Scanning has a small lead, but it's not quite descisive yet. So I will leave the votes open for the rest of the day and post the next update tomorrow.
The Shadow of Old Transgressions (Homeworld/Mass Effect Crossover Quest)
- Thread starter Arcanestomper
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- homeworld mass effect
Scanning has a small lead, but it's not quite descisive yet. So I will leave the votes open for the rest of the day and post the next update tomorrow.
[X] Scan the Flotilla
Okay that looks like a win for scanning. I'm a bit late, but I'll get to writing the update.
2.9 Confrontation in the Garden
Sector 17
The Garden of Kadesh
The Sphere of Contemplation
"The infection in my systems is a tricky thing, and clever about exploiting every gap it could find. I had no idea it was even there until I was heavily infested. We've all fought these pirates before. I think we should do a more thorough scan of our systems before we go anywhere."
It's a logical next step so first you and Laverna help Aurora run a diagnostic of her own systems. Then once she is clean the others dock one by one. First Iuno tests clean. Then Ulysses tests clean. But then it's Laverna's turn, and to everyone's dismay, and especially her own, Aurora finds a malignant web of corruption spread across her memories just like those in your own mind.
Fortunately on a closer examination it isn't exactly like your infection. It's spread over a smaller number of memory regions and the infection looks to be less advanced. Aurora helps Laverna to contain the corrupted areas and even builds a few extra security modules to bolster her firewalls. But it'll take a longer effort to clean both of you fully, and you're running out of time.
There is just enough time for Iuno and Ulysses to help Aurora scan herself though. After all, since both you and Laverna were infected you might have missed something the first time. Fortunately Aurora's systems still read as clean. So it's only forty percent of your flotilla suffering from issues not sixty.
Unfortunately it's time to leave. If you stay any longer you'll miss the Kadeshi. It might already be too late. Five golden gates open and your flotilla makes the jump.
The Sphere of Repentance
You jump into what is obviously a staging ground. There are no less than four Kadeshi motherships here, including the Sharbei. The rarely seen Kadeshi tenders flit from ship to ship ensuring that each one is fully resupplied and ready for combat. You can just imagine the drills the swarmer pilots on each ship are undergoing and the bustle of activity in each of their hangars.
You open a channel to the Kadeshi, "This is the Bentusi warship, Valerius. I'm looking for Limmu'Zefal vas Menoa. I have information on the pirates that trespassed on the Garden."
It isn't long before a reply comes. The video shows Limmu the same as you remember her. Though she's in a full environmental suit so it's even harder to tell than it usually is with flicker races. "Valerius, I wish I could say it's good to see you again, but it's kind of a bad time. Commander Limno told me about your run in with the pirates, but that's not who we're facing this time. Don't know who they are, but they're tough. They've already fought off one of our motherships."
That is less than ideal. You'd help with pirates of course, but a third party is a more difficult decision. You like the Kadeshi, but you aren't blind to the fact that they are indiscriminate in their guardianship. If most people hadn't labeled the Garden of Kadesh as a major navigational hazard the Bentusi would have had to step in long before now.
Still your friends with Limmu and don't want to see her get hurt. Plus if you help it'll go a long way to getting them to agree to help with the pirates in turn. "Then we'll jump in with you. The quicker you can take care of them the quicker we can discuss this."
Limmu is clearly surprised by the offer. "It's that important to you? Well some of the other commanders will complain about you tainting our righteous mission, but I won't turn down any help you can offer. I'm sending the coordinates of the intruders."
You receive the data package and pass it to the rest of the flotilla. Ulysses is eager to fight, even if these aren't the pirates. The other three barely comment on it though. They're all trying to help Laverna remove the corruption from her systems.
This time nine gates open against the backdrop of the nebula. Four blue and five golden.
The Sphere of Industriousness
Your battle formation exits hyperspace in one of the busier sector of the Garden. Asteroid belts trail through the area along with a number of additional Progenitor wrecks. So it takes your sensors a few minutes to find the intruders. And when they do you are quite surprised.
The Intruder fleet is centered on a massive ship shaped like a huge vertical wedge. It's honestly one of the largest ships you've ever seen. The Kadeshi motherships are certainly as long, but this thing is far more bulky. Only the Great Harborship, Bentus, is larger. You don't recognize the ship, which isn't surprising since you've never heard of anything this big being built, but you do recognize the other ships in the intruder fleet.
They're Exiles. It gives you pause, and you can feel the emotional outburst come over your links with the rest of flotilla. The Bentusi have a great cultural shame over what happened to the Exiles. It gets passed down in every generation from elder to child, and even though you don't conciously think of it it affects much of what the Bentusi do. All of a sudden you don't really want to participate in this fight.
Iuno interrupts your train of thoughts. "I'll talk to them. I've been studying the Kadeshi, and I have records of the Exiles. Let me try and resolve this."
"That is not going to be easy. The Kadeshi never let intruders go, and the Exiles aren't ones to back down."
"I know, but we have to try something. We can't just let them fight each other like this."
