The scrolls... Probably best to let the chrono-sirens deal with the group. Or otherwise put everyone from that team in cryo until we've managed to extract and sell them on. Either way, we probably want to keep a few chrono-sirens there to eliminate any further interlopers to the temple. A few bloody examples will dissuade the vast majority of treasure-seekers (That aren't ours).
Man our sirens like murder.
I don't think we should murder our engineers for a number of reasons, but one is that it's a very short term solution. It can't possibly take that long until people realize there's cool stuff in the cool temple. If we don't want it plundered, we're gonna need to guard it regardless.
"You may take the shuttle down, but this isn't a kill-op. They are valuable, and we have cyro-chambers we can use aboard the Trumpet of Revelation. Try to avoid traumatizing anybody in that group who looks important, while you are at it."The disguised siren nods, and vanishes down a corridor towards the sanctum where she might find her sisters.
About half a solar day later, Sister Maya contacts you from the cryogenics control deck of the
Trumpet.
"Mission went good boss. Ta fungi-mongers conceded without a fight, and the only person we had ta let in on the truth aboard the Trumpet was your sister Elke. She cleared the man-popsicle makin station of crew who might overhear tings, and the girls are putting Straton and his crew down fer an ice nap as we speak. Might take a few more hours ta wrap up though; We giving everyone a proper debriefing first." You understand debriefing to mean a conversation, interrogation, or intimate encounter that will last until the Siren has sufficiently deceived their mark, at which point said victim is vulnerable to that Siren's life draining power for the rest of their days.
Let's deny the sirens their sacrifices (we don't have that many colonists!) but let them take our biologist and the Solo. She'll probably be more useful getting temple intel than sorting colonists.
(Nobody else even talked about Scrying. I'll send the Sirens without a +1, but not Elke.)
"Very good Maya. When the girls are done, do me a favor and let them know that they should make ready to leave on that scrying trip in a few solar days. I'll be leaving you the Solo, and my planetside residence is not yet ready, so I need some time to figure out where I'll lodge while you are gone... also to compile the usual list of bridge crew you are absolutely not to kill. I also need more time to consider if I'm granting you Elke or the colonists that Amoy requested.""Understood, boss. Should we be holding anyone back in case you need Transhuman help?"You pause to consider the offer.
"I'll keep Shelly here. I need a chronicler for my courtship with Lady Mercury. And aren't you lot are always teasing Sister Daisy for her lack of skill in divination? I'll keep her as well, and perhaps one or two others who you collective decide won't be of much help on a scrying expedition."---
The next 48 hours are rough. In anticipation of the
Solo's departure, you move to quarters aboard the
Trumpet of Revelation. Your flagship was built with with smuggling in mind, and thus had lots of empty space that you and your various important underlings could use as luxurious quarters. The Solo is a smaller ship, built for military service, and thus not a square meter is wasted. Jasper is able to secure you an officer's room, but it is still quite spartan by your standards, and for now you are sharing it with three of your Chrono-Sirens. You trust the transhumans to protect you and keep your best interests in mind, but their impish and predatory nature makes them poor roommates.
Sister Daisy is known for her ravenous apatite and... unique diet. She prefers her food rotten, and thus leaves dozens of trays from the commissary strewn about the chamber to ripen. You are sorely tempted to tell her to hunt one of Jasper's crewmembers or grab a prisoner from Cyrostorage; The Siren's claim that draining a deceived victim's youth and vigor sates their phyiscal hunger for a time.
Sister Beatriz is the newest Chrono-Siren in your service; The only one who you did not grow up with. You still trust her, of course, she wouldn't anger her sisters or risk trading you in for a master who might put greater restrictions on her behavior, but she does look at you from time to time with the sort of predatory gaze you are only accustomed to the Siren's giving to other mortals.
Of the three, Sister Shelly is the least bad roommate. But your transhuman big sister is also something of a prankster; each time you enter the room you inevitably find some sort of illusion that offends all your senses: turd in your boots, decaying corpse in your bed, ticking time bomb on the dresser, and the like. She is also overprotective; You tolerate Sister Beatriz's predatory glances, but Shelly does not. You can't sleep for more than an hour or two without waking up to Shelly doling out a very loud beatdown to the younger transhuman witch.
It is quite the relief when you get to leave the Trumpet for your date with Lady Mercury.
The setup for the concert to be appropriately romantic. Ms. Marlow uses as a stage the same elevated 'tree' house platform that you recieved your pardon on. Your party, consisting of yourself, Lady Mercury, Brother Karl, and Chronicler Thomas Hornsby III (really Sister Shelly disguised as a posh old man), sit atop one of your shuttles set to hover only a few feet from the stage. Inside the craft, sister Daisy mutes employs her illusion magic to mute the thruster, and sister Beatriz does the same for the nearby audience on the ground.
Karl and Autumn arrive on foot, and lauch up to the roof of your shuttle via Jump Pack. Your date initially appears to be in a foul mood, responding to your greeting with only a kurt nod.
"Forgive her, Lord Conrad," her giant bodyguard explains, bent over to whisper in your ear,
"we went over the courtship protocol yesterday in hopes that there would be no surprises, but she just realized two minutes ago that "Chaste Date" means remaining fully dressed and only kissing on the hand or cheek. She had somehow reached the erroneous conclusion that the phrase meant anything goes so long as at least one party keeps their pants on. The childish tantrum should cease when the show starts, but I'd avoid offering her your hand to kiss unless you my charge to make a scene and rebelliously suckle your fingers."Several minutes later the show does start. Mary Marlowe steps on stage using her illusion magic to don the guise of the true form of a particularly fearsome Chrono-Siren: White hair decorated with feathers down to her waist, seven breasts of various non-uniform sizes, a large curved beak, and a right-hand the size of her head with sword like claws that long enough to rest on the ground. She begins singing the songs of your people with a range multiple voices at once that sounds like a full choir, and her claws scratching the ground produce a full orchestral accompaniment.
