Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Devastator]

Divine ancestors within the sun?

"Hey, Timo, could I be related to them?"  Says Suzy, willing her hand to light up with a yellow sun-like glow.

"Hmm.." says Timo, floating beside her, keeping one paw in a thinking pose, stroking his chin.  "I don't know."

"Surely you must know!  You always said you came to me for a reason!  And my magic is that of heat and light.."

Timo then shakes his head.  "I don't see people's bloodlines.  It might be true.  What I saw was destiny."

"For a while I was wondering if there would be some small destiny.  Maybe you'd be the hero of the space colony, maybe you'd set some person right.  Maybe you'd defeat some hardship and inspire others.  Maybe that small colony would be the backdrop for some act.. important, but not world-shattering.  Or mending.

But you were too strong for that.  I mean, some magical adepts only end up with a little power, they can do some small thing with magic.  But you had more than that, you can make actual lasers.  And change things, from one thing to another.. that's hard, and rare.  And then there's your body.  Some adepts only become healthy.. maybe their magic fixes a twisted foot, or maybe they just feel fit and full of energy.  But you got strong.  Really strong.  Strong enough it started making things hard instead of easy."

"So then I started thinking that you were destined for something larger, something more important.  And then.. well, all this happened.

It's only been a few days.. and building a new universe?  Maybe fighting a serpent that wants to eat a planet?  It makes so much sense now, why you got so much power.  This is a big destiny, maybe the biggest, and you needed this much power just to find the path to it."

"Huh", says Suzy.

"Yeah."  says Timo.

Check out the temple next, if anyone is in there.  Did Ral say anything about the royal bloodline?  Is it a real thing, or maybe some kind of myth?

After that, check out the bar.  I'm not sure if we'll be recruiting any of those hopefuls, but we really could use a few more people, even if they're less than perfect.

[NJW2000]

I send a psionic call out to Ral

“Hello? Can you tell me more about yourself, Also, Did you know my race? You seem like something they would make.”

The reply is a little faint. Ral is out of view, perhaps on the other side of the planet. The fact that he can hear you and respond across this distance is impressive to say the least.


"Hello. Your voice is loud, for such a little being. I am the World Serpent, the Devourer, the Insatiable, destined to consume the earth and all upon it. For millenia I slumbered in the raging fires in the core of the world, before awakening to defend what is mine. When the destruction of this planet is complete, I will swallow it entirely."

"I have encountered your kind, wanderers across the cosmos. They hoped to study me, but I think learned nothing. It has been many years since they departed."

A spot of chasm-navigation could bypass this, right?

It could certainly get you away from the planet very quickly. Ral is unlikely to be very fast in the Chasm, as he isn't a Chasm beast, so in the unlikely event that he gives chase, it won't be an issue.

The only problem is that the chasm is harder to access around large bodies of corporeal matter, such as the planet itself. The ideal place to drop into it would be in orbit, dozens of miles above the surface, probably in view of Ral. Attempting to slip into the chasm closer to the planet would risk damaging the ship - an analogy would be trying to launch a boat in shallow water, surrounded by reefs. Alternatively, you could penetrate space directly, creating a hole leading deep into the Chasm while staying in the planet. This would be less dangerous to the ship, and Ral would have no warning, but the hole it creates would allow matter and even space to sink into the Chasm, and give Chasm-creatures a way into the centre of the planet.

"Hmm"
Head out to talk with these "laughing stocks" and see how desperate useful they are for me the mission. (Preferably before Suzy gets to them)

 You get directions to what appears to be some kind of bar, a room buried half underground, lit mainly by shafts of sunlight from the street-level windows. A motley bunch of humanoids sit around a single table, examining a clearly defunct bit of machinery. Every head in the room turns as you walk in, lean against the bar and clear your throat.

You simply mention the possibility of a way off the planet, and they're instantly willing to follow you. It's almost disappointing how easy it is to convince them to serve. All you have to do is mention that you're the captain of a vessel powerful enough to outrun Ral and leave the planet, and they're begging you to sign them on as crew members.

You meet the twins, Tara and Kate, two shaven-haired women who have a little experience working as scrapyard engineers. Then there's Jack Sterling, a badly-shaven thirty year old without any particular abilities. Not speaking but projecting an aura of excitement all the same is an eight-foot grey humanoid of indeterminate gender referred to as "the Foss", their metal staff and slabs of muscle suggesting they might be some kind of fighter. Finally, there's an old man in a wheelchair, Gustav, whose one-man ship crashed on this planet several years ago. The only one not born on this planet, he has some experience voyaging through what remains of the universes. None of them seem superbly talented, but they appear to be hardworking enough - they look like they've spent several hours painstakingly tinkering with a completely ruined combustion engine in a hopeless attempt to achieve escape velocity.

