The Secrets' Crusade
- Thread starter Snowfire
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
- Location
- Somewhere other than where I am.
Boson jumping?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
...It would partially explain why Mary seems to have some weird subtle kind of superpower from being born on Mars...
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
A few points to note on what Amanda experienced, that I feel it reasonable to make. This will give you some information, and no doubt create more questions, but I hope it won't come across as condescending as some of my attempts at tuned infodumps have apparently been. With that said:
- Amanda has experienced FTL transit twice before now; at the beginning and end of the Third Battle of Sol. In both these experiences, she caught a flicker of a place that seems the same as the one where Tahkel met you. The rush of energy around the Adamant both times it jumped is entirely new. And, after some (as rigorous as it can be) study, has been confirmed to be undetectable by sensors and even other Potentials.
- I have previously stated that all of the Secrets, and Practice itself, are theoretically possible within our understanding of physics - there's nothing out there at present that disproves the soul, after all.
- When Amanda refers to something of the pre-Secret's world, she's referring to to one of the only theories for FTL travel that might be possible in our reality. The way the First Secret is understood to work complicates the comparison somewhat, and there's definitely no certainty, but it's there in her mind now. For those of you who know your physics, the words 'empire time' will be a clue to what method she's talking about. I will confirm this if you guess right, but any confirmation is a confirmation of her supposition, not GM fact.
- All current suggestions are, as @Baughn says, being far too literal - also a few are outright ignoring what we know of physics if I'm not mistaken. Please keep in mind that PW's reality plays fair with that.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
I just want it noted that I disagree with the use of the word "soul", in the above. Souls in the PWverse are very different from souls here -- for one thing, they definitely exist. Their brains *don't* do much of the work, and that's scientifically demonstrable.
It's still true that the laws of physics might be the same, but although these people look human, by our standards they decidedly are not.
It's still true that the laws of physics might be the same, but although these people look human, by our standards they decidedly are not.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
It's from the book 'The Empire of Time' is it? I think we set ourselves to have mass 0 before being relocated. Via Hyperspace, or whichever is the dimension that one could use to summon Gridfire.
e: Dimensional relocation I think. Maybe the drive just folds the hogher dimensions (or moves through higher dimensions) with some minor movement so we end up in the correct destination at the end.
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Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Nope. It isn't from anything fictional. As we've said, the idea she's aiming at is something that might actually work.
Well, it matches some variations of Hyperspatial travel, move to a dimension with different distance mapping, exploit the gap to move a large distance in normal space while moving a short distance in the hyperdimension.
Though it occurs to me that if Secrets relate to the soul, and are numbered rationally the First Secret would be the secret of how to interact with the soul?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Well, in a broad thematic sense, the Secrets go like:
1) How to control space and time (by bypassing the conventional restrictions of general relativity)
2) How to control life (by creating new forms of life, including artificial intelligences and assorted Evangelion-level bullshit)
3) How to control energy (by manipulating light and radiation)
4) ?????? (I don't think we have any idea what the Fourth is)
5) How to control the interaction between matter and spacetime (artificial gravity including weaponization of same and sublight space drives)
6) How to control bulk inanimate matter (by nanotech, apparently maybe including even some transmutation of the elements?)
7) ?????? (we know there are eight Secrets but don't know what this one is about)
8) ?????? (see previous)
There's... SORT OF... a philosophical ordering in there, especially since the Second Secret appears critical to the creation of ensouled life... but... eh.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
At least 8, to be precise. The Uninvolved recognize the existence of 8 secrets.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
I should know better by now than to try and give myself targets. All of my hate may be directed to my current final year assessments. Update is done, will be up tomorrow after betas have been able to beta. And I've been able to look at it again with fresher eyes. Do not expect another update until the end of May at this point, as that's when I'll finally be done. I hope that everyone is keeping well.
Fare Thee Well
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
August 3rd, 2130
"Ten years," you sighed the words, putting the final touches to the cake you'd made with Iris for the evening's festivities. It was a gorgeous thing, its mix loaded with fruit, and yet light enough to not overwhelm. One of your mother's recipes, made for a festival of renewal. And wasn't that fitting?