By the end of the second song, Autumn's mood has softened. By the end of the fourth, she is holding your hand. By the end of the sixth, she is leaning against your body. By the end of the eighth, she attempts to lay across your lap for a few seconds until Brother Karl stops her. After the tenth song, Ms. Marlow leaves the stage for an intermission. Your shuttle crew brings up food and refreshments, and your date uses the break to gush about the performer.
"Mary's great, isn't she? My brother actually rescued her from an underground pharmacist who was testing drugs to better facilitate the brainwashing and development of new Transhumans. The treatment she got granted her an unearthly stage presence, but robbed her of Charisma and social skills in almost all other aspects of her life. I taught her how to talk off stage again, but she wouldn't let me take the lessons too far for fear of losing her gift.""Facisnating," you comment,
"Why did your brother transfer Ms. Marlowe to your service?"Autumn pauses for a second to consider.
"You know, I'm not really sure. It was around the time I started devoting my social circle to the pursuit of glory and adventure. Perhaps he figured her magic would be useful to me. She had the highest IQ of her experimental group, and told me my brother gave her the necessary books and encouraged her to teach herself the Divine Craft of the Church of High Broadway."The topic then shifts to the ins and outs of fencing, and the conversation goes well for another fifteen minutes or so before the intermission ends and Ms. Marlow returns to the stage. This time she seems to be in what you assume to be her true form, or at least the form she wore to her meeting with the other priests. She has, however, changed her outfit and hair; She wears a transparent pink gown which shows black undergarments beneath, and the same orange, pink, and green hair as your date. She lounges on a sofa, holding a chain which is attached to a large feline-like alien creature with an adorable face closer in appearance to that of a human infant.
She opens her second act with some of the more romantically suggestive shanties of your mother's culture, before pivoting to a popular recent hit about the complications of love and a Sapphic affair.
Lady Mercury picks up on the message imeaditially and shoots her bodyguard a deadly glare. She screams over the music,
"KARL! DID YOU PUT HER UP TO THIS?"She then turns to you apologetically.
"I hope my chaperone hasn't been putting the wrong idea in your head. I like to think I'm a pretty self aware person. Like most of the vat grown idle rich, I'm genetically predisposed to be attracted to most beings. I... entangle myself... with pretty much every member of my vat grown idle rich entourage from time to time, and I know that comes across as strange to someone who doesn't share my background. But this TRANSHUMAN OAF," Autumn sticks out her tongue and shoots a rude hand gesture at Brother Karl,
"thinks I'm in love with Mary and Juan and Sabre because circumstances put me in their arms with a bit more frequency than the others. I don't know where he gets off on making that bold assumption. Perhaps he is just jealous that his anatomy is too large to..."BALOOOOOOOOOOSH!Four massive explosions rock the civilian audience below your shuttle. The music stops. You hear the terrible screech before the dust settled, at which point you see them; Mole-like creatures, with the size and trunks of Terran elephants and the armored scales of a Terran crocodilian. One emerges from the center of each explosions, sorrounded by the limbs of the dozens of people demolished by each blast. They wander out into the screaming, panicked crowd, where they begin casually scooping people up with their trunks and shoving them into their mouths.
You weigh the situation. You are only carrying your longsword and pistol; Your proper weapons and armor are inside the ship, and it would take you a few minutes to gear up. Your chrono-sirens are not much bigger than the average person, and focus on deception, agility, and manipulation in battle; They are probably much better off than the civilians or few lightly armed guards on the ground, but unknown rampaging alien monsters are probably not the best matchup for them. You do not know exactly what Ms. Marlowe's capabilities in battle may be, but note that she is now staring at the shuttle, waiting on your party to determine the next move.
Brother Karl, the heavily armed and armored Transhuman who nearly matches the monsters in height, turns to you.
"We should get out of here and return with reinforcements. I'm fairly confident I can win this if I can catch up with the beasts, but I'm not positive as I don't know exactly what they are, and I don't think there is enough value in these commoners to risk our higher lives on their behalf in an uncertain battle."You consider the statement, and find it logical until you remember that sister Beatriz is on the ground somewhere, and as nobody makes Chrono-Sirens anymore she is irreplaceable. As you ponder your next move, you hear Brother Karl cry out
"M'lady! No! You mustn't! It is not safe!"Turning, you see lady Mercury place her small purse upon the roof of her shuttle and open it. Green hardlight shelves erupt from the container, and on the shelves sit almost every kind of weapon you could imagine. Your date must practice the Way of the Tessellated Armory, a martial art that focuses on proficiency in many weapons and constant readiness.
"This is no time for cowardice Karl! Glory awaits! Conrad, take whatever gear you need. I'm jumping down in about 25 seconds once the nanites apply my armor. Bring the shuttle down after me."Karl looks at you pleadingly.
"No. No. Order the shuttle up! Right now. Please! Her maximum safe jump height is 750 meters. Get above that and m'lady can't do anything crazy."How do you proceed?
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Topic: (SG) Penal Governor (Read 11101 times)