, his mind constructing his response with care as he regarded the petite girl. Clearly, she was much more powerful than she let on. Why couldn't she go and do it herself? Her earlier statement implied that she was incapacitated somewhere. Plus, dreams had meaning when paracausal forces were involved, as the incursions into the late Calus' mind had shown – and her rising from a very obvious cryogenic pod meant…what, exactly? Was she being held in cryo somewhere?

And what was this 'malignant force', exactly?

Best to establish that first.

"Okay," Fran said experimentally. "May I know what this 'force' is?"

Ariane nodded, shifting in her seat as she adjusted her dress. "Using terminology I've borrowed from you lot, it would be a…paracausal, is it?" At Fran's encouraging nod, she continued, "A paracausal force, aligned with what you term the 'Darkness'. I call it the Red Eye."

Fran felt his eyes widen. Despite the polarised helmet, Ariane seemed to notice, a small, knowing smile creasing her face.

"You've felt it too, haven't you? A sensation of being watched?"

Fran felt himself nodding as he answered, "Yes, when Wei Jie and I went out to investigate the perimeter of Sierpinski-23. Those fragments of Darkness tech we found – we felt like we were being watched by something much greater." Just the memory of the incident was enough to send a pulse of dread shooting through him. He ignored it and soldiered on.

Fran leaned back in the conjured chair, thoughts running through his mind at speed. "I want to know more about this supposed foe. Why is it malignant? Why do we have to kill it? How would we kill it?"

Ariane paused, a thoughtful look in her eyes as she processed the questions. "I suppose that malignant might be inaccurate," she replied slowly. "It's a negative influence, to be sure, but it doesn't quite seem alive to me. My interactions with it make it out to be more like a well-programmed computer than anything. I myself have never sensed anything emotional from it."

"Hm. A runaway Darkness machine, maybe?" Fran murmured to himself. More investigation needed, he noted. "Please, carry on."

Ariane nodded. "As for its negativity, as far as I can tell, the Red Eye has been silently manipulating Eusan society. I've…observed it enter the minds of Gestalts and Replikas alike with these Nightmares, quietly nudging them to torment each other. I can't be sure, but I suspect that this is the reason for why Eusan is so irrationally awful."

Fran made a face. As far as he was concerned, Sierpinski-23 was its own special slice of Hell itself. The appalling living situation of the human workers and the oppression they faced was, he inferred darkly, a likely microcosm of the wider Eusan society. "Yeah, no kidding. I've seen plenty of human cruelty myself, but the kind of vileness that permeates the Nation is on another level. There's oppression for the sake of maintaining control, and then there's the Rule of Six," Fran said in agreement. "But I sense that you're not quite done on this issue?"

Ariane nodded, eyebrows furrowed. "Indeed. The Red Eye has been targeting me, and other powerful bioresonants in particular for its torments. It's been studying us, I'm sure of it. The entire situation with Penrose…" her tone darkened before continuing. "It's previously mentioned something about finding a…Disciple?"

Fran felt a spike of freezing cold spear through his heart, a hundred thoughts in his mind silencing in an instant as simulated sweat began to bead on his palms. He slammed the table as he stood up, shock sweeping through him like an uncontrolled Solar flame.

"Disciple?" he heard himself say, like he was a hundred kilometres away. "Are you sure it said this term specifically?"

Ariane leaned back, clearly surprised. "Yes, I have heard it refer to me and other bioresonants as that before. 'Disciple-Candidate-Alpha-Zero-One' for me. This…" she stared at Fran, cognitive flywheels spinning behind her eyes. "It means something bad, doesn't it?"

Fran fell back into his chair with a clatter, hysterical laughter on his lips as he clutched his head. "Oh, you have no clue how bad it is." He clenched his eyes shut, feeling pressure build in his cranium like a sealed kettle of boiling water.

Ariane frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Please elaborate."

Fran gripped onto the table with shaking fingers, willing himself to still as he took deep breaths. "Disciples," he began, "Are followers of the evilest force in the universe – the Witness." Just the word itself seemed to darken the shadows in this dream. "The Witness seeks to end all life in existence in search of some twisted ideal. Disciples are its primary agents."