The shakedown was done, the Adamant and her crew standing ready to begin their voyage into the unknown. But you wouldn't just leave, that would be wrong. You owed it to your family, and the friends that wouldn't be coming with you, to say goodbye. To explain that you were leaving, and at least a little of why. Nothing more than that, this mission was so important that there were considerable clearance locks on it. But enough to, you hoped, have them understand.
"Hm?" Mary hummed from the long counter of your home's kitchen. Her fingers were moving deftly, wrapping the stuffed fillets in bacon to contain the filling. Pastry had been rolled out next to her, and as you turned, she finished one stage and moved on to the next. She popped the wrapped fillet down on the pastry, then drew some of it up around it and her fingers pinched together along the seam, drawing it closed. "What is it, Mandy?"
"Just," you sighed again, "just thinking. They all came back so quickly once the Presidency was over," you smiled, remembering the surprise and odd melancholy that had seized you that day. Amelie had been right to do it, though. Your youngest sister was many things, but never a poor judge of the heart. "I never realised how much I'd missed them until that day, until I started to realise all the pieces of their lives that I'd lost. And now," you stepped back from the cake, shaking your head. You crossed the small space between the counters in a few short steps, and wrapped your arms around Mary's waist, resting your head on her shoulder.
"Mandy," she said gently, ruffling your hair with her cheek. Alas, both her hands were full of pastry, and they kept working steadily. "They'll understand, you know they will. They're your, our, family. And," she paused to set the completed pasty aside. "Aiden and Jordan aren't going to be here for long either, not if Lina's doing what we think she is."
"No," you admitted, "but that doesn't change that I'm the first one leaving. Again. And that, unlike with Aiden and Jordan, I can't even tell them where I'm going or why. I know they're smart," you were pretty sure several of them were smarter than you. "That they'll figure out a lot from what we can't say. But that doesn't make it any easier."
"Of course it doesn't," Mary said calmly, moving on to the next fillet as if entirely used to doing so with a limpet attached. Given how Iris had been as a child…she probably was. "But you trust them, Amanda. You always have, and you still do. You're not worried about them, not exactly. You're worried about how important this mission is, and what might happen if we fail. And the consequences for you and I and Iris if we do."
You'd not wanted to think about that. You still didn't. But not wanting to do that didn't make your friend's words any less true. You looked up to the side, past the short veil of dark hair that was all she let herself enjoy whilst cooking. "That's not fair," you complained, trying and failing to make it sullen. Something sparkled in her green eyes.
"You would be saying the same things to me," she pointed out, finalising her current production and placing it onto the same tray as the ones before it. "And it's the truth, too. You know that." She nudged your head with her own, gently pushing you back towards your side of the kitchen. "Go on, Mandy. If you don't get the cake done now, you'll go out of your mind ten minutes before they arrive."
That also wasn't fair, but it maintained the virtue of truth. So you got on with it. And yet, you felt better for the brief conversation. The weight that had been stretching you out ever since you boarded the Adamant had lessened. In the end, you finished work on the cake before Mary was done with her own part. That you cheated with minor application of your Aegis was neither here nor there.
The simple hours passed quietly and comfortably, and the smell of cooking food steadily filled the house. By the time Iris returned home, her closest friends in tow, those smells were well on their way to becoming a bouquet to inspire the ravenous. Fortunately, Mary had planned ahead, and a tray of cookies was enough to distract their attention from everything else until the rest of your guests arrived.
It was a small affair compared to the last one you'd had at the Residence on Earth, only your family and closest friends present. You'd invited Vega, and a few others, but they'd all had their own dinners to attend. At least in Phoebe knew what the Harmonial was getting into, in Vega's case. But Mary and Iris, they'd had others to say goodbye to. And all your siblings had made it once again. You wondered which strings Lina had pulled to make that happen for Alden. Battlegroup command seemed to agree with your older brother.
There was little small talk as they arrived, though heartfelt greetings were in plenty. You'd said relatively little comparative about what tonight was about, but your family knew you well. At least Mary and Iris were there with you this time. You took comfort in that as your guests took their seats around the long table you'd laid out in the gallery. The lights of Hiroshima sparkled beyond the windows of impossible glass, reflecting on the waters many miles away. And above you, the stars whirled in their endless, stately dance.
