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[Coolrune206]

Quickly subdue my attackers by magicking up some heavy weights attached to their armorpieces.

[Lenglon]

I shift to the appropriate orbital altitude and set up a node here, dedicated to energy collection.

"How does this relate to the life you created on the Tar-planets? or are they separate projects?"

[_DivideByZero_]

I shift to the appropriate orbital altitude and set up a node here, dedicated to energy collection.

"How does this relate to the life you created on the Tar-planets? or are they separate projects?"

((What is an "orbital altitude?"))

Marie: This sun defines the whole star system. Of course they're not separate projects. The high-energy radiation this star emits poses a significant obstacle to my lifeforms. Right now they are mere slugs that dip in and out of sludge pools, coating themselves in slime that protects against the rays. A more permanent solution requires a reduction in the amount of radiation hitting the surface, either through a thick atmosphere to mask the flux, or an overall reduction of the star's activity. You might call me a maniac for attempting the second, but I am confident I shall figure it out in due time.

[Lenglon]

((Distance from the star - making sure it's not so close it won't function properly but close enough to maximize effectiveness.))

"I am surprised you aren't just attempting both at once. surely there is some unused time waiting or thinking about your next tactic to modify the star that you could use to thicken the atmosphere"

[Yourmaster]

"Interesting setup you have here, I must say. I'm unsure, do you know how to use antimatter?"

[_DivideByZero_]

"Interesting setup you have here, I must say. I'm unsure, do you know how to use antimatter?"

((Whoops, I suppose I was being unfair there responding only to Lenglon's dialogue.))

The man speaks in a language you have never heard before. [6] You convert its meaning so that you can understand it, but hen you realize that it's horribly information-thin. Each word takes many syllables, meaning that communication goes by slowly even though you can understand it. You respond back in your native tongue, twisting the information inside the recipient's mind to accommodate the language.

Old Man: Good to see another one. This ship used to fly by antimatter-catalyzed fusion, so I guess you could say I know how to use it. But I've since run out of the stuff and I got trapped here. There's not enough fuel to get out. You know, I thought you were some sort of hallucination at first, but then I realized there really was a man flying among the clouds. Someone who could probably help me out of here.

"I am surprised you aren't just attempting both at once. surely there is some unused time waiting or thinking about your next tactic to modify the star that you could use to thicken the atmosphere"

Marie: Thickening the atmosphere will do no good without oxygen. Oxygen is easy to bake out of rocks, but in an environment saturated with hydrocarbons and iron, no fixed amount of oxygen will last. The only way to create an atmosphere that blocks life-threatening UV radiation is to coat the planet's surface with life and overwhelm all natural sinks--which requires that I reduce the incoming radiation. A chicken-and-the-egg problem, if you are familiar with that idiom.

[Yourmaster]

"I would be happy to give you some antimatter, and we could set up a few generators."

[Lenglon]

"What about tackling the problem more directly? you don't need to reduce the star's output so much as keep that output from impacting the planets. why not just block or redirect the straight-line path between the star and the planet? it's only a temporary solution, but you only need a temporary one to let the life you're growing gain a foothold and create the atmosphere you need."

[_DivideByZero_]

"What about tackling the problem more directly? you don't need to reduce the star's output so much as keep that output from impacting the planets. why not just block or redirect the straight-line path between the star and the planet? it's only a temporary solution, but you only need a temporary one to let the life you're growing gain a foothold and create the atmosphere you need."

Marie: You act as if that is easier. To create a planet-wide orbiting shroud of tunnels as well as somehow filter lower wavelengths from higher ones, rather than to create a few well-placed tunnels in the star's interior to reduce the amount of convection that occurs.

"I would be happy to give you some antimatter, and we could set up a few generators."

Old Man: You you really would? Then I could get back to my people. I don't know how long you'd be willing to wait to get there, but we could repay you many times... but, there is another problem. This ship was built in space. It was never designed to take off. Its engines cannot put out more thrust than it weighs here. I am worried that leaving the atmosphere will be extremely difficult.

[Lenglon]

"it's larger scale and requires much more power, but it doesn't require the precision that has been giving you trouble. often the less efficient resource-wise option is the more efficient time-wise option. I don't think it would take less effort. I just think it would work and doesn't require information you have no effective way of obtaining. The quick and dirty solution is still a solution."
((The below is only if she replies in line with how I am predicting she will - that it's bad form / etc and her information gathering is effective))
"You said you've been studying this star for centuries. are you significantly closer to a solution now than when you started?"
((If no))
"Then aren't you overdue to re-evaluate your methods?"
((If yes))
"Well, never mind then. If there's no need to brute-force this, then all the better."