It'd mean you might have to stop for supplies every so often in order not to put too much strain on the ship's biological recycling facilities, but you could probably take all of these folk with you if you wanted to.

Check out the temple next, if anyone is in there.  Did Ral say anything about the royal bloodline?  Is it a real thing, or maybe some kind of myth?

After that, check out the bar.  I'm not sure if we'll be recruiting any of those hopefuls, but we really could use a few more people, even if they're less than perfect.

You walk through one or two of the huge sandstone temples. They are no longer treated as holy spaces, instead serving as living quarters, barns, infirmaries. It's strange to see people herding goats through crypts and playing dice on stone sarcophagi, but who can you blaspheme against if all the gods are dead? You think you spot some underground wheat growing in one room, a steady stream of water trickling through.

Lucca hasn't communicated with Ral about the royal bloodline, and Ral hasn't mentioned it. Talking to the older inhabitants of the temples confims that the royal bloodline did exist, and belongs to a line of rulers of a place a few hundred miles away. The last of them were killed during the wars and disasters that occurred after the arrival of the Reivers.

The locals also believe that if any such people were alive, Ral would let them leave due to their divine lineage. These people have seen a substantial proportion of the events described in their holy books come to pass in their lifetimes, so they're inclined to trust the books of prophecy.


You then visit the bar where the people who still hold out hope for a way off the planet hang out. You walk in just as they're falling over one another to buy Steve a drink, begging him to take them with him on the voidship. They don't look like a particularly talented bunch, but they don't seem too incompetent. True, one won't speak, one can't walk, one apparently doesn't own a shaving mirror, and two are covered in engine oil, but apart from that...

Spoiler: Ship (click to show/hide)

Status: Fully intact


Fore:
 - Bridge
 - Varisdel's box, currently empty
 - Engine room (Elder Xelqu Heart, Psionic)

Central:
 - Quarters
 - Suit Room (4x standard armoured voidsuits, fitted)
 - Infirmary
 - General Storage
 - Biological regulation garden (waste disposal etc)

Aft:
 - Secondary Storage Chambers: Nutrient Stock, Gene Library, Titan
 - Pods
 - Main Airlock

Movement:
 - Psionic propulsion via Xelqu Heart
 - Chasm Traversal (requires mounted Stride Blade)

Weaponry:
 - Cleavers: huge detachable metal blades, psionically controlled. Also useful for traversing fluids.
 - Secondary: flechette cannons

Spoiler: Inventories, etc (click to show/hide)

Varisdel has four bars of obdurite and one of adamantine.

Suzy has a briefcase that can be turned into a tank.

Steve has a pair of sunglasses and a laser pen.

Aside from that, it's just whatever sentimental junk and threadbare clothing people chose to bring with them.

[Glass]

Varisdel has been busy looking for Suzy; he only just found her.
Hey, Suzy, think you could transform some more of the obdurite into adamantine? Three of them I think, there's a scrapped cannon I could fix up and a really cool drone, similar to that sword, but they'd cost 6 obdurite bars and we very don't have that, but adamantine is basically worth double that. Doesn't need to be done right now, I think I could get the stuff reserved.

[Egan_BW]

"I can help our ship bypass the World Serpent entirely, but not without some risk. We will either have to fly some distance away from the planet, and towards Ral, or risk damaging the hull by jumping too close to heavy matter. We should attempt negotiation first. It would seem that we may also want to stay here for a some time, in order to transmute our Obdurite into a more valuable form."

[Fluffe9911]

"Please everyone there is no need to buy me drinks, your enthusiasm has already won me over! I never seen people filled with such passion in wanting to work for me before! So... out of the kindness of my heart, give me some time to write up some paperwork for you to sign and soon all of you shall be considered official employees of Voidship Enterprises™!!"

Three minutes later "Alrighty everyone here are your contracts as you can see it comes with some great benefits and our health care is top of the class able to fix/prevent even the most grievous of injuries and ailments, possibly even paralyses!" Steve hands out the contracts "Once signed you can consider yourself a official Employee and given a one way ticket off this rock! Steve chuckles "Again I really appreciate your enthusiasm and shall start assigning jobs for you as soon as possible but for now lets all cheer for Voidship Enterprises and success where doubters thought you would fail huzzah!

Wait for them to sign the contracts then spend some time giving handshakes and celebrating head back to the ship and show them around once that is all over assuming nothing goes wrong.