Then the last of the party took their seat, and you rose from your own. Stillness washed out from the motion, and for a moment you stood, frozen by the reality of what you needed to tell these friends, your family.
"I think you all know what I'm about to say," you admitted with a smile, and laughter swirled about the room like a hesitant zephyr. Several of those caught in it looked surprised to be so, but that was alright. "I had a dinner like this twenty-five years ago, the night before I was sworn in as President. It was the last time I truly saw my siblings for more than a decade. But then, I had the ability to tell you how long it would take. And no matter what, I was still there for you to keep track of."
There was confusion on a few faces, but realisation was close on its heels. And you saw it reach the rest of the room in the space of your pause. Then Iris rose from her place, and pride swelled in your heart as your daughter stood tall. You almost missed Mary coming to her feet next to you, your fingers linking without conscious thought.
"But now it's not just me, I'm afraid. And this time," you sighed heavily, letting all the weight that you felt upon you out in the single exhalation.
"We're going away for a while," Iris explained. "All of us. We don't know for how long. Adri will announce something to explain in the next few days, but tonight is for us." She paused, and Mary slipped into the space she'd left as if it had been practiced a thousand times.
"So that we can say our goodbyes," she said, and if her brilliant green eyes shimmered in the light, none would say so. "To those we care for the most."
"This mission…it's so important that we can't even explain it to you. We wish we could. But between us," you smiled faintly, "we can tell you what matters. And that's all of you."
"Mandy," Juno sighed, your eldest sister's eyes very bright. "Don't you think we know that already?"
"Of course we do," you said, "but the last dinner like this was a farewell, Juju. So long as I chose right, I'd be back eventually. But this? This could be a goodbye for good, and we can't just leave without you knowing that."
"You don't just leave your family behind." Iris' voice was no longer that of a child, had not been for years now, even though her temporal age was so low. "We can't take you with us, but we can carry these moments when we leave. So that we remember everything and everyone," her eyes strayed for a moment, "that we're fighting for. And so that we can tell you how important that will be to all of us."
"Tonight we enshrine in our memories," you reached down and took up your glass. "So when we leave tomorrow, we take the best of this world with us. Once, that would have been more than we thought we could ask. But today, for the good of all life present or future, we find ourselves with no choice. Be with us today, and in all the days until we return. And know that we will be with you as well."
For a second time, silence quilted the air, yet this was a more comforting one, full of the acceptance that you'd hoped to find, yet been terrified to discover. Then you forced those thoughts back. No matter the fear, the worry that you might stumble. This night was not about those things.
"But that's what we hope tonight can be, once it's over," you grinned, raising your glass high. "Here and now, I have only one request. Make this night one to remember."
"One to remember," Harry chuckled, and you caught the spark of something in your eldest brother's eyes. "I think we can handle that, little sister." He raised his own glass, and others joined it, coming together across the table in sparks of crystal song.
"To one to remember."
August 4th, 2130
"A good night, Miss Hawk, Miss D'reve?" Jane's greeting was far less formal than it had ever been, and there was a languid contentment to her stance that spoke well of her own. You smiled, nodding, even though you knew hers must have ended far later in comparison to your own. Despite your having stayed awake until dawn.
"One to remember," you agreed, making an open-handed gesture that took in men and women streaming down the boarding gantries into the Adamant. "It seems something we've all shared."
The Adamant's slender curves were so different from those of more traditional FSN craft, even secured in a docking cradle. Yet she had never been built for war as they had, and she'd never be a warship. The Elder First had built her as a symbol, a dedication to the possibilities of Inviolate Matter. And, you were starting to believe, so much more. The ship was still a symbol, she'd always be that, win or lose. Yet the reasons for her status were changing today. Past time, you supposed. They'd already changed for you.
"It was a good thing to give them that, Amanda," Jane said, nodding at her command, and the crew streaming onto her. "We didn't need to bring her back to Earth for final checks. Any of the spacedocks would have sufficed. But you took her home, and all of us with her. And that will matter, out there."