"...oh." Ariane answered with wide eyes.

"'Oh' indeed. 'Alpha-Zero-One'. You, Ariane, are a prime candidate to be recruited by the most malevolent force this universe knows for its dirty work of exterminating entire species and civilisations," Fran bitterly chuckled. "This matches the Witness' known tricks, you know. It torments people of great power into puppets." Rhulk being one such example.

"...and I've been tormented my whole life, living in a society that it has been moulding through our dreams," Ariane whispered, horror filling her every word.

"If this Red Eye is trying to make a Disciple, it must die. Before its torments find purchase elsewhere, or if it manages to find out about how your power came to be," Fran said. "Now, the most important part. How do we kill it?"

"No clue," Ariane said plainly. "All this time, I've been busy defending against its attacks on my mind. Even now, as I speak to you, I'm fighting. I simply haven't had the time to investigate further. What I know has been painstakingly put together over…I don't even remember anymore. Feels like years have passed, even."

"Traveler damn it," Fran quietly cursed, thoughts running a mile a minute. "Damn and blast," he cursed again. He took a few deep breaths, well-practised breathing exercises coming to the fore as he forcefully re-adjusted his train of thought.

There'll be time for theoreticals later. Focus on the practicals now. Fran-11's mind ran through his options before making a decision. He sat up in his chair and looked at Ariane.

"Ariane, if we are to kill it, three Guardians won't be enough. I'd need a Raid Team – that's what we call six Guardians, by the way – so is there any way for me to get back to Sol?" He asked.

Ariane put her chin on a palm in consideration. "I'm not sure if that would be possible," she decided eventually. "Why? As with everything else in this bloody place, the reason is complicated. Even now I'm still fuzzy on many of the details."

She frowned as her eyes darted back-and-forth. "It's a long story. I…I don't even know how I should recount this. Some of what I've experienced have been strange to say the least."

"Then start from the beginning, and try your best. I'll clear any doubts I have with you," Fran said patiently, arms crossed.

"...you're right. Here, time has no meaning. No bearing on the real world," Ariane conceded.

She took a deep breath, eyes tightly shut as she mentally tallied her past. After a few moments, she opened her mouth, and began, "It all started with the Nation's Penrose space exploration programme and how I met the love of my life…"

 

[Engineer455]

oh B O Y.
A Raid-level clusterfuck, and only three Guardians to deal with it.
I'd almost suggest seeing if Ariane can't kidnap some unpaired Ghosts to see if they can't rez any of the bodies in S-23.
Because quite frankly, having three experienced risen teaching three kinderguardians is better than a fireteam having to face all of that shit on their own.

Also a Risen MHNR or SAPR would probably be the scariest thing to walk on two legs on the continent she's standing on.

 

[Ylamona]

Hmm, I'll be honest and say I don't really feel...right about this revelation? Like I guess I get it to make the whole setting into one but turning Red Eye into just part of Darkness/evil bad force from Destiny feels....reductive? I guess it's just me being picky but I always liked if things more balanced in crossover, or separated I guess.

 

[Engineer455]

Hmm, I'll be honest and say I don't really feel...right about this revelation? Like I guess I get it to make the whole setting into one but turning Red Eye into just part of Darkness/evil bad force from Destiny feels....reductive? I guess it's just me being picky but I always liked if things more balanced in crossover, or separated I guess.

Click to shrink...

I do kind of agree with this take.
I personally would've preferred the Red Eye to be some form of home-grown eldritch horror/horrible gribbly thing.
But at the end of the day this is Potato's fic, it's been pretty good so far, and we don't really know exactly what the fuck is up with the Red Eye anyways in Signalis, so as far as crossover things go this isn't that bad.
I've certainly seen much, much worse.