"You're right of course, but be careful. Aurora, can you send some acolytes with her."
"No! No, drones. I need to be a pure diplomat for this."
Without waiting any further Iuno jets off towards the center of the battlespace. You watch her go with gnawing worry, but decide to not send any drones after her. Just in case though, you prime your engines to dart in if anything goes wrong. You also rummage through your various simulations and analysis.
Is there anything you can think of that would make this deal happen?
[] Offer Technology:
You are Bentusi. Selling technology is what you do. Usually you do it for resources, but peace is fine. That said, anything you offer them now is going to make them more dangerous later, which might or might not be a good thing. (You can pick any combination of these. Each of them will offer a bonus to the negotiations.)
[] Think of Something Else:
(Write In) Come up with some argument to help persuade the Kadeshi and the Exiles to back down. I will offer a bonus on the odds of success for anyone that takes a fair shot at it.
While one part of you watches Iuno fly off, the rest of your mind considers the battlefield. You said you would help Limmu and you will. Whatever cultural baggage you might have with the Exiles you personally have never met any of them, and Limmu is a friend. You may regret the necessity of fighting them later, but you'll do it if you need to.
The question is what tactics will you use?
[] A Defensive Stance:
Focus on protecting the Kadeshi motherships and fuel pods. It's a bit of a waste of Ulysses, but the rest of you are well suited for this kind of fight.
[] An Aggressive Approach:
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
[] A Bold Manuever:
Go further than just indirectly threatening the Exile Mothership. You and Ulysses will move forward and use precision shots to disable it instead. You'll still need to persuade the Kadeshi, but with careful targeting you can force the Exiles to negotiate. Of course that assumes you will be able to fight through their entire fleet and assault what is obviously their most important ship.
You could destroy the mothership with the same tactic, but something inside you recoils at going that far.
The Garden of Kadesh
The Sphere of Contemplation
"The infection in my systems is a tricky thing, and clever about exploiting every gap it could find. I had no idea it was even there until I was heavily infested. We've all fought these pirates before. I think we should do a more thorough scan of our systems before we go anywhere."
It's a logical next step so first you and Laverna help Aurora run a diagnostic of her own systems. Then once she is clean the others dock one by one. First Iuno tests clean. Then Ulysses tests clean. But then it's Laverna's turn, and to everyone's dismay, and especially her own, Aurora finds a malignant web of corruption spread across her memories just like those in your own mind.
Fortunately on a closer examination it isn't exactly like your infection. It's spread over a smaller number of memory regions and the infection looks to be less advanced. Aurora helps Laverna to contain the corrupted areas and even builds a few extra security modules to bolster her firewalls. But it'll take a longer effort to clean both of you fully, and you're running out of time.
There is just enough time for Iuno and Ulysses to help Aurora scan herself though. After all, since both you and Laverna were infected you might have missed something the first time. Fortunately Aurora's systems still read as clean. So it's only forty percent of your flotilla suffering from issues not sixty.
Unfortunately it's time to leave. If you stay any longer you'll miss the Kadeshi. It might already be too late. Five golden gates open and your flotilla makes the jump.
The Sphere of Repentance
You jump into what is obviously a staging ground. There are no less than four Kadeshi motherships here, including the Sharbei. The rarely seen Kadeshi tenders flit from ship to ship ensuring that each one is fully resupplied and ready for combat. You can just imagine the drills the swarmer pilots on each ship are undergoing and the bustle of activity in each of their hangars.
You open a channel to the Kadeshi, "This is the Bentusi warship, Valerius. I'm looking for Limmu'Zefal vas Menoa. I have information on the pirates that trespassed on the Garden."
It isn't long before a reply comes. The video shows Limmu the same as you remember her. Though she's in a full environmental suit so it's even harder to tell than it usually is with flicker races. "Valerius, I wish I could say it's good to see you again, but it's kind of a bad time. Commander Limno told me about your run in with the pirates, but that's not who we're facing this time. Don't know who they are, but they're tough. They've already fought off one of our motherships."
That is less than ideal. You'd help with pirates of course, but a third party is a more difficult decision. You like the Kadeshi, but you aren't blind to the fact that they are indiscriminate in their guardianship. If most people hadn't labeled the Garden of Kadesh as a major navigational hazard the Bentusi would have had to step in long before now.
Still your friends with Limmu and don't want to see her get hurt. Plus if you help it'll go a long way to getting them to agree to help with the pirates in turn. "Then we'll jump in with you. The quicker you can take care of them the quicker we can discuss this."
Limmu is clearly surprised by the offer. "It's that important to you? Well some of the other commanders will complain about you tainting our righteous mission, but I won't turn down any help you can offer. I'm sending the coordinates of the intruders."
You receive the data package and pass it to the rest of the flotilla. Ulysses is eager to fight, even if these aren't the pirates. The other three barely comment on it though. They're all trying to help Laverna remove the corruption from her systems.
This time nine gates open against the backdrop of the nebula. Four blue and five golden.