"You played your part in that decision, Jane," you pointed out in reply. But she was right. Being home for one last night, for the last night, gave your actions far more weight than a simple transfer route to allow goodbyes. That had been the plan, yet you'd remembered that Earth still possessed a handful of small shipyards.
"Yes," your captain nodded. "But it wasn't my decision. And I don't think I could have convinced Minister Sharpe to let us do it."
"Lina's not so bad once you get to know her," Mary said, and you felt the intensity of Jane's stare as it swivelled to your friend. "Though I suppose I might be a little biased," she considered, her green eyes smiling.
"But," you added, expression sober, "she also understands that we're all human, Jane. It wasn't her brilliance that kept her as Minister for War after Adriana won the elections. Not just that, at least."
"Of course, Miss Hawk, Miss D'reve," the agreement came quickly, but wasn't rote. Not anymore. Then she gestured towards the Adamant. "Shall we?"
"I dare say we shouldn't keep them waiting," the words sparked an old memory, something you'd thought you'd forgotten until it made you smile again. "We have a window to keep, after all."
Moments later, you joined the snaking mass of humanity pouring into the ship. It was a good crew, you knew that. Many of them had fought in the Second Battle of Sol, and they were all prepared for this new chapter of war that awaited them. At least, they thought they were. What was out there, as you'd said to Mary last night, was going to test your understandings of your reality in ways you'd never imagined. That was one of two certainties you held to as you boarded. The other was simple in comparison. This ship, this crew, would rise to meet them.
And there was something about the ship this morning, something in the way the decks hummed. They knew what lay before you all, and they were eager to see it all. There had been enough time waiting. If you'd ever doubted that ships had their own personalities, that feeling would have put it to rest.
"We're ready, Miss Hawk," Jane's voice cut through the blur of introspection, and you blinked a moment, taking in the expectant faces at the watch stations. "She's buttoned up and ready to fly. All we need is your order."
"Very well, Captain," you nodded steadily, feeling the expectation in the silence. :Sidra?:
:Shipwide broadcast online.: your Unison replied. Were you really that easy to predict? :You're you, Amanda. If there's anyone we know, it's you.:
:True enough, my friend.: Then you centred yourself, and spoke. "I'm sure you've all been expecting a speech, but I'm afraid this won't be much of one. Save those for the battles, and what comes after." Backs straightened and conversations stilled mid-word as your voice filled every one of the Adamant's spaces. "You all know where we're going. You all know why. So, I will say only this. Remember the last nights you shared. They are everything."
You turned to Jane and nodded again, just once this time. "When you're ready, Captain Cyneburg."
"Lieutenant Aster," the rest of her order passed you by in a haze. Your attention was fixed on the world around you, enshrining the feeling of the Web that had been your constant companion ever since you discovered. You did not think it would be there, once you left Sol. The Adamant rose into the heavens, slicing up through the air until it gave way to the far vaster void.
Out across Sol you flew, like the arrow from a bow, arcing unerringly towards the edge of the Stellar Exclusion Zone. A transmission to the entire species flickered by, Adriana's message, the words she offered now to give you a cover in the event that the Shiplords broke your networks. The goodbye that was not, for it lacked truth. Yet all the goodbye that could be given, at least for those who did not know you. At least for a while.
It took almost twelve hours to reach the edge of the SEZ, yet you remained on the bridge the entire time. It was no great hardship, truly, but it was the action that mattered. Not what it cost. You watched the second watch for navigation double check the coordinates entered by Lieutenant Aster hours before as the Adamant approached that invisible line in space. Felt the building tension, as those around you prepared to be hurled further across space than any human had ever been.
And you felt again, in that moment, the same presence from the ship around you. The Adamant was more than the name given to her. She was not merely steadfast. She yearned for the world beyond your single star, and the possibilities that the futures you'd find there could hold. And you, well. You'd never been one to invite disappointment.
Jane nodded as she received the report from her helm officer, turned to address you.
"Yes," you said. "I'm sure, Jane. Let's go."
A single set of precise digits tensed. That same feeling of boundless energy wrapping her in hands of tissue paper filled you. And far, far away, on the worlds humanity called home, the small dot that had identified the Adamant on thousands of viewscreens vanished.