 

[Ylamona]

I do kind of agree with this take.
I personally would've preferred the Red Eye to be some form of home-grown eldritch horror/horrible gribbly thing.
But at the end of the day this is Potato's fic, it's been pretty good so far, and we don't really know exactly what the fuck is up with the Red Eye anyways in Signalis, so as far as crossover things go this isn't that bad.
I've certainly seen much, much worse.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah of course, definitely. Author done a good job so far so it's probably turn out fine.

It's probably just me that feels the balance currently tilts way too much Destiny's side of things? Like the Signalis side of things basically just become a dressing, a cosmetic for a Destiny content? It would be like fine for me if it's just usual crossover stuff where one thing inexplicably end in other thing. But if it's actual fusion of settings then it feels a bit...I don't want to use this world but pardon me and I am do sorry to author, disrespectful to Signalis? Narrative wise at least, I am sure VSers would have field day teaching me about how Destiny side just stomp things.

Like Red Eye in particular. We don't know if it's actually malevolent, just your usual indifferent eldritch horror, or even exist. It might even just symbolic of the tyrannical way of the government. It might even that but as perceived and amplified by bioresonant, creating some sort of symbolic avatar of said resonant's negative feeling toward government.

But still, Author did a good job and despite my gripe with this, I am sure it will be turned out good in the end.

 

[Potato]

But still, Author did a good job and despite my gripe with this, I am sure it will be turned out good in the end.

Click to shrink...

Whew, talk about pressure buddy.

It's probably just me that feels the balance currently tilts way too much Destiny's side of things? Like the Signalis side of things basically just become a dressing, a cosmetic for a Destiny content? It would be like fine for me if it's just usual crossover stuff where one thing inexplicably end in other thing. But if it's actual fusion of settings then it feels a bit...I don't want to use this world but pardon me and I am do sorry to author, disrespectful to Signalis?

Click to shrink...

The Guardians are blowing through S-23 because they haven't met the really fucky stuff yet.
Like FLKR.

The crossover appears the way it is because I am attempting to weld two very different cosmologies together. Making the Red Eye a Darkness entity neatly ties up many loose ends for me.

If Destiny appears to be dominating the crossover, it's because (a) the perspective characters are Guardians, and (b) Signalis lore is pretty vague at times so I'm using Destiny's cosmology as a fill-in for various explanations.

The idea that spawned Orbital Anomaly is:

Spoiler: BIG SPOILERS

What if Ariane Yeong was a Disciple candidate? We know the Witness delights in screwing over societies and species that the Traveler has touched (humans being one of them), and that it engages in large-scale fuckery to make Disciples (as it did for Rhulk, the First Disciple, and Savathun, another Disciple candidate).

So what if, it was purposely fucking over Eusan society by making it over-the-top in awfulness to see if it could get a human Disciple? Ariane Yeong's life has been pretty fucked up, this and her crazy powerful bioresonance would make her a prime candidate for Discipleship.

We don't know if it's actually malevolent, just your usual indifferent eldritch horror, or even exist.

Click to shrink...

Given the secret ending I'm pretty sure the Red Eye does exist.

It might even just symbolic of the tyrannical way of the government.

Click to shrink...

That's the fun part. In my fic, the Red Eye is symbolic of Eusan tyranny because it has been pulling the strings for many years now to shape Eusan society into something that is awful as a means to find a Disciple. That's why Eusan citizens have superstition about the Red Eye: every one of them has been subject to its influence.

 

[Engineer455]

Spoiler: BIG SPOILERS

What if Ariane Yeong was a Disciple candidate? We know the Witness delights in screwing over societies and species that the Traveler has touched (humans being one of them), and that it engages in large-scale fuckery to make Disciples (as it did for Rhulk, the First Disciple, and Savathun, another Disciple candidate).

So what if, it was purposely fucking over Eusan society by making it over-the-top in awfulness to see if it could get a human Disciple? Ariane Yeong's life has been pretty fucked up, this and her crazy powerful bioresonance would make her a prime candidate for Discipleship.

Click to shrink...