Spoiler: CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (Now outdated) (click to show/hide)

CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT


I. The Parties. This Agreement is made between:

Client: Steve Goldwin

AND

Contractor: (Your name here)

WHEREAS the Client intends to employee the Contractor for Services provided, effective (Insert date here) under the following terms and conditions:

II. The Services. The Contractor agrees to perform the following: To show complete loyalty to Steve Goldwin and only Steve Goldwin the current owner and leader of Voidship Enterprises™ as well as the participation of any task ordered by Steve Goldwin or anyone who he designates as Manager. These tasks shall be Hereinafter known as the “Services”. Completion of Services shall only occur when Steve Goldwin signs a written contract stating the completion of Services by the Contractor.

III. Payment. In consideration for the Services to be performed by the Contractor, the Client agrees to give the following:

 -  Free food and water twice a day for duration of contract.
 -  Free housing for duration of contract.
 -  Free access to Voidship Healthcare™ for duration of contract.
 -  Free access to any ship amenities for duration of contract

Completion shall be defined as the fulfillment of Services as described in Section II in accordance with the approval of the Client, not to be unreasonably withheld.

The Contractor agrees to be paid:

 -  Free food and water twice a day for duration of contract.
 -  Free housing for duration of contract.
 -  Free access to Voidship Healthcare™ for duration of contract.

IV. Due Date. The Services provided by the Contractor shall:
 
- Not have a due date.

V. Expenses. The Contractor shall be at his discretion:

 - Responsible for all expenses related to providing the Services under this Agreement.

VI. Liability  The Contractor agrees to bear all responsibility for the actions related to themselves and their employees or personnel under this Agreement.

VII. Termination. This Agreement shall terminate upon the:

 - Completion of the Services provided.

In addition, the Client may terminate this Agreement, and any obligations stated hereunder, with any cause by providing written or verbal notice of a material breach of the other party; or any act exposing the other party to liability to others for personal injury or property damage.

VIII. Option to Terminate. The Client shall:

 - Have the option to terminate this Agreement at any time

IX. Contractor Status. The Contractor shall be deemed a employee by the Client.

X. Confidentiality. The Contractor acknowledges that it will be necessary for the Client to disclose certain confidential and proprietary information to the Contractor in order for the Contractor to perform their duties under this Agreement. The Contractor acknowledges that disclosure to a third party or misuse of this proprietary or confidential information would irreparably harm the Client. Accordingly, the Contractor will not disclose or use, either during or after the term of this Agreement, any proprietary or confidential information of the Client without the Client's prior written permission except to the extent necessary to perform Services on the Client's behalf.

Proprietary or confidential information includes, but is not limited to: The written, printed, graphic, or electronically recorded materials furnished by Client for Contractor to use; Any written or tangible information stamped “confidential,” “proprietary,” or with a similar legend, or any information that Client makes reasonable efforts to maintain the secrecy of business or marketing plans or strategies, customer lists, operating procedures, trade secrets, design formulas, know-how and processes, computer programs and inventories, discoveries, and improvements of any kind, sales projections, and pricing information; and information belonging to customers and suppliers of the Client about whom the Contractor gained knowledge as a result of the Contractor's Services to the Client. Upon termination of the Contractor's Services to the Client, or at the Client's request, the Contractor shall deliver to the Client all materials in the Contractor's possession. The Contractor acknowledges any breach or threatened breach of confidentiality of this Agreement will result in irreparable harm to the Client for which damages would be an inadequate remedy. Therefore, the Client shall be entitled to mutilate the Contractor in the event of such breach or threatened breach of confidentiality.

XI. No Partnership. This Agreement creates a partnership relationship between the Client and the Contractor. Unless otherwise directed, the Contractor shall have no authority to enter into contracts on the Client's behalf or represent the Client in any manner and will not be allowed to enter Contracts with anyone else without written acknowledgement from the Client.

XII. Assignment and Delegation. The Contractor may assign rights and may delegate duties under this Agreement to other individuals or entities acting as a subcontractor (“Subcontractor”) with approval from the Client. The Contractor recognizes that they shall be liable for all work performed by the Subcontractor and shall hold the Client harmless of any liability in connection with their performed work.

The Contractor shall be responsible for any confidential or proprietary information that is shared with the. If any such information is shared with the Subcontractor the Contractor shall be made liable.

XIII. Severability. This Agreement shall remain in effect in the event a section or provision is unenforceable or invalid. All remaining sections and provisions shall be deemed legally binding.

XIV. Breach Waiver. Any notice by the Client of a breach of any section of this Agreement by the Contractor shall potentially cause the Contractor to lose rights to all their belongings and housing privilages.

XV. Additional Terms and Conditions. Any goods obtained while under this Contract shall have the right to be considered forfeit at any time to both Steve Goldwin and the current leader of Starship Enterprises™ for the good of the ship and the people working in it.

XVI. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, along with any attachments or addendums, represents the entire agreement between the parties. Therefore, this Agreement supersedes any prior agreements, promises, conditions, or understandings between the Employer and Employee.