What system did you choose as the Adamant's first destination?
[] The yellow sun at the heart of this system was somehow twisted off axis by some monumental stellar event. Three major planetary bodies.
[] A red giant surrounded by a graveyard of shattered worlds.
[] A white dwarf at the centre of a scoured system. A single planet remains.
[] The star of this system is notably smaller and dimmer than it should be, yet appears to still be stable.
[] A dying red supergiant, still flanked by the remains of its coterie.
"Ten years," you sighed the words, putting the final touches to the cake you'd made with Iris for the evening's festivities. It was a gorgeous thing, its mix loaded with fruit, and yet light enough to not overwhelm. One of your mother's recipes, made for a festival of renewal. And wasn't that fitting?
The shakedown was done, the Adamant and her crew standing ready to begin their voyage into the unknown. But you wouldn't just leave, that would be wrong. You owed it to your family, and the friends that wouldn't be coming with you, to say goodbye. To explain that you were leaving, and at least a little of why. Nothing more than that, this mission was so important that there were considerable clearance locks on it. But enough to, you hoped, have them understand.
"Hm?" Mary hummed from the long counter of your home's kitchen. Her fingers were moving deftly, wrapping the stuffed fillets in bacon to contain the filling. Pastry had been rolled out next to her, and as you turned, she finished one stage and moved on to the next. She popped the wrapped fillet down on the pastry, then drew some of it up around it and her fingers pinched together along the seam, drawing it closed. "What is it, Mandy?"
"Just," you sighed again, "just thinking. They all came back so quickly once the Presidency was over," you smiled, remembering the surprise and odd melancholy that had seized you that day. Amelie had been right to do it, though. Your youngest sister was many things, but never a poor judge of the heart. "I never realised how much I'd missed them until that day, until I started to realise all the pieces of their lives that I'd lost. And now," you stepped back from the cake, shaking your head. You crossed the small space between the counters in a few short steps, and wrapped your arms around Mary's waist, resting your head on her shoulder.
"Mandy," she said gently, ruffling your hair with her cheek. Alas, both her hands were full of pastry, and they kept working steadily. "They'll understand, you know they will. They're your, our, family. And," she paused to set the completed pasty aside. "Aiden and Jordan aren't going to be here for long either, not if Lina's doing what we think she is."
"No," you admitted, "but that doesn't change that I'm the first one leaving. Again. And that, unlike with Aiden and Jordan, I can't even tell them where I'm going or why. I know they're smart," you were pretty sure several of them were smarter than you. "That they'll figure out a lot from what we can't say. But that doesn't make it any easier."
"Of course it doesn't," Mary said calmly, moving on to the next fillet as if entirely used to doing so with a limpet attached. Given how Iris had been as a child…she probably was. "But you trust them, Amanda. You always have, and you still do. You're not worried about them, not exactly. You're worried about how important this mission is, and what might happen if we fail. And the consequences for you and I and Iris if we do."
You'd not wanted to think about that. You still didn't. But not wanting to do that didn't make your friend's words any less true. You looked up to the side, past the short veil of dark hair that was all she let herself enjoy whilst cooking. "That's not fair," you complained, trying and failing to make it sullen. Something sparkled in her green eyes.
"You would be saying the same things to me," she pointed out, finalising her current production and placing it onto the same tray as the ones before it. "And it's the truth, too. You know that." She nudged your head with her own, gently pushing you back towards your side of the kitchen. "Go on, Mandy. If you don't get the cake done now, you'll go out of your mind ten minutes before they arrive."
That also wasn't fair, but it maintained the virtue of truth. So you got on with it. And yet, you felt better for the brief conversation. The weight that had been stretching you out ever since you boarded the Adamant had lessened. In the end, you finished work on the cake before Mary was done with her own part. That you cheated with minor application of your Aegis was neither here nor there.
The simple hours passed quietly and comfortably, and the smell of cooking food steadily filled the house. By the time Iris returned home, her closest friends in tow, those smells were well on their way to becoming a bouquet to inspire the ravenous. Fortunately, Mary had planned ahead, and a tray of cookies was enough to distract their attention from everything else until the rest of your guests arrived.