The Sphere of Industriousness
Your battle formation exits hyperspace in one of the busier sector of the Garden. Asteroid belts trail through the area along with a number of additional Progenitor wrecks. So it takes your sensors a few minutes to find the intruders. And when they do you are quite surprised.
The Intruder fleet is centered on a massive ship shaped like a huge vertical wedge. It's honestly one of the largest ships you've ever seen. The Kadeshi motherships are certainly as long, but this thing is far more bulky. Only the Great Harborship, Bentus, is larger. You don't recognize the ship, which isn't surprising since you've never heard of anything this big being built, but you do recognize the other ships in the intruder fleet.
They're Exiles. It gives you pause, and you can feel the emotional outburst come over your links with the rest of flotilla. The Bentusi have a great cultural shame over what happened to the Exiles. It gets passed down in every generation from elder to child, and even though you don't conciously think of it it affects much of what the Bentusi do. All of a sudden you don't really want to participate in this fight.
Iuno interrupts your train of thoughts. "I'll talk to them. I've been studying the Kadeshi, and I have records of the Exiles. Let me try and resolve this."
"That is not going to be easy. The Kadeshi never let intruders go, and the Exiles aren't ones to back down."
"I know, but we have to try something. We can't just let them fight each other like this."
"You're right of course, but be careful. Aurora, can you send some acolytes with her."
"No! No, drones. I need to be a pure diplomat for this."
Without waiting any further Iuno jets off towards the center of the battlespace. You watch her go with gnawing worry, but decide to not send any drones after her. Just in case though, you prime your engines to dart in if anything goes wrong. You also rummage through your various simulations and analysis.
Is there anything you can think of that would make this deal happen?
[] Offer Technology:
You are Bentusi. Selling technology is what you do. Usually you do it for resources, but peace is fine. That said, anything you offer them now is going to make them more dangerous later, which might or might not be a good thing. (You can pick any combination of these. Each of them will offer a bonus to the negotiations.)
[] Drone Technology:
The blueprints for your drone cortexes. You won't sell your actual Bentusi drones, but with this tech most races can build fairly effective drones of their own.
[] Hull Reinforcement:
You won't offer your Bentusi radial binding, but you have plenty of material improvements that would help them improve their ships. Most likely this would lead to them fielding larger ships overall.
[] Ion Technology:
A Bentusi trademark. Like everything else you won't sell them your best weapons, but even these downgraded versions are better than what most races can build.
[] Inertialess Engines:
This is a very powerful technology. It provides much faster movement than what most other races can manage. Even better, it's what allowed the Bentusi to get the Kadeshi to let them move freely through the Garden. So with a little bit of precedent and a little bit of arguing you could probably get the Kadeshi to back down with just this offer.
[] Hyperdrive Technology:
You actually aren't sure how the Exiles got here in the first place. You're only sensing a hyperspace core on the Mothership, and you have no idea where they could have gotten it from. For any other race this would be a solid bargain. The Bentusi sell slightly better hyperdrives all the time. However you are still bound by the treaty of Hiigara to never sell the Exiles hyperdrive technology. Honestly only the Bentusi really remember that treaty, but you'd face some hard questions from the elders about this later.
[] Think of Something Else:
(Write In) Come up with some argument to help persuade the Kadeshi and the Exiles to back down. I will offer a bonus on the odds of success for anyone that takes a fair shot at it.
While one part of you watches Iuno fly off, the rest of your mind considers the battlefield. You said you would help Limmu and you will. Whatever cultural baggage you might have with the Exiles you personally have never met any of them, and Limmu is a friend. You may regret the necessity of fighting them later, but you'll do it if you need to.
The question is what tactics will you use?
[] A Defensive Stance:
Focus on protecting the Kadeshi motherships and fuel pods. It's a bit of a waste of Ulysses, but the rest of you are well suited for this kind of fight.
[] An Aggressive Approach:
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
[] A Bold Manuever:
Go further than just indirectly threatening the Exile Mothership. You and Ulysses will move forward and use precision shots to disable it instead. You'll still need to persuade the Kadeshi, but with careful targeting you can force the Exiles to negotiate. Of course that assumes you will be able to fight through their entire fleet and assault what is obviously their most important ship.
You could destroy the mothership with the same tactic, but something inside you recoils at going that far.
[X] Inertialess Engines
[X] A Defensive Stance
[X] A Defensive Stance
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Inertialess Engines
[X] A Defensive Stance
[X] A Defensive Stance
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Ion Technology
[X] A Defensive Stance
[X] A Defensive Stance
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Inertialess Engines
[X] A Defensive Stance
[X] A Defensive Stance
Looks like a solid lead for inertialess engines and defensive stance. I know there are people who usually vote that haven't yet. So I'll leave this open for another day, and post the next update tomorrow.
Geas
Meat Thing
... Ooof. Yeah, this is a situation, all right.