My mind immediately came up with this:

Spoiler

Witness: "Oh boy, we get to fuck over that stupid ball again, we get a more controllable discount Nezarec without the cocaine addiction, and we also get more troops that regenerate like the Scorn do!
Man, deciding to fuck with those humans was a really good idea."
(I am a firm believer that Nezarec is effectively the "Witness' Least Medicated Soldier" (or most depending on how you look at it), don't @ me, I'm right and I know it.)/s. Mostly.

 

[Ylamona]

If Destiny appears to be dominating the crossover, it's because (a) the perspective characters are Guardians, and (b) Signalis lore is pretty vague at times so I'm using Destiny's cosmology as a fill-in for various explanations.

Click to shrink...

Oh no, I can accept the first one quite well. It's just neat to see perspective done like that. It just when played straight like this, it feels super cheap. Again, this is actually due to your good writing and handling things, otherwise I won't be this much invested and feel so greatly. But just treating "Yeah actually that super unknown entity? We know how it works totally no problem" kinda take away all the mystery and charm of signalis. It's like putting HFY in Lovecraft setting so to speak. The vagueness isn't a weakness, it's the feature so to speak. Like a mystery horror.

Honestly, my first thought with this event, it's mostly due to Guardian's own bias. With the twist that they are actually dealing with entirely different thing that their usual repertoire and knowledge can't handle. Some parts clicked just too well due to their bias and their own memories seeped into the weird hibbies jeebies which simply added more details. But in the end, it's truly as enigmatic as it always is. It exist, it might not, it just there and nothing can be done about it beyond saving the humans away.

Again, it's your story and you certainly have your concept down to pat. It's just my personal take and gripes. If Red Eye never brought up completely, I wouldn't even react that much even if it's revealed Eusean is some Vex experiment or weirder. But since Red Eye dragged in then the cosmology and tone become completely different when you tied it to "It's just another Darkness entity".

I guess in the end it doesn't matter much as I enjoyed this story simply for the interaction between the individuals. The macro-player simply yet another background role hopefully.

tldr: It's fine, just ignore my rambling. Just feel like the hopeless mystery of Signalis dispelled the moment it explained away, like a magician's trick.

 

[Potato]

"Yeah actually that super unknown entity? We know how it works totally no problem"

Click to shrink...

Ah, but the Fireteam and Ariana both have no idea how to kill the Red Eye. Or if it can be killed. Ariane herself admits that she's been too busy fighting against the Nightmares that Red Eye has been dispatching against her to do any further digging.

Nezarec without the cocaine addiction

Click to shrink...

That's fucking hilarious, but how did the Witness get Nezzy to do anything? That guy seemed really high up his own ass in the raid.

 

[Engineer455]

That's fucking hilarious, but how did the Witness get Nezzy to do anything? That guy seemed really high up his own ass in the raid.

Click to shrink...

Nezzy seems to literally feed on the pain, suffering, and terror of other sapients, which is probably why he can/could control Nightmares to the extent he did, he might have even created the things in the first place as well. (Also, slightly unrelated possibly, but the fucker is still alive. His physical body was probably just a vessel for him.)
My guess is that the Witness was basically all "hey, work with us and you get to feed from and take an active role in us torching Traveler-touched civilizations."
And Nez took the deal, because it was a good deal for him.

 

[Ylamona]

Ah, but the Fireteam and Ariana both have no idea how to kill the Red Eye. Or if it can be killed. Ariane herself admits that she's been too busy fighting against the Nightmares that Red Eye has been dispatching against her to do any further digging.

Click to shrink...

It's really not about killing? It's more about understanding. A vague threat is a much more, well, threatening than explained one. Like I said, explaining the mystery takes away all the fantasy unless you planning to use it as a twist later, which I doubt. Though I know I am in way minority here since majority seemed to be more from Destiny side of things and fine with this turn of event so I'll just accept it I guess.

 

[Lepidoptera]

"Ariane, if we are to kill it, three Guardians won't be enough. I'd need a Raid Team – that's what we call six Guardians, by the way – so is there any way for me to get back to Sol?" He asked.

Click to shrink...