It was a small affair compared to the last one you'd had at the Residence on Earth, only your family and closest friends present. You'd invited Vega, and a few others, but they'd all had their own dinners to attend. At least in Phoebe knew what the Harmonial was getting into, in Vega's case. But Mary and Iris, they'd had others to say goodbye to. And all your siblings had made it once again. You wondered which strings Lina had pulled to make that happen for Alden. Battlegroup command seemed to agree with your older brother.
There was little small talk as they arrived, though heartfelt greetings were in plenty. You'd said relatively little comparative about what tonight was about, but your family knew you well. At least Mary and Iris were there with you this time. You took comfort in that as your guests took their seats around the long table you'd laid out in the gallery. The lights of Hiroshima sparkled beyond the windows of impossible glass, reflecting on the waters many miles away. And above you, the stars whirled in their endless, stately dance.
Then the last of the party took their seat, and you rose from your own. Stillness washed out from the motion, and for a moment you stood, frozen by the reality of what you needed to tell these friends, your family.
"I think you all know what I'm about to say," you admitted with a smile, and laughter swirled about the room like a hesitant zephyr. Several of those caught in it looked surprised to be so, but that was alright. "I had a dinner like this twenty-five years ago, the night before I was sworn in as President. It was the last time I truly saw my siblings for more than a decade. But then, I had the ability to tell you how long it would take. And no matter what, I was still there for you to keep track of."
There was confusion on a few faces, but realisation was close on its heels. And you saw it reach the rest of the room in the space of your pause. Then Iris rose from her place, and pride swelled in your heart as your daughter stood tall. You almost missed Mary coming to her feet next to you, your fingers linking without conscious thought.
"But now it's not just me, I'm afraid. And this time," you sighed heavily, letting all the weight that you felt upon you out in the single exhalation.
"We're going away for a while," Iris explained. "All of us. We don't know for how long. Adri will announce something to explain in the next few days, but tonight is for us." She paused, and Mary slipped into the space she'd left as if it had been practiced a thousand times.
"So that we can say our goodbyes," she said, and if her brilliant green eyes shimmered in the light, none would say so. "To those we care for the most."
"This mission…it's so important that we can't even explain it to you. We wish we could. But between us," you smiled faintly, "we can tell you what matters. And that's all of you."
"Mandy," Juno sighed, your eldest sister's eyes very bright. "Don't you think we know that already?"
"Of course we do," you said, "but the last dinner like this was a farewell, Juju. So long as I chose right, I'd be back eventually. But this? This could be a goodbye for good, and we can't just leave without you knowing that."
"You don't just leave your family behind." Iris' voice was no longer that of a child, had not been for years now, even though her temporal age was so low. "We can't take you with us, but we can carry these moments when we leave. So that we remember everything and everyone," her eyes strayed for a moment, "that we're fighting for. And so that we can tell you how important that will be to all of us."
"Tonight we enshrine in our memories," you reached down and took up your glass. "So when we leave tomorrow, we take the best of this world with us. Once, that would have been more than we thought we could ask. But today, for the good of all life present or future, we find ourselves with no choice. Be with us today, and in all the days until we return. And know that we will be with you as well."
For a second time, silence quilted the air, yet this was a more comforting one, full of the acceptance that you'd hoped to find, yet been terrified to discover. Then you forced those thoughts back. No matter the fear, the worry that you might stumble. This night was not about those things.
"But that's what we hope tonight can be, once it's over," you grinned, raising your glass high. "Here and now, I have only one request. Make this night one to remember."
"One to remember," Harry chuckled, and you caught the spark of something in your eldest brother's eyes. "I think we can handle that, little sister." He raised his own glass, and others joined it, coming together across the table in sparks of crystal song.
"To one to remember."
August 4th, 2130
"A good night, Miss Hawk, Miss D'reve?" Jane's greeting was far less formal than it had ever been, and there was a languid contentment to her stance that spoke well of her own. You smiled, nodding, even though you knew hers must have ended far later in comparison to your own. Despite your having stayed awake until dawn.
