There was far less joking in the conference room today than had been a week before, and far more attention focused on one of its occupants. Mary was standing firm against that pressure even now, but you'd known her for long enough to see how it was pushing at her. The need to do, to be in motion, was all but hardwired into your friend's personality. And right now, it was denied to her. Because you still weren't sure what could trigger an overload.
Which was why you'd called this meeting forward, to mere hours after the discovery had been made. It had cut time frames short in a few places, but they'd be able to telescope into the next work period. This was more important.
"So in summary," Vega was explaining. "This is a problem that we need to fix, and that we believe requires significant study. If something in this solar system is reaching out to Mary, instead of to any of our Potentials, then there has to be a reason for that. Whatever's causing these energy spikes, causing the overload, we really need to identify it.
"Understanding would be even better," she added, tapping the table in front of her. "But we need to know what we're trying to understand first. And before we can do that-"
"Your Heartcircle needs to find a way to repair and, critically, reinforce the infrastructure around Mary's soul." Jane nodded from the
Adamant's conference room. You'd had to pull her out of a rest cycle for this meeting, and the tiredness that she so commonly kept contained was far more evident in her expression today.
Silent nods met the statement, and Jane sighed, looking to you for guidance. It was only fair. You'd taken overall command of this mission.
"Yes," you said. Best to settle that matter first. "I'm going to talk with my Heartcircle after this meeting, and we'll start workshopping ideas. It's going to take at least the three of us who were already involved, and I might want to pull in Lea as well."
You shot your fellow Mender at the table a small smile, thankful to receive one in return. You'd had some concern that she might have felt excluded from this project. And yet, she'd entered the room in deep conversation with Iris. What had they been up to?
You'd find out soon enough, no doubt. And with that thought in mind, you pressed on.
"Vega, I know you were wanting to finish your work on your technique to restrain Miracle creation." She'd mentioned her progress a few times during your preparations for the working with Mary, but nothing more. "How's that gone?"
Practised Restraint: 73 + 27 (Vega Practice) + 10 (Proven Miracle - Complex Harmony) + 133 (Banked Rollover) = 243/150.
Miracle restraint technique refined for Harmonic Choir aboard the Adamant
. Will complete learning by Turn 6. +93 rollover banked for Harmonic Order Research Action.
It took the Harmonial a moment to shift gears, but she got there quickly enough. "It's gone well, very well in fact. Most of what I was spending time on this last week was working out where to go next, now that I've gotten the technique formalised for the Choir on the
Adamant."
"And their learning process?" Jane asked quickly.
"Steady," Vega replied. "There's more work to be done, but I expect they'll be competent in the technique by our next meeting. Assuming that we don't have to bring it forward like this one." Somehow she managed to make the comment prompt smiles, without mocking how important the reschedule had been.
"As for future research," she paused to tap a finger to her chin. "I have a few ideas, but they're all reliant on what my sketch-proposal from our last meeting has developed into. The more I've looked at the Restraint techniques, the more I've started to wonder about how altering the order of priorities in Practiced actions could alter their effect. I think it's worth dedicating time to, at least."
"We'll add it to the list." Given Vega's track record, following her instincts was unlikely to be fruitless. It was, in fact, far more likely to lead to something important. If not this work period, you could go for the next.
"Now, Mary," you tried not to sound worried, you really did. The gentle roll of your friend's eyes told you that you'd only been partially successful. "You were working on the Consolat biocomputer until today. What are we looking at, there?"
Lending: 50 + 27 (Elil Practice) + 10 (Iron Eyes) = 87 vs DC 50/70/100. Second Stage Success
Through the Chaff: 80 + 36 (Mary Learning) + 15 (Daughter of Secrets) + 20 (Lending) = 151 vs DC [100 - ??? (???) =] ???. Greater Success
To Deeper Mysteries: 61 + 36 (Mary Learning) + 15 (Daughter of Secrets) + 15 (Lending) + 20 (Diamonds in the Haystack) = 147 vs DC 120 - ??? (???) =] ???. Solid Success.
Second level Delving action unlocked. Gathered data requires further analysis via the Underpinned action. Underpinned action unlocked.
"Before anything else, I'd like to thank Elil for his sterling work in providing support from the Consolat library archive," Mary said, smiling warmly at the man. "I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without his support."
"I'm just glad I could help," Elil replied, his dark skin colouring slightly under the praise. "The Consolat library system is fascinating."
"With that said, however?" Mary smiled wolfishly. "I've made it to what would be considered advanced knowledge for the Consolat. There's a lot of analysis that needs done here, but I have a couple of key points to cover. First is that the Consolat's understanding of the soul was directly involved in their creation of the Spire."
She took a moment to point past you all, out to where the slender structure towered over a once-vibrant city.
"I can't tell you what they were using it for, not yet, but there are multiple references to the Spire's design and construction in the data I was able to access. I was only able to bring so much of that information back with me, but it's more than enough to continue my work on the Secrets."