[Pancaek]

Clearly, it would be unwise to open this thing that is clearly labeled "do not open". Clearly, it was also unwise throwing corpses of plague victims over the walls of our enemies' city, but did we not do that anyway?

Carefully approach the beacon, open it

[_DivideByZero_]

((Now we lost Urist... In case someone (Looking at Whisperling) is still interested, I am willing to go to 6 players in case someone writes a sheet while a player is on hiatus, but that player returns later on.))

Roll 9

Spoiler: Starmap (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Radio Sources (Visible in interstellar space only) (click to show/hide)

The Sun - High signal activity, consistent with E class civilization.
Tau Ceti (bottom of starmap) - Weak signals, consistent with a Ca class civilization
Alpha Centauri (Top left of the Sun) - Extremely strong signals consistent with
Epsilon Eridani (Right of T Ceti) - Weak radio signals, anomalous infra-red signature
Barnard's Star (Top right of the Sun) - Moderate radio consistent with a D class civilization
Procyon - No radio signals, occasional flare activity from Procyon B
Sirius - A single, repetitive signal with weak intensity, magnitude similar to a Ca class civ.

((Note that italicized words in your character sheets can be hovered over for additional info))


Alexandreus (Yourmaster)

"I would be happy to give you some antimatter, and we could set up a few generators."

Old Man: You you really would? Then I could get back to my people. I don't know how long you'd be willing to wait to get there, but we could repay you many times... but, there is another problem. This ship was built in space, it was never designed to take off. The engines can't lift the ship out of a gravity well this steep.

The ship is powered by a fission reactor, despite the mention of antimatter-catalyzed fusion. It seems that the fission reactor is simply much easier to maintain for .
The old man says he was stranded here for forty years after his ship was damaged by an explosion. Using whatever supplies he had left, he stripped the inside of the ship bare and crafted balloons to ferry transmitters out into the upper atmosphere, where they signalled into outer space for help.

Your Inventory:
Chromatic Staff (Unique spells that are multicast cost 25% less affinity that turn.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x19) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x4) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Antimatter Catalyst (x5)

Spoiler: Alexandreus (Yourmaster) (click to show/hide)

Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 1
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
---Misc---

Michel (Pancaek)

[2] You head out and approach the beacon, although your gas bubble is rather thin. You might not be able to carry much with you back to Saturn or Titan for a refill, should you find something interesting. A mass allowance of around 30kg, at the most.

[4] The beacon itself continues to transmit as you approach it. Definitely unmanned. [3] You blast open the cylinder by reducing the bolts to rust and giving it a good kick. The water for the rust comes from water you brought with you from Titan, of course.
Objects meant to survive space aren't typically very durable, so the machine pops open like one of those Russian dolls. And lo, there is another cylinder inside, this one made of glass and containing what appears to be a sleeping man inside. It looks like some sort of biostasis capsule.

Your Inventory:
 Travel Kit (A bunch of items that you can channel through. The glasses grant you DiseaseVision)
Lesser Mana Potion (x25) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Seeking Dust (x5)

Spoiler: Michel (Pancaek) (click to show/hide)

Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 0
Reduction: 1
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
Deconstruction: 1
---Misc---
Medical: 1

Tafaw (Urist Arrhenius)

See Coolrune206's rolls for info

Your Inventory:
Pressure Suit (A suit decorated with a silk shawl, made of many metals.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x22) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Morphic Dust (x5)

Spoiler: Tafaw (Urist Arrhenius) (click to show/hide)

Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
Transformation: 1
Augmentation: 1
---Misc---

Nino (Lenglon)

"it's larger scale and requires much more power, but it doesn't require the precision that has been giving you trouble. often the less efficient resource-wise option is the more efficient time-wise option. I don't think it would take less effort. I just think it would work and doesn't require information you have no effective way of obtaining. The quick and dirty solution is still a solution."

Marie: Is this the kind of quick and dirty solution you thought of when you decided to stick floating crystals everywhere to gather power? Dear, you have no understanding of magnitudes. Carbon planets are nearby impossible to terraform without established life. You do know that, right?
I apologize for my accusatory remarks, but really, I've thought this through for centuries. I do not have nearly the mana nor the attention span to construct some fantastical space-shield from some science-fiction author's dreams. If I were not confident in my ability to solve the Interference Problem, I would have found a world with much better prospects of life to seed.