I think, when it comes down to it, it depends on how Krogan these Exiles are when compared to the Krogan most of us know of. Let's face it, being exiled to Kharak? That's probably a vacation home compared to canon homeworld of Tuchanka, even when taking into consideration the significantly lower amounts of water (especially if Kharak doesn't have Thresher Maws) since a significant population of Krogan can survive on very little water for longer than a ten year period. So here, it can be assumed that Kharak's dying biosphere did not play as large of a role in encouraging the Exiles to venture forth into the cosmos, and given that Krogan lifespans easily rival Asari, it may be safe to assume that the Krogan Exiles did not suffer the technological decline of the Kushan Exiles. The fact that they've heavily fortified Kushan and likely have significant defenses strewn throughout the entire system lends weight to this theory.
If the Exiles' culture is anything like the traditional 'Krogan Way,' then getting them to back down could be ... difficult, especially since it is very, very obvious now that they have some method of FTL at their disposal. Also, because they're Krogan, they're likely far more militarized than the Kushan. They aren't just looking for Tuchanka, they're expecting and wanting a fight. Remember the renegade options from Grunt's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, and how well a Krogan Shaman - one of their cultural leaders - responds to those actions.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJZ2CEFf3ag
Hopefully, Iuno will bring all of that Paragon|Shepard charm to win them over.
(write in)
[X] Give the Exiles and the Kadesh alike all combat data and recordings concerning the 'Pirate' threat. Their weaponry and ships, their bizarre form of FTL, that nightmarish infection weapon, how they've managed to fight the Bentusi of all races better than anyone, all of it. Suggest that if the Exiles want a fight, if they want glory in battle, then no other race currently within the galaxy - not even the Bentusi - could give them a fight like these strange aliens could. This would win them respect from not just the Bentusi but also the Irune and the Kadesh, as well as any other factions who's suffered losses to them, and would be a humiliating thumb in the eye of the Taiidan who tried to pretend that someone wasn't setting their house on fire. For the Kadesh, we can impress on them just how significant this threat is and the fact that it clearly knows where they live. Helping to fight the Pirates and demonstrate their strength will help impress upon the galaxy that they really, really, really should respect their goddamn gardens and stay the hell off of their front lawn.
If that doesn't work though...
[X] An Aggressive Approach
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
If they fight the way that I think they will, it means a tidal wave of ships. I say hit them hard and hit them fast before they can overwhelm the Kadesh with sheer weight of numbers.
I think, when it comes down to it, it depends on how Krogan these Exiles are when compared to the Krogan most of us know of. Let's face it, being exiled to Kharak? That's probably a vacation home compared to canon homeworld of Tuchanka, even when taking into consideration the significantly lower amounts of water (especially if Kharak doesn't have Thresher Maws) since a significant population of Krogan can survive on very little water for longer than a ten year period. So here, it can be assumed that Kharak's dying biosphere did not play as large of a role in encouraging the Exiles to venture forth into the cosmos, and given that Krogan lifespans easily rival Asari, it may be safe to assume that the Krogan Exiles did not suffer the technological decline of the Kushan Exiles. The fact that they've heavily fortified Kushan and likely have significant defenses strewn throughout the entire system lends weight to this theory.
If the Exiles' culture is anything like the traditional 'Krogan Way,' then getting them to back down could be ... difficult, especially since it is very, very obvious now that they have some method of FTL at their disposal. Also, because they're Krogan, they're likely far more militarized than the Kushan. They aren't just looking for Tuchanka, they're expecting and wanting a fight. Remember the renegade options from Grunt's loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2, and how well a Krogan Shaman - one of their cultural leaders - responds to those actions.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJZ2CEFf3ag
Hopefully, Iuno will bring all of that Paragon|Shepard charm to win them over.
(write in)
[X] Give the Exiles and the Kadesh alike all combat data and recordings concerning the 'Pirate' threat. Their weaponry and ships, their bizarre form of FTL, that nightmarish infection weapon, how they've managed to fight the Bentusi of all races better than anyone, all of it. Suggest that if the Exiles want a fight, if they want glory in battle, then no other race currently within the galaxy - not even the Bentusi - could give them a fight like these strange aliens could. This would win them respect from not just the Bentusi but also the Irune and the Kadesh, as well as any other factions who's suffered losses to them, and would be a humiliating thumb in the eye of the Taiidan who tried to pretend that someone wasn't setting their house on fire. For the Kadesh, we can impress on them just how significant this threat is and the fact that it clearly knows where they live. Helping to fight the Pirates and demonstrate their strength will help impress upon the galaxy that they really, really, really should respect their goddamn gardens and stay the hell off of their front lawn.
If that doesn't work though...
[X] An Aggressive Approach
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
If they fight the way that I think they will, it means a tidal wave of ships. I say hit them hard and hit them fast before they can overwhelm the Kadesh with sheer weight of numbers.