"One to remember," you agreed, making an open-handed gesture that took in men and women streaming down the boarding gantries into the Adamant. "It seems something we've all shared."
The Adamant's slender curves were so different from those of more traditional FSN craft, even secured in a docking cradle. Yet she had never been built for war as they had, and she'd never be a warship. The Elder First had built her as a symbol, a dedication to the possibilities of Inviolate Matter. And, you were starting to believe, so much more. The ship was still a symbol, she'd always be that, win or lose. Yet the reasons for her status were changing today. Past time, you supposed. They'd already changed for you.
"It was a good thing to give them that, Amanda," Jane said, nodding at her command, and the crew streaming onto her. "We didn't need to bring her back to Earth for final checks. Any of the spacedocks would have sufficed. But you took her home, and all of us with her. And that will matter, out there."
"You played your part in that decision, Jane," you pointed out in reply. But she was right. Being home for one last night, for the last night, gave your actions far more weight than a simple transfer route to allow goodbyes. That had been the plan, yet you'd remembered that Earth still possessed a handful of small shipyards.
"Yes," your captain nodded. "But it wasn't my decision. And I don't think I could have convinced Minister Sharpe to let us do it."
"Lina's not so bad once you get to know her," Mary said, and you felt the intensity of Jane's stare as it swivelled to your friend. "Though I suppose I might be a little biased," she considered, her green eyes smiling.
"But," you added, expression sober, "she also understands that we're all human, Jane. It wasn't her brilliance that kept her as Minister for War after Adriana won the elections. Not just that, at least."
"Of course, Miss Hawk, Miss D'reve," the agreement came quickly, but wasn't rote. Not anymore. Then she gestured towards the Adamant. "Shall we?"
"I dare say we shouldn't keep them waiting," the words sparked an old memory, something you'd thought you'd forgotten until it made you smile again. "We have a window to keep, after all."
Moments later, you joined the snaking mass of humanity pouring into the ship. It was a good crew, you knew that. Many of them had fought in the Second Battle of Sol, and they were all prepared for this new chapter of war that awaited them. At least, they thought they were. What was out there, as you'd said to Mary last night, was going to test your understandings of your reality in ways you'd never imagined. That was one of two certainties you held to as you boarded. The other was simple in comparison. This ship, this crew, would rise to meet them.
And there was something about the ship this morning, something in the way the decks hummed. They knew what lay before you all, and they were eager to see it all. There had been enough time waiting. If you'd ever doubted that ships had their own personalities, that feeling would have put it to rest.
"We're ready, Miss Hawk," Jane's voice cut through the blur of introspection, and you blinked a moment, taking in the expectant faces at the watch stations. "She's buttoned up and ready to fly. All we need is your order."
"Very well, Captain," you nodded steadily, feeling the expectation in the silence. :Sidra?:
:Shipwide broadcast online.: your Unison replied. Were you really that easy to predict? :You're you, Amanda. If there's anyone we know, it's you.:
:True enough, my friend.: Then you centred yourself, and spoke. "I'm sure you've all been expecting a speech, but I'm afraid this won't be much of one. Save those for the battles, and what comes after." Backs straightened and conversations stilled mid-word as your voice filled every one of the Adamant's spaces. "You all know where we're going. You all know why. So, I will say only this. Remember the last nights you shared. They are everything."
You turned to Jane and nodded again, just once this time. "When you're ready, Captain Cyneburg."
"Lieutenant Aster," the rest of her order passed you by in a haze. Your attention was fixed on the world around you, enshrining the feeling of the Web that had been your constant companion ever since you discovered. You did not think it would be there, once you left Sol. The Adamant rose into the heavens, slicing up through the air until it gave way to the far vaster void.
Out across Sol you flew, like the arrow from a bow, arcing unerringly towards the edge of the Stellar Exclusion Zone. A transmission to the entire species flickered by, Adriana's message, the words she offered now to give you a cover in the event that the Shiplords broke your networks. The goodbye that was not, for it lacked truth. Yet all the goodbye that could be given, at least for those who did not know you. At least for a while.
