That would be fantastic, Khan Rekhyt." Minister Sterling responds, smiling at the young man. His hand twitches towards the dagger at his hip, but he doesn't retort.
[19][22]"Children of SEED. Leave the room." You command. You rest a hand on your neck while they file through the double doors. When the last leaves your sight, you unclick the collar. The temperature in the room rises. It's slow, until you devote willpower to the energy transfer process. Then your ministers begin to sweat. You leave it loose as you cross your arms over your chest.
[15 vs. 14]"As far as my concerns go, my future [consort, companion, habitual associate] is already baptized. Not with oil, but with blood." Your High Empyreal word-play draws a grin from Emma, and you can hear Murdach chortle beneath his mask. A small grin dances across Rekhyt's lips.
"What...what does that word mean? Mother Pheonix?" Sterling questions, tugging at her collar in the sudden heat.
"I am a mortal God," You begin to explain, crisp and polite, "I am unlike the Holy SEED in that regard, Sterling. I bleed, I eat, experience pain and pleasure -- and I make my own choices." You finish with a sudden sharp rise in your voice. The temperature in the room spikes.
[12]Sterling looks confused. But the others assembled understand. You think. Maybe.
"[Such a decision is inconsequential. Unless I decide the Khan deserves a longer life, I will outlive him by many lifetimes more. Political expedience is of the utmost importance. There is, as he said, 'an apocalypse approaching.']" You explain in the highest tongue of SEED Scholars. "As for the Outlanders...Do you think the Plague cares? For the Plague there is no difference between Familia, Crusader, Skarinite, or Outlander. In the coming weeks, we live and die together as one. One Planet. One Species. One Alliance." You explain, drawing your dark gaze across the room. Those assembled go quiet as you continue. They pay you rapt attention as you lift your voice, as you vent your frustration. "We live and we die as one species! Do you understand?!"
[30]You rise to your feet and slam your hand down on the table. It creaks. You let your wings burst forth with a flash of light in the same moment. "We live and die as one! The only alternative is our complete destruction."
The room is dead silent. You click your collar shut, and the reaction of your wings dies with a gentle fizzle. "If anything threatens our chances of victory over the Plague -- I will be furious. Is that understood?"
There's a low chorus of cowed agreement.
You nod and start your stride out the door. "Take whatever measures are necessary. Establish the 'Killzone' within the Exclusion Zone. Excuse me."
No one follows, to your great relief, and you take the elevator to your suite. The bed welcomes you into its cold, soft embrace. You watch the snow accumulate to blanket the mountainous crags of Stormont. Day turns to night with a bloody red dusk. You make to head to the hangar, but the full-length mirror catches your eye. Blood-red hair hangs down to your ears. A mask of iron covers your face, and you peel it off to examine the scarring. A vain hope. I never thought I'd long for my previous plainness.
"Why do you yearn for your previous mask, Patches?" A young, androgynous figure with dark hair drops into a seat behind you. They flip a gold and black coin with concern twinkling in their black eyes. "You should know by now that the faces you wear are naught but a façade."
"...who are you?"
"I don't make a habit of answering questions. I will give you and your elders one answer each, however. I owe you that much. Think before you as--"
"Who are you?" You repeat, reaching towards your collar.
"No one. Every one. You can call me Father, as Sol seems to prefer to manifest as maternal -- but gender is such an outdated concept for our species at this point. That your's answered." He speaks in perfect, high Empyreal.
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Topic: McCreary's Planet -- (FINISHED) (Read 258528 times)