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TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
[X] Plan: Geas
-[X] Give the Exiles and the Kadesh alike all combat data and recordings concerning the 'Pirate' threat. Their weaponry and ships, their bizarre form of FTL, that nightmarish infection weapon, how they've managed to fight the Bentusi of all races better than anyone, all of it. Suggest that if the Exiles want a fight, if they want glory in battle, then no other race currently within the galaxy - not even the Bentusi - could give them a fight like these strange aliens could. This would win them respect from not just the Bentusi but also the Irune and the Kadesh, as well as any other factions who's suffered losses to them, and would be a humiliating thumb in the eye of the Taiidan who tried to pretend that someone wasn't setting their house on fire. For the Kadesh, we can impress on them just how significant this threat is and the fact that it clearly knows where they live. Helping to fight the Pirates and demonstrate their strength will help impress upon the galaxy that they really, really, really should respect their goddamn gardens and stay the hell off of their front lawn.
If that doesn't work though...
-[X] An Aggressive Approach
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
If they fight the way that I think they will, it means a tidal wave of ships. I say hit them hard and hit them fast before they can overwhelm the Kadesh with sheer weight of numbers.
-[X] Give the Exiles and the Kadesh alike all combat data and recordings concerning the 'Pirate' threat. Their weaponry and ships, their bizarre form of FTL, that nightmarish infection weapon, how they've managed to fight the Bentusi of all races better than anyone, all of it. Suggest that if the Exiles want a fight, if they want glory in battle, then no other race currently within the galaxy - not even the Bentusi - could give them a fight like these strange aliens could. This would win them respect from not just the Bentusi but also the Irune and the Kadesh, as well as any other factions who's suffered losses to them, and would be a humiliating thumb in the eye of the Taiidan who tried to pretend that someone wasn't setting their house on fire. For the Kadesh, we can impress on them just how significant this threat is and the fact that it clearly knows where they live. Helping to fight the Pirates and demonstrate their strength will help impress upon the galaxy that they really, really, really should respect their goddamn gardens and stay the hell off of their front lawn.
If that doesn't work though...
-[X] An Aggressive Approach
Move forward and directly engage the Exiles. Destroy their attack waves and threaten their mothership. Force them to withdraw from the battle. This will require a bit of negotiating with the Kadeshi to get them to turn off their hyperspace inhibitors so the Exiles aren't backed into a corner.
If they fight the way that I think they will, it means a tidal wave of ships. I say hit them hard and hit them fast before they can overwhelm the Kadesh with sheer weight of numbers.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Plan: Geas
Alright let's see what happens.
A tie that's what. Okay in this case I think I will merge the plans a bit.
Hmm, I'm going to have to think on this.
A tie that's what. Okay in this case I think I will merge the plans a bit.
Hmm, I'm going to have to think on this.
Last edited:
2.10 The Clash in the Garden
Sector 17
The Garden of KadeshThe Sphere of Industriousness
Limmu'Zefal leaned back in her command chair as she reviewed the plot. The chatter of the crew washed over her and she considered the situation. Unknown raiders had entered the Garden and refused the offer of reconciliation. It was something that did not happen as often as outsiders might imagine.
Most knew to avoid the Garden leaving the Kadeshi free to contemplate the beauty and calmness of the Great Cloud. It was their holy duty to eliminate those that would disrupt that peace, and she was honored to be in command for this righteous mission.
But the Bentusi complicated things. She knew Valerious, had known him for nearly two decades before he had bid her farewell and gone to wherever the Bentusi went when they weren't poking the Kadeshi. Valerious had always been serious and collected. If he stated that the pirates were such a threat. So serious an issue that he was willing to fight on the Kadeshi's side just to get them to listen, then they probably were.
And now one of the other Bentusi was sending her more data suggesting just that. She didn't know this Iuno, and the thought of letting defilers go was, well it was literally heresy. But for Valerius' sake she would at least look through the data.
She did have a battle to fight as well though. Keying her console she began calling out orders. "All Penance and Redeemer pilots are to report to stations for immediate launch. Reconciler crews stand by for deployment. I want Reclamation Pod production to be set to 70%."
She keyed another comm code. This one to the Sharbei. "Limno, tell me about those pirates you fought in the Sphere of Contemplation."
You put Iuno's chance at convincing the two sides to talk it out as being very low. Not impossible, but too small a chance to count on. So while she harangues the Exiles and Kadeshi you move towards the center of the battlefield. Your destination is the Kadeshi fuel pods. You plan to protect the obvious tactical weakness of your allies with your defensive fields. Ulysses follows you in, while Aurora and Laverna stay with the motherships. Their drones join the stream of swarmers beginning to engage the Exile ships.
Fortunately the Exiles prove to have much slower ships than the swarmers so the initial clash occurs closer to their side of the battle space than the Kadeshi. But this soon proves to be a much more even fight than that might indicate. The Exile ships are big lumbering things, far larger than the swarmers, but they bristle with guns and prove adept at swatting swarmers out of the sky even as they weather the storm of fire unleashed in return.
Your decision proves wise as the Exiles are soon pushing back the swarmer squadrons and sending strike groups towards the fuel pods. Their fighters are twice again the size of the swarmers or even your own drones. You'd call them corvettes if they weren't traveling as squadrons and using obvious fighter tactics. Their engines are slow, and their weapons are lacking, but their armor is superior. The swarmers are having a hard time making kills and your own acolytes are taking longer than you would expect to destroy their Exile counterparts.