"I bet you could fight a 1 Guardian. I bet you could might even probably beat 3 Guardians. but, 6 Guardians? No. 6 Guardians is your demise. you must befriend them quickly, or perish."

It is a tad amusing that the go-to solution to "Oh no, the horrible eldritch horror thing is here" is just to get another three people.

 

[Potato]

As per the title. Some of the lore I have to reference is dependent on how the Final Shape unfolds. No more chapters until I've finished the expansion.

 

[Potato]

Spoiler

A/N: Final Shape was fucking awesome. Bungie really cooked with this expansion.

---

"...so let me get this straight," Fran frowned. "There's something under Sierpinski that's acting as the Red Eye's portal to the real world?" He mentally noted the factoid for further investigation. That matched the Fireteam's initial goal of further investing S-23's depths for the source of paracausal energies that suffused the frozen moon.

His eyes quickly scanned the blackboard that hovered behind Ariane. This being a dream of sorts let Ariane materialise anything – within reason – to demonstrate a point or to elaborate on an explanation. The blackboard had become covered end-to-end with chalk scribblings.

"That's my working theory," Ariane agreed. "The closer you get to it, the stranger things get. That's why I want you to blow it up. Limiting the Red Eye's ability to influence things in realspace would be a good start towards opening our options up."

"Such as allowing more Guardians through the Penrose?" Fran asked.

"Yes. Right now, I'm keeping the time loop's barrier as strong as possible to try and contain the Red Eye and its Nightmares. I suspect that the time loop has cut it off from the rest of the Eusan system, although there's no way for me to precisely tell. Once its ability to affect realspace has been curtailed, I can lower the barrier somewhat and let more of your Guardians through," Ariane pointed to a diagram she'd drawn on a materialised blackboard. A chalk circle labelled 'time loop' enveloped a depiction of Leng and the Red Eye, a segment of the circle crossed out and labelled 'Penrose-512'.

Fran paused, cognitive gears turning. "Three questions for you: firstly, why did you raise a time loop, surely a simple barrier would have sufficed? Secondly, how are you so certain that whatever's under S-23 is the means by which Red Eye acts on the material world? Thirdly, how did the Penrose appear in Earth's orbit?"

Ariane stopped and raised a finger to her chin as she ruminated on her answer, eyes to the side. Eventually she changed her stance and raised a finger.

"For the first part, the time loop was completely an accident. I raised it when I fully awakened my powers…at the time, Elster confined me to the cryo-pod to try and extend my life." Her face took on a contemplative mien, eyes distant as her voice took on a tone of regret.

"At the time, I wanted to die. Plain and simple. The pain was too much. That, and the suffering we had faced on Penrose." Ariane paused to look to the side, lips pursed.

"I'm working off of whatever little I remember…I think I wanted Elster to come find me, and fulfil her promise to euthanise me. The time loop began, then. I wasn't fully conscious, so my powers must have gone out-of-control…" Ariane rambled.

She shook her head. "Forgive my disorganised thoughts. I've been so busy combating the Red Eye that I haven't had much time to recollect myself. Just endless offense and defense."

Fran leaned forward. "Hey. Sorry to open up old wounds. We can move on, if you'd like to."

"No, no. I'm fine, I think." Ariane took a deep breath. "Even though this body isn't real, breathing still calms my nerves. So strange." Her face turned contemplative again, before she said, "Right, the time loop. I made it while semi-conscious and lashing out with my powers. And when I came to, I was immediately faced with the Red Eye. I kept it up, simply because I figured that lowering the time loop – even for a moment – would allow the Red Eye to regain access to the rest of the system. That wasn't an option for me."

"Which brings us to the second question." Fran leaned back in his seat, fingers resting on the table.

"That one's easier to answer," Ariane smiled a little. "While fighting the Red Eye, I occasionally catch these…statements? Coming from it. I catch flashes of its thoughts – or, what passes for thoughts, anyhow. Its internal dialogue sounds more like lines of machine code," she answered, a thoughtful look on her face.

She glanced at the fully-occupied blackboard, huffed, and then materialised another. She quickly sketched out a diagram of herself and the Red Eye.