"Second," she continued after a breath. "Is that I have some, albeit unconfirmed, suspicions about the nature of the Animus Project. There's no obvious connection that I can find right now, but some of the header dates are suspiciously close to the transcript files that Iris and Lea were able to tease out of that location."
"I was wondering," Lea said, smiling faintly as almost every person in the room turned to focus on her and your daughter. She made an elegant, offering gesture to Iris. "I believe this is more your specialty, Iris."
"Only so long as you remember I couldn't have done any of it without you," your daughter said. Her dark hair bounced around her shoulders, cycling through several colour variations in the process, as she faced the table at the large.
"We've not made much progress," she admitted. "But Lea and I weren't exactly busy with anything else the last few days, so we decided to put our talents together and look at something different. We've not gotten far into the secured section, but working with Lea I was able to bypass the outer security layer.
"There's a lot of data to go through, but one of the things that stood out was when the more detailed abstracts talked about the purpose of Project Animus. Specifically that the project was being overseen by specialists from both of the university's primary foci. Not just Artificial Intelligence, but reality physics too. And given the timing, so close to our best guess date for the death of their species…that seems important."
"And I," Lea added, before anyone else could respond, "have felt something odd about the place. Something I believe you would understand very well, Amanda." Her eyes met yours, very deliberately. "The place felt incomplete, and almost wounded. Whatever was being made there, I would like to see it restored."
The depth of intensity in your fellow Mender's stare was a little intimidating, even as you ducked your head to acknowledge it. Though she was right, you knew exactly how a place could call to a Focus. And if this one was calling out to hers, it would be hard to stop her visiting it.
"I understand," you said softly. "I can't promise more dedicated focus there this period, not with everything else on our plates. But when there's time, you have my word."
"All I would ask," Lea replied. "Thank you, Amanda."
For a moment you struggled to understand why she'd be thankful, until it hit you. She'd gone off to do something on her own, without dedicated clearance. And instead of any reprimand, when she'd found something important to her you were being supportive. That wasn't an odd response for you, or at least you didn't think so. But you could see why it would matter to the younger Mender.
"Anything further?"
"Two more points here," Mary spoke up again, smiling wryly as all the distracted attention fell back onto her slender shoulders. "Given…everything we've found, I'm starting to become steadily more certain about one of my core hypotheses regarding the Secrets."
"Which one?" Iris asked quickly, beating you out by moments. You'd have called her a cheater, but that would've been unfair.
"My belief that a system this complex and delicate must have been designed with some sort of controls," Mary said. The room went quiet. It wasn't silence, just a hush, alongside the sound of a dozen throats taking a sharp breath in.
"I don't have proof of this." The 'not yet' behind those words went barely unsaid. "But all the analysis I've been able to do so far with my new data, as well as more recent discoveries about what is going on around my soul, suggests that the Consolat left something behind."
She took a breath, and the room did as well, thankful for her choice to move on. "Finally, we need to do some upgrades to the
Magi's data storage. Scraping the entirety of the Consolat Archive is starting to put strain on our file system, and I'd rather we have that fixed before it becomes more than a minor frustration."
Well, as things that needed added to the schedule went, there were worse possibilities.
"I'll add it to the list," you said gamely. "Anything else?"
Silence answered.
"Alright then," you said. You avoided any addition of thank goodness, for fear that it might remind someone of an additional item. "Only so much we can do outside of certain priorities, so let's get to the picking."
You have Five (5) AP and One (1) Research (Mary) AP to assign, each representing a dice of effort. One AP this turn is locked to A Mender's Call, though you should still assign Potentials to the task. Unless otherwise specified, there is no limit to the number of AP you can assign to a given task. Some actions may require specific talents or characters to complete - this will be noted in the action text.
Note: Mary cannot be assigned to Exploration actions this turn.
Exploration -
Direct exploration of the Origin system, based on The Adamant's location in-system. The Adamant is currently in shuttle range of the Consolat homeworld, hidden in the mass shadow of a near-world asteroid.
[] Quarters - Send or lead a team to investigate one of the four points of interest on the planet below. You must specify which characters are sent to which location.
-[-] Immaculate Evergreens - An enormous computer in the form of a forest, located in the outskirts of one of the Consolat's cities. The interface, apparently, requires proof of understanding to grant access. [COMPLETE]
-[] Crumbling Halls - A sprawling and mildly overgrown university complex, settled a comfortable distance from any Consolat cities. Various active or potentially active structures, further exploration possible. [Mender, Vega or Elil recommended. Will expand to a subvote]
-[-] Occupied Archive - The Consolat Archive, so named by the Dreaming's files, is a cluster of heavily shielded bunkers. Contains a vast amount of heavily damaged data left behind by the Consolat, but is also the only location on the planet with a Shiplord presence. [COMPLETE]
-[] Last Spire - A towering construct at the centre of a city thoroughly invested by fauna, and quite possibly the heart of the entire system's echoing presence in your senses. It may be possible to directly interface with the echoes of the Consolat's creation and death here. Currently locked down. [Mandy required, Vega and Mary recommended]
[] Delving - Beyond the initial exploration of the Quarters actions, this will involve far more dedicated focus to a specific area. Thanks to your access to the archives of the
Midnight Dreaming, this can be executed on any site immediately, but there are potentially downsides to investing this much in a location without a cursory survey. Select a location from the Quarters list when taking this action, and assign characters as normal.