And those are just the fighters. Following behind them are frigates easily the size of yourself or Ulysses. They bristle with turrets and have thick lobed wedges of armor that makes them more like mobile sentry stations than what you would consider a proper space ship design. They aren't invincible. The swarmers have killed several by sheer dint of numbers, but they are taking a heavy toll on the Kadeshi interceptors and making steady progress towards the fuel pods.
Fortunately that's when Ulysses finally unleashes his siege cannon on the Exiles. The slow frigates are perfect targets and for all their armor they are not capable of standing up to Bentusi anti capital ship fire. Several frigates are simply wiped out of existence by the first shot.
Unfortunately the Exiles prove to be able warriors, and much more tactically competent than the pirates. Once Ulysses has demonstrated his cannon's potency they scramble to spread out and avoid lining up shots. Every few minutes he destroys another one with clockwork precision, but there are already more Exile reinforcements joining the battlefield. Even beyond that the situation has devolved into a general melee rather than a steady clash of two sides.
In fact things are not looking too well for the Kadeshi. You have sheltered a small flotilla of five fuel pods within your fields, and with Ulysses aid you have essentially made a strong point in the center of the battle space. Any groups of Exile ships large enough to challenge you are destroyed by Ulysses and anything that attempts to spread out is swarmed by your acolytes. Though the Cherubs are proving less effective. The exile frigates prove to be capable of shooting down their torpedoes at long range, and if the Cherubs try to get closer they themselves are shredded. You've asked Aurora and Laverna to switch to full acolyte production.
But while you have secured your zone of space the rest of the Kadeshi are not so lucky. They are having some success with squadrons of multi beam frigates, but the Exiles appear to actually be ramming them and there are reports over the Kadeshi comm network of boarding operations being conducted by hulking armored figures. Things are going even worse wherever the multi beam frigates aren't. For then the Exile frigates can close on and destroy the fuel pods with impunity.
Something must be done, but what? The fuel pods must be protected, but you can't be everywhere at once. Then a flash of inspiration hits you.
"Ulysses, on me!" Without any further explanation you dart out and grab the drifting hulk of a destroyed fuel pod with your repair manipulators. Anything that can assemble can also disassemble and you rapidly tear the hulks components apart while scanning them closely. You do this again and start to pierce together a schematic of the fuel pod in your mind.
You can't figure out the entire schematic for building a fuel pod from a few random hulks mid battle, but you don't need the whole thing. One more hulk and you have what you need. The fuel tanks and refueling platforms used by the swarmers.
You pull up a design that is more familiar to you than any other. The old Archer frigate you spent so many decades in. You rip out the main gun and replace it with fuel tanks. Refueling points go on the outside. You have no pilot so you drop an acolyte drone cortex in. It will behave strangely, but it really only needs to be able to move between two points in a straight line. The important thing is that it will have defensive fields of its own and enough refueling points to replace several fuel pods.
You send the blueprint to Aurora. "Can you build it?"
"You want me to build a Frigate! In the middle of battle! And what is this mess? Aargh, okay give me a bit."
The battle continues for several long hours as the Exiles push their advantage. More and more fuel pods are destroyed and the swarm of Kadeshi fighters shrinks as their range becomes more and more limited.
But then the first of your Shield Pods exits Aurora's hangars and streaks towards the battlefield. A dozen acolytes lurk inside its defensive fields and it soon acquires its own cloud of swarmers. The Exiles are quick to target it as well. But this is not a defenseless Kadeshi fuel pod. It has Bentusi armor, Bentusi defense fields, and Bentusi drives. It's too fast for the slow Exile frigates to concentrate on any specific point of it, and while they try the acolytes and swarmers cut them to pieces. It becomes even worse when a pair of multibeam frigates take up escort positions as well. It is slightly concerning that the shield pod keeps trying to get into formation with the acolytes, but that just makes it a more unpredictable target. And at least the swarmers are fast enough to dock with it regardless.
Aurora is already working on a second shield pod, and with it the tide starts to shift in your favor. You look towards the Exile Mothership. It's time to start your own offensive.
Trosk grunted as he launched another wave of Sandshark fighters. The bulky fighters were not having the effect that he had hoped for in this fight. The strange alien fighters were too fast. Neither the sharks nor their pilots could keep up. Time to relocate production to something else.
The Bonesaw corvettes perhaps. They were slower, but had enough guns to saturate nearby space. Hopefully it would be enough to take some pressure off the Vengeance Frigates. They could deal with the small white fighters well enough, but the bulkier gold ones were tearing the frigates apart.
Frankly they were tearing all of his ships apart. He didn't know who these aliens were exactly but these new Bentusi were clearly the superior of the two. He had already fought and beaten the Kadeshi. Perhaps these Bentusi were their superiors and had come to the aid of their vassals.