"When we clash, it's with our powers. Bioresonance itself contains the domain of the mind," she rationalised, "Some of its thoughts leak into mine during our battles."

"And one of the things I hear quite often is '▒▒▒▒ link [unresponsive/cut off/separated]; ▒▒▒▒ [Wall/Cascade] blocking ▒▒▒▒ access; connection reestablishment priority Alpha.'"

"Gh," Fran winced as he felt a spike of pain lance through his skull. He grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the table, splintering the wood.

"You alright?" Ariane leaned over in concern.

Fran took a breath, feeling the pain disappear in waves. "I'm fine," he reassured Ariane, "Just some of the things you said, I couldn't parse them. It felt like someone was hitting me with a psionic attack, like a KLBR Replika would."

"Really?" Ariane cocked her head to the side. "Felt like I was speaking normally just then."

"Must be a side effect of your own bioresonance. We're not verbally talking to each other right now. You must have been trying to 'speak' in bioresonance," Fran considered as he quickly realised the severity of the situation. "Never mind that, we've got bigger problems. If you're getting small packets of thought from the Red Eye when you fight, then isn't the Red Eye also getting packets from you?"

The thought was chilling. While the Darkness entity was certainly aware of Fireteam 'Past Our Expiration Dates', if it could glean more from Ariane about the talk he was having with her – like the fact that they were plotting to bring six Guardians to kill it, or that they were coming for its connection to realspace – then things could become sticky very fast, he grimly thought.

Ariane paused. "I never considered that," she slowly said. "Seems obvious now that you've said it." Her brows were furrowed in thought.

"I don't know if I can stop it from finding out about this conversation we're having. I'll try to suppress my thoughts, since it seems like we're getting glimpses of each other's 'surface' thoughts. But I can't make any promises," Ariane finished with a grimace. "Sorry. I should have thought of this before making contact."

"It's okay," Fran nodded resolutely. "Without this talk, my Fireteam would still be bumbling around with no clear objective. True, we wanted to investigate Sierpinski's depths, but we didn't know why, or the importance of our mission. With this conversation, we now know a lot more about the Red Eye."

He leaned forward, a lecturing tone entering his speech. "'No plan survives first contact with the enemy,'" he quoted. "My Hunter friend told me this, long ago. The quote comes from a long-dead military commander of Earth. Unforeseen consequences will happen no matter what."

He stood up and walked to the blackboards, pointing to one of Ariane's diagrams of the Red Eye, and a list of its probable capabilities.

"The Red Eye has near-perfect surveillance over Leng, anyway. It would have figured us out sooner or later, so don't worry too much about it," he said reassuringly. Ariane looked at him, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed. "The Red Eye is annoyingly informed of anything that happens on Leng. It would have found us out no matter how well we hid our tracks."

She sat upright in her chair, steeliness entering her eyes. "As for how the Penrose appeared over your world? This needs some elaboration."

She rose to her feet and plodded over to the blackboards, a stick of chalk manifesting in her grip as she began to sketch and speak.

"A side effect of the time loop, formed when I was half-conscious and lashing out, is that an LSTR Replika at the beginning of each loop is 'infected' by my beloved Elster's mind. They're not being overwritten – it's more that two extant individuals are merged." Ariane sharply tapped the two crudely drawn LSTR units. A smile briefly flashed across her face as her gaze lingered on Elster's caricature.

"This motivates them to seek me out so that she can fulfil her promise and euthanise me. I thought that Elster would be enough to destroy the Gate, but…" she bit her lip, frustration and sadness warring in her eyes. "It galls me to say this, but Elster isn't strong enough. Not against the horrors waiting below. So I needed someone else. Someone else who could take down the Red Eye."

She paused, considering. "From what I gleaned from its thoughts, I knew that the Red Eye had enemies. What it called 'the false gardener'. Your Traveler, I presume?" she turned to Fran, an eyebrow raised.
Fran nodded. "Forces of the Witness have been known to call it that, among other things."