*New* -[] The Forest Deep - Action to further delve into the Evergreens. Mary has reached higher level access, and believes that she is close to a breakthrough. [Mary required. One Potential must be free to accompany her as a bodyguard]
-[] Animus - One of the university's secured lab projects, and the only active AI development that Iris could find on file. Could give crucial insight into how Consolat AIs function, which could be used to directly upgrade Iris's neural architecture. Assuming you can get inside. [Iris required, Mender recommended]
Only requires one AP to activate.
Only one Delving action can be taken per turn, and you must assign at least 2 AP to the action.
Investigation -
At-a-distance exploration of the Origin system. Generally not location dependent.
[] Matrix Webs - The system's datasphere appears to be nominally accessible, but any exploration of the systems is judged to have two requirements. First, that Iris is involved at some level. And second, that any exploration is done with extreme care, given how dangerous the Consolat system AI is likely to be. [Iris required]
[] Breach at Midnight - The Dreaming is not just a civilian craft. There is a section within the ship, repurposed to host a team from Shiplord Central Intelligence. It would be extremely risky, but it might be possible to breach its firewalls to discover what sent them here. [Iris required]
[] Lending - The library you found is now active, and there is much that can be found there. Draw on its archive to support other work. [Boosts Reality Physics or AI related actions.]
[] Shattered Archive - The Consolat Archive is a shattered wreck of patchwork data, and fixing it could prove challenging even for a Potential, given the nature of the damage. Still, you've nothing to lose in trying. [Some combination of a Mender, Vega and Elil
strongly recommended]
*New* [X] Painting Waves - What you've discovered about Mary and her soul requires immediate action. The only question is how much. [Subactions to this choice can be combined, so long as enough AP is assigned to satisfy them.]
*New* -[X] A Mender's Call - Repair and monitor the infrastructure around Mary's soul. [Mary and at least one Mender required. Amanda
strongly recommended.]
*New* -[] Tracing Flame - Investigate the source of the damage to the infrastructure around Mary's soul. [Mary and Vega required. Amanda and Mir
strongly recommended]
*New* [] Soulful Mysteries - Since your recent discovery of a better way to examine the truth of souls, you've been gripped by a powerful curiosity. You know what Tahkel said, when it told you that you'd changed, but what did that truly mean? [Amanda, Vega and Mir required]
[] Write in?
Research -
Theoretical examination of not just factors present here in the Origin, but far beyond. Your Research AP must be assigned to one of these tasks, but additional AP may also be used.
[] Underpinned - With a solid proof now in hand of who created the Secrets, Mary wants to continue her work on understanding how the Consolat actually did it. This could well prove crucial in the weeks to come. [+250 rollover to second stage research]
[] Visions in the Jump - You saw a glimpse of the place where you met Tahkel when jumping to the Fourth Sorrow, and it had two figures there, one of them who looked human. Try to work out how that happened, and how to reach back to that place without requiring another jump. [Second stage autocomplete when taken. Requires Amanda]
*New* [] Harmonic Order - In refining her technique into full usability, Vega has hit on an idea that might provide a different path for connection to the echoes of power still lingering in the Consolat home system. Investigate this. [+94 rollover]
[] [] Write in?
Development -
Deployment and expansion of current Trailblazer-package outposts. May prove vital for certain tasks going forward, depending on requirements. These actions will deplete the Adamant's mass bunker, which is currently at 80 + 5 = 85% as a result of passive harvesting.
[] Blazing a Trail - Establish a Trailblazer-package outpost at one of several landing points on the planet, allowing for longer term habitation and direct access to the planet's major interest points.
-[] Outline location and type of outpost here. See
sidebar.
[] Level Terrain - The Trailblazer Seeds were, by nature, modular. Expand your current Trailblazer outpost to support further systems.
Will open a subvote.
*New* [] Farm Expansion - Expand the data storage and processing capacity of the
Magi Seed currently deployed on-planet. Will allow for in-depth data-scraping of Consolat University locations, even after the Archive is fully transferred. [Recommended. Costs 5% of mass bunker. Can be combined with a Level Terrain action if desired.]
You may also pick Two (2) Personal Actions. These will have limited mechanical effect on their own, but can synergise with AP actions.
[] Spend some time with your family. This will be a balm to you all. [LOCKED]
[] Relax and train with your Heartcircle. Keeping your edge in combat sharp is more important now than it ever was. And it's good to share time together. [LOCKED]
[] Mary's soul is, if not damaged, certainly threatened. Any spare time you can lend to securing your friend's safety only makes sense.
[] Go for a walk through the city of the Spire. It won't be going inside, but maybe it will help you understand the depth of power resonating from the place.
[] Spend some time at the ancient university, exploring what was left behind.
[] Iris has been dedicating her free time to exploring the Consolat Animus project. Maybe you could help?
[] Write in?