That would explain why they had such superior technology. He frowned as the new ships being released from the Bentusi mothership began refueling the white fighters. In a burst of frustration he let off a burst of fire from his starboard cannons. He had just finished destroying the Kadeshi fuel pods and now he was back to the start of the wasteland path!
A flagged alert prodded him. The two Bentsui at the center of the battle had begun to move. He instinctively plotted their course. Right to him, of course. He chuckled.
They wanted to fight him directly did they? Well let's see them deal with the Whirlwinds first.
You start with the classic approach. You extend your defensive fields and Ulysses along with four multibeam frigates take up positions inside it. You begin moving towards the Exile mothership with the intention of carefully intimidating the Exiles into retreating.
However you soon run into problems. The first is that the Exiles aren't blind. As soon as your little concentration of firepower begins to move towards their mothership they vector in their heavy frigates from multiple angles, they haven't forgotten Ulysses, to kill you. The space around you fills with dancing lights as Ulysses and the Kadeshi spin on their axes to fire ion shot after ion shot at the enemy frigates.
Even so you are under constant bombardment from the Exile's cannons. They are comparatively light, but the sheer volume of them is stressing your field modules as they experience constant heavy load. You have to rush to literally put out fires as the feedback becomes too much for several capacitors and your damage repair systems are working hard to keep your field modules online.
The Kadeshi send more swarmers and even advanced swarmers into the fight, and the Exiles respond by sending more frigates and their own interceptors. Soon your advance has become the focal point of the battlefield with fighters flying everywhere and frigates on both sides shooting at anything within range. The space becomes so packed that more than one collision occurs.
Then the Exiles play their trump card. A frigate approaches that appears slightly more bulky than the others. You take note, but it doesn't appear to be any more dangerous than the others. That is until it reaches firing range at which point all of its turrets detach, the bulk being revealed to be extra maneuvering thrusters and engines sufficient to turn each one into a drone. You are not prepared for sudden addition of maneuverable fighters to the mix when until now all of the Exile ships had been relatively slow, and the drones actually slip inside your fields.
You duck and weave to keep the drones from being able to focus on one part of your hull, but you still feel the sharp pin pricks of pain from your armor being breached. Grabbing control of some nearby acolytes you task them with picking off the drones while Ulysses eliminates the controlling frigate.
Your advance resumes, but slowly as you keep a wary eye out for more of the drone carriers. Of which there are in fact several. It is a long hard slog through the waves of Exile ships, but you gradually crawl closer and closer to firing range of the Exile mothership.
Iuno carefully combed through her records on the Exiles again. Convincing the Kadeshi to negotiate had been easy. She had been researching their culture for days and had centuries of precedent from Bentusi pilgrims coming and going from the Garden. That and she had asked Laverna to suborn the Menoa's systems then used that as a stepping stone to hook into Commander Limmu's enviro suit so she could have real time telemetry of what the Kadeshi commander was feeling.
It kind of felt like a cheat really, but this was too important to leave to chance. Unfortunately the same thing had not worked on the Exiles. Which isn't to say she hadn't tried, but her attempts to intrude on the Exile mothership had been rebuffed. Actively rebuffed. She had felt a mind on the other end of those probes. There was actually an Unbound in there!
She couldn't even recall when the last time the Bentusi had interacted with another Unbound race was. And given her vast historical databanks that was saying something. It impressed her, but it meant she was trying to negotiate with someone who she couldn't scan closely and who could think at the same speed she could. Many of her normal tactics were infeasible.
Honestly it was an incredibly thrilling challenge. If only the stakes were a little lower so she could truly relish the thrust of point, counterpoint, and in depth political analysis. She could tell the pirate report had interested him, and the fierce battle had swayed him more, but he was still not quite ready to accept her arguments.
Then she spotted the sphere of Ulysses firing range cross over onto the Exile Mothership. "You have your choice. Continue to refuse and die," she was telling the truth, but she held back the fact that she meant, die to the pirates. He didn't need to know that Valerious' plan only entailed forcing the Exiles to retreat. "Or take our deal and gain both allies and engines that will make your current ships far more deadly."
She could feel the Unbound Exile mull it over for several seconds. An eternity of subjective thought. And then the grudging response, "Fine, I accept your offer."
By the terms of your agreement Aurora and Laverna help the Exiles retrofit their ships with the new inertialess engine technology before they are allowed to leave the Garden. The hardest part is their mothership. For all that it can only move slowly even that is accomplished with engines of simply enormous size. They are so large that several Kadeshi motherships had to help with building their replacements.
While that is going on you have your own decision to make. Both the Kadeshi and the Exiles, the Kushan you should say, have offered to send delegates with you to gather more information on the pirates and help convince other races. They'll be staying on Iuno so that is fine. But they've also offered to send ships as well. Unfortunately neither of them build frigates with hyperspace cores so they'll both need to travel on Aurora, and Aurora only has room in her hangar for two frigates. Much of the rest is currently occupied by the vast resource tank the Exiles paid for the engine technology. You're still merchants after all.