"Right. I was desperate, so I sought a connection to the largest source of energies oppositely charged to that of the Red Eye, so I could find allies against it. I was able to manifest Penrose-512 approximately near that source of opposing energies – the Light, as you call it – and after that, it was blind luck that you all came in." She smiled at Fran.

Fran nodded along as he digested Ariane's answer. A question came to him from the depths of his mind. "But the Penrose is still there, isn't it? Why can't you get more Guardians through?"

Ariane turned back to the blackboard to doodle. "Before your Fireteam came aboard the Penrose, there was another, right?"

"Yes," Fran answered. "Fireteam 'Into the Breach'. They were the first on-site."

"The moment they boarded the Penrose, the Red Eye became aware of the ship as a means of egress out of the time loop. I could only keep it up for so long before it made its way out. Thus I had to seal the Penrose as soon as another group entered – that group being your Fireteam."

She finished her drawings with a sharp tap on the board. She turned back to Fran, head lowered and eyes darting. "Look, I'm sorry I got you all involved. I basically kidnapped you," she apologised. "But I was desperate. The Red Eye…it's terrifying. Fighting it feels like I'm on the verge of death at any moment." She turned a pleading eye to Fran. "I'm sorry," she apologised again.

Fran huffed, then raised a hand. Ariane flinched, before relaxing as he placed it on her head.

"You've been through the wringer, haven't you kid?" Fran said wryly as he began to muss her hair. "Me and my Fireteam, we're Guardians. We were made to risk our lives in service of the greater good. As far as I'm concerned, we're in our element against things like the Red Eye. And I'm certain that Wei and Hafiz would agree."

"Kids like you shouldn't be out there, facing the horrors of the universe," he said, a tone of sadness creeping into his voice. "I'll help you. No need to apologise. You've done as well as you could have, under the conditions you've been facing."

"Stop patronising me," Ariane huffed, cheeks pink. "I'm not a kid, and you're probably not old enough to be acting like a grandfather."

"Kid, I'm old enough to be yours," he retorted. "I'll be ninety-five next year. No matter how old you are, there's no way you're more than twenty-five."

He grinned, then gently flicked her on her forehead. "Just hang tight. Me and my Fireteam will have this issue sorted in no time. I'll call the cavalry, we'll smash the Eye, and then, we'll get you and your sweetheart to the Last City. See the sights, enjoy the freedoms you've missed under the Eusan regime."

"That's a promise, old man," she grunted.

"It is." Fran looked at the edges of his fingers, which had started to become transparent. The dream was coming to an end. "Looks like our time is running out, Ariane. I'll see you around. Stay safe out there."

Ariane nodded, a slight smile on her face "You too, old-timer." She frowned. "I've still got lots more intel I wanted to share. Looks like I don't have a choice."

She raised her hands. "I'm going to download the remainder of what I wanted to say directly into your mind. Sorry about this," she weakly smiled as the air around her began to distort.

"Wait, what—"

 

[JmonsterNEO]

"I'm going to download the remainder of what I wanted to say directly into your mind. Sorry about this," she weakly smiled as the air around her began to distort.

"Wait, what—"

Click to shrink...

Fran is gonna wake up with the WORST headache after this.

 

[Vehrec]

I mean the reason that Ariane can write Elster into any LSTR she finds is that they're already half Elster to begin with. The original LSTR template is long gone, all modern units are based on a template taken from the Penrose project. That template, given parsimony of story elements, is Elster. How they got her mind-patterns off the Penrose 512 is unclear, but...there are probably thousands of potential Elsters to work with, if you can get to the ones off Leng.

 

[Potato]

I mean the reason that Ariane can write Elster into any LSTR she finds is that they're already half Elster to begin with. The original LSTR template is long gone, all modern units are based on a template taken from the Penrose project. That template, given parsimony of story elements, is Elster. How they got her mind-patterns off the Penrose 512 is unclear, but...there are probably thousands of potential Elsters to work with, if you can get to the ones off Leng.

Click to shrink...

Since Signalis is weird, I've taken some liberties with the lore.