Client’s Signature Steve Goldwin



Contractor’s Signature (Insert name here)

[Egan_BW]

"Having analyzed this document, I would recommend you not sign it. This man is not the sole captain of our ship, and based on his observed behavior, I believe that owing him complete loyalty would be unwise. I'm sure that a more reasonable agreement could be made with the crew as a whole."

[Fluffe9911]

"Having analyzed this document, I would recommend you not sign it. This man is not the sole captain of our ship, and based on his observed behavior, I believe that owing him complete loyalty would be unwise. I'm sure that a more reasonable agreement could be made with the crew as a whole."

For a split second Steve's demeanor changes to one of irritation before quickly returning back to looking cheerful."Ah dont mind the sword it came with the ship you see? Probably cursed or something, tends to have a habit of lying and saying completely inane and silly statements like that out of nowhere probably part of its curse. Besides of course I'm not the only captain isn't like I'm gonna pilot the ship!" Steve laughs "Anyway there are other people who work on the ship with me but they are just freelancers who do their own thing I'm the only head of Starship Enterprises™ and if you want to get out of here alive I'm the best bet you people got for the foreseeable future. 

[Devastator]

Varisdel:

Sure.  I can change one bar at a time.. I've got the hang of it, but it's very exhausting.  Can I keep the other two?

In the bar, Suzy speaks up.

"Yeah, Steve, the Stride Blade's right.  You should list the rest of us officers as being able to give orders.  And there should be a time limit on the contract.. like a year, maybe?"

Catch some unintelligent animal to be made over by Lucca.  If I have time, upgrade the next bar of Obdurite.

[Glass]

Can I keep the other two?

Yeah, no problem.
With that, Varisdel passes all the remaining obdurite to Suzy.

[Egan_BW]

"You just told a lie which will quickly fall apart if these people perform even the slightest investigation. At which point they likely won't wish to keep working for you simply because you convinced them to sign away all of their rights on a piece of paper. There isn't a interstellar state, the only one enforcing that contract is you. Meaning that the only reason your 'employees' would have not to breach this contract which you made under false pretenses would be threats of violence from you, personally. Did you plan to trick them into getting on the ship and then coerce them to work through force? Did you even think that far ahead?"

[Fluffe9911]

"You just told a lie which will quickly fall apart if these people perform even the slightest investigation. At which point they likely won't wish to keep working for you simply because you convinced them to sign away all of their rights on a piece of paper. There isn't a interstellar state, the only one enforcing that contract is you. Meaning that the only reason your 'employees' would have not to breach this contract which you made under false pretenses would be threats of violence from you, personally. Did you plan to trick them into getting on the ship and then coerce them to work through force? Did you even think that far ahead?"

Steve starts speaking in a neutral tone "I'm assuming I must of hit some type of nerve for you to get so worked up over this despite being nothing but a sword and for that I apologize but the fact you think so little of me as a person honestly hurts me even if your just a sword. I have told no lies in this bar nor do I intend to "force" these people to do anything should they wish to not do something I assign to them then I shall simply assign them something else besides all these people wish to come completely willingly its only natural they be made to work for the cost of keeping them onboard isn't it?

I don't know if you looked at the grand scheme of things at literally any moment in your existence but we are all currently in desperate times and sometimes that means you must do desperate things I am simply trying to bring back order to a new chaotic reality and giving hope to people with very little left, if a piece of paper is all that is required for that is that so wrong?"

"Suzy can you please leave the bar I wish not to distress my guests anymore with worries from some weird talking sword if my guests have any themselves they are free to share them and I can negotiate."

[Egan_BW]

"Mainly, I'm concerned that you're unable to consider the consequences of your actions."

[Fluffe9911]

"Mainly, I'm concerned that you're unable to consider the consequences of your actions."

There is no business without risk.

[Devastator]

"Steve.. we're all going to be living on the same spaceship for quite some time.  You want to get this sorted out with the sword so there's no surprises.

Same with me.  I mean, why not list the rest of us as officers?"

[Fluffe9911]

"Steve.. we're all going to be living on the same spaceship for quite some time.  You want to get this sorted out with the sword so there's no surprises.

Same with me.  I mean, why not list the rest of us as officers?"

"You too?" Steve sighs "Excuse me a second ill be right back" Steve walks over to Suzy

"Ok so ill designate you all as Managers so your free to offer up tasks to them as well wont even make you sign a contract for it as much as I despise the thought. Look I hate getting personal and im going to regret this greatly later but Its just... I never once in my life had a opportunity to work my way up till the event and with those people over there I can actually BE something. So please trust me on this ok? Just give me a chance and I promise it will all work out.