Do you accept the offers?
[ ] Only the Reconciler Mutlibeam Frigate:
The Kadeshi are friends and their frigates are powerful. You can save hangar space in case you need it later, and frankly you don't really trust the Kushan inside Aurora.
[ ] Only the Vengeance Assault Frigate:
The Kushan frigates are on par with destroyers in terms of toughness, and they can handle just about any situation. The Kadeshi on the other hand don't handle leaving their gardens all that well.
[ ] Both Frigates:
Aurora has two frigate bays and you're being offered two frigates. The correct approach is obvious. It'll help with your lack of a good options for countering mid range warships as well.
[ ] Neither of them:
You'd prefer to leave Aurora's hangars free in case you need to pick up some other ship later. Plus usually only Bentusi ships get to ride in Bentusi hangars.
After that the only question is where to go next?
[ ] The Keepers of the Lost
Time to go talk with the Keepers.
[] The Exiles of Kharak
Sure you dealt with these Exiles, but what about the ones still on their home planet. Surely they need a warning too.
[ ] The Vaygr Tribes:
Try and find the Vaygr.
[ ] The Irune Financial Sphere:
Go cash in your reward with the Irune.
[ ] Cultural Ties:
It isn't just a matter of dealing with the culture clash. This will also let you catch up with what is happening with the rest of the Bentusi
[ ] Raider Rumble:
It's never a good idea to leave a pirate problem festering. Even if these aren't the exact pirates you've been fighting.
[ ] Ancient Assets:
You have confirmation now that the Megaliths and the pirates are linked. It would be a good idea to see if you can get more information on them.
Quest Note: Whew, sorry for the delay. I had to brainstorm something that felt suitable. Hopefully this feels climatic enough.
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Geas
Meat Thing
How to put my opinions on this chapter...
Ah, yes. I've got it.
Gonna take some time to think on the options before I vote. All of them are compelling, though at the moment I'm very much leaning towards taking along both frigates, because more dakka is never a bad thing, and these
The only option I'm leery about is tracking down the Vagyr. All of the others though... Yeah, I need to think about it otherwise I'll just end up rolling a die trying to choose.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Both Frigates
[X] Ancient Assets
Thank goodness that worked.
[X] Ancient Assets
Thank goodness that worked.
It almost didn't. I had to think about how to convey the fact that is was actually a pretty close thing.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Both Frigates
[X] Ancient Assets
This was a really good update. Nice job merging the very different plans!
[X] Ancient Assets
This was a really good update. Nice job merging the very different plans!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Both Frigates
Not sure on next steps yet
Not sure on next steps yet
TheOmnimercurial
Dragon Bard
- Location
- UK
[X] Both Frigates
[X] Cultural Ties
We still have to both deal with the Virus and warn our People to get working on countermeasures etc.
[X] Cultural Ties
We still have to both deal with the Virus and warn our People to get working on countermeasures etc.
A universal love for both frigates. I probably should have expected that. But a pretty even split between cultural ties and ancient assets.
Geas
Meat Thing
[X] Both Frigates
So, been dwelling on the votes. Ruled out talking to the Keepers for the time being, at least not until we've begun building up more of a rapport with the crew of the multi-beam frigate just in case there's still some lingering feelings (and let's be honest, there probably is and that's probably putting it way too lightly). I don't see much point in journeying to Kharak yet. I doubt that the Exiles have a line of communication all the way back to the world that they were banished to but if their mothership is any indication, any would-be attackers are likely going to pay in blood and tears and pain for every square inch of that system.
The Vagyr... as much as I find them distasteful, knowing what we know of canon, someone should go snooping around them sooner or later at some point (and hopefully nip certain events in the bud) before they possibly become a threat. But this early, I want to say that it might not be an issue yet.
[X] Ancient Assets
I'll be honest, I do want me some Element Zero, but more importantly, for some reason these 'Pirates' are using Hyperspace cores instead of the megaliths to get around (even though they clearly do have Eezo-based FTL) and I suspect that it's very, very important to know why.
So, been dwelling on the votes. Ruled out talking to the Keepers for the time being, at least not until we've begun building up more of a rapport with the crew of the multi-beam frigate just in case there's still some lingering feelings (and let's be honest, there probably is and that's probably putting it way too lightly). I don't see much point in journeying to Kharak yet. I doubt that the Exiles have a line of communication all the way back to the world that they were banished to but if their mothership is any indication, any would-be attackers are likely going to pay in blood and tears and pain for every square inch of that system.
The Vagyr... as much as I find them distasteful, knowing what we know of canon, someone should go snooping around them sooner or later at some point (and hopefully nip certain events in the bud) before they possibly become a threat. But this early, I want to say that it might not be an issue yet.
[X] Ancient Assets
I'll be honest, I do want me some Element Zero, but more importantly, for some reason these 'Pirates' are using Hyperspace cores instead of the megaliths to get around (even though they clearly do have Eezo-based FTL) and I suspect that it's very, very important to know why.