Unknown Voice: Just make creatures that live off it.
Marie: Oh please, organic biochemistry would never support such a thing! Organic molecules are naturally vulnerable to--Wait... where did that voice come from?

A girl appears right between you and Marie, seemingly fading into existence. You saw no trace of her beforehand.
The girl wears a dark, starry-patterned jacket over a long and flowing dress, with edges and folds curling like the solar flares and prominences of the astronomical body behind her. Her hair too is spread out in the lack of gravity, blending with the patterns of the star. This girl almost looks like she came out of the star itself.
She is also wearing sunglasses. In space.

On her back, she carries a window attached to a sling across her shoulder. The window glitters with sparking grains and defects.

I'm Mira...
...why not just make your own biochemistry then?
Marie: Such naïveté! You speak of designing a whole new family of life, one that can survive bathed in scorching flarelight! Such a lifeform probably never developed once in the whole galaxy, not once!
The newcomer puts a finger to her chin.
Mira: Hmm, I think I found some when I made my window...
She unslings the window from her back.
Mira: I made it from a bright little star's core. There were these little glittering things inside it...

On closer inspection, the glittering things appear to be dust-sized filaments resembling iridescent rice grains, embedded within the transparent material. Hardly conclusive evidence of life on their own, but interesting in their own right.
Marie: I don't believe it. Those are more likely artifacts due to the crystallization of the dwarf star's core. But... did you really mine diamond from a white dwarf's core!? And how did you get here... were you following us the whole time?
Mira: I was.

There is a long, awkward silence as Mira didn't fully answer the questions.
The new girl doesn't seem to be using her mana to create a barrier around herself. Normally, a wizard can get close to stars simply by creating a polarized outer shell of mana to insulate themselves from the star's light. But it looks as if the star is brighter along Mira's outline instead, a sign that something different is occurring.

...

You have a decent idea of how to make stretchable rift tunnels (2/3)

Active Nodes:
1 Basic Node (Max 1 tTNT) (Proxima Centauri) (Energy: 0.5 tTNT @ 10 tTNT/day)
1 Basic Node (Max 1 tTNT) (Proxima Centauri I) (Energy: 0.0 tTNT @ 1 tTNT/day)
1 Basic Node (Max 1 tTNT) (Proxima Centauri II) (Energy: 0.5 tTNT @ .5 tTNT/day)

Your Inventory:
Dimensional Cape (Contains a non-Euclidean pocket. Does not negate the mass of whatever you are carrying, though.)
Dragon Chains (x5, highly durable self-levitating chains with a dragon's head as the final link)
Oblivion Blade (A programmable shapeshifting weapon made of memorymetal. Morphs based on how it's swung.)
Meta Potion (x10) (A pressurized rod of metastable helium stabilized inside a Critical Resonance Matrix. Handle with care.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x10) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Barrier Dust (x5)

Spoiler: Nino (Lenglon) (click to show/hide)

Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 0
Redirection: 3
---Advanced---
---Misc---

Resteroth (Coolrune206)

Quickly subdue my attackers by magicking up some heavy weights attached to their armorpieces.

[4] Conservation of mass still applies, but there's plenty of matter to choose from. You glue their feet to the floor using giant steel weight fashioned from... you guessed it... the floor.

One of them trips in the charge, the other stops himself from falling. The third never actually committed to the charge, and merely stepped forward while the other two made their moves. He is also the one that speaks.

3rd Attacker: You, invade ship, [fly, levitate] through space? Forgive these, they [paranoid]. Can you help?

Your Inventory:
Masks (A set of masks used to express yourself. You can modify sound waves and visual stimulus coming through.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x27) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Antimatter Catalyst (x10)

Spoiler: Resteroth (Coolrune206) (click to show/hide)

Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 2
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 0
Redirection: 0
---Advanced---
Animation: 1
Construction: 2
Destruction: 1
---Misc---

[Coolrune206]

"Help required? Resteroth provide assistance."

[Yourmaster]

"What if we use the antimatter to harvest excess mana, which is essentially everywhere?"

[Lenglon]

((DbZ, I think you're probably now getting an understanding of why I said Nino has issues with collateral damage, despite where her skills are located. It's one of those things that was just easier to show than explain.))
"Neat. How'd you pull that off?"