It took almost twelve hours to reach the edge of the SEZ, yet you remained on the bridge the entire time. It was no great hardship, truly, but it was the action that mattered. Not what it cost. You watched the second watch for navigation double check the coordinates entered by Lieutenant Aster hours before as the Adamant approached that invisible line in space. Felt the building tension, as those around you prepared to be hurled further across space than any human had ever been.
And you felt again, in that moment, the same presence from the ship around you. The Adamant was more than the name given to her. She was not merely steadfast. She yearned for the world beyond your single star, and the possibilities that the futures you'd find there could hold. And you, well. You'd never been one to invite disappointment.
Jane nodded as she received the report from her helm officer, turned to address you.
"Yes," you said. "I'm sure, Jane. Let's go."
A single set of precise digits tensed. That same feeling of boundless energy wrapping her in hands of tissue paper filled you. And far, far away, on the worlds humanity called home, the small dot that had identified the Adamant on thousands of viewscreens vanished.
What system did you choose as the Adamant's first destination?
[] The yellow sun at the heart of this system was somehow twisted off axis by some monumental stellar event. Three major planetary bodies.
[] A red giant surrounded by a graveyard of shattered worlds.
[] A white dwarf at the centre of a scoured system. A single planet remains.
[] The star of this system is notably smaller and dimmer than it should be, yet appears to still be stable.
[] A dying red supergiant, still flanked by the remains of its coterie.
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Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
This vote was something I struggled with, however one of my beta's came up with a suggestion that I ran with that would also work within the data restrictions you're operating under. So you get to pick which system you head to first, within the limits of what Insight was able to gather and the Uninvolved were able to tell you. You couldn't find anything more, but it's at least something. To be very clear, there are no wrong options in this vote, it just picks which section of the story I tell first. I'm really excited for what's ahead of you now that you've finally gotten out of Sol - sorry about how long that took, by the way. Many thanks to @Killer_Whale for checking this for me whilst my other betas were busy or asleep, and I hope you enjoy both the update and the vote we came up with for it.
Any of the
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
I had this update finished when I posted that message, I actually said so there. The end of May comment was about any updates after this one. Though I appreciate the amusement is prompted.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
You're walking into the lion's den. Saying goodbye to those you care for when you do that, not matter how much it hurts, is just sanity. This isn't a suicide mission, as far as all the data you have can say. But it has enormous risks, and that needed addressed by the characters themselves.
- Location
- Somewhere other than where I am.
Tough choice. Most of those sound like old battlefields.
All of the others have multiple bodies to investigate, giving us a better chance of hiding, so this one should be first. Having a single point of defence/interest means that it is both the place we are most likely to be detected, and the easiest to keep us out of once the Shiplords are alerted to our presence. I'm going on the assumption that they will detect us sooner or later, so if we don't do this one first we might not be able to, while the others should still be easier to get in and out of even if we are spotted here.
[X] A white dwarf at the centre of a scoured system. A single planet remains.
Edit:The other possibility that comes to mind is to leave that one until last, and then once we have enough information to try to understand, take refuge in audacity by entering the system openly and respectfully asking to take the tour. They do take pilgrimages there, after all.
All of the others have multiple bodies to investigate, giving us a better chance of hiding, so this one should be first. Having a single point of defence/interest means that it is both the place we are most likely to be detected, and the easiest to keep us out of once the Shiplords are alerted to our presence. I'm going on the assumption that they will detect us sooner or later, so if we don't do this one first we might not be able to, while the others should still be easier to get in and out of even if we are spotted here.
[X] A white dwarf at the centre of a scoured system. A single planet remains.
Edit:The other possibility that comes to mind is to leave that one until last, and then once we have enough information to try to understand, take refuge in audacity by entering the system openly and respectfully asking to take the tour. They do take pilgrimages there, after all.
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- Location
- in the trash
[X] A white dwarf at the centre of a scoured system. A single planet remains.
[X] A red giant surrounded by a graveyard of shattered worlds.
Hollywood-style unnaturally thick asteroid belts here we come!
Hollywood-style unnaturally thick asteroid belts here we come!
[x] The yellow sun at the heart of this system was somehow twisted off axis by some monumental stellar event. Three major planetary bodies.
Because it sounds like it looks pretty.
Because it sounds like it looks pretty.