What's this thing you're wanting me to see? Does it have anything to do with the meeting we're going to?"
Taric smiles. "Everything." With that, he turns and pushes the doors open. Left with little other choice, you follow.
The room is large, very, very large. The door you went through leads out onto a platform raised a good twenty feet above the rest of the room. On the lower level massive rows of seating form wings to the left and right of the stage while the area directly in front of the speaker's dais is reserved for standing room only. There is very little standing room left.
A couple hundred people wait in the lower section of the amphitheater. Some of them are in defensive positions in the rings of seating, but most of them are sitting or standing in the region directly in front of the stage. Every single one of them appears to be armed, and it isn't all pop guns either. [Observation 16] There are at least two full on machine guns pointed at the stage, one set up in either of the wings of seating. Roughly a third of the crowd is armed with some form of a rifle, and most of the others have at least sub-machine guns. You estimate your odds of actually stopping a determined attempt of against Taric's life at somewhere between laughable and insane.
Taric, however, seems unconcerned. He strides across the stage to a slightly raised platform at the very end. The crowd of survivors murmurs and goes still, making the sound of several weapons coming to cock all the more audible. Taric smiles in an admonishing manner, then steps up onto the raised platform. The platform glows softly, and a much larger holographic copy of Taric rises from the end of the stage. The amphitheaters of the Technocracy follow rather ancient rules of making an impression; make it big, make it bold, and make one person the focus of everyone's eye.
"I thank you for extending to me what little trust you have left, for that I am grateful." Taric's voice is magnified along with his image, and it fills the amphitheater completely. "I bring you good news, the Father has been excised from this place. I have assumed control of his creations, and you are free to go."
Taric's last words are met with a stunned silence. They probably would never have agreed to this meeting if they thought they were just going to get massacred, but it is equally apparent that they didn't expect to have their freedom simply given to them. To be honest, you didn't exactly expect Taric to just let them go either. Someone in the crowd let's out a shout, you can't tell if its in exultation or simple relief, but it breaks something within the survivors. Sound spreads like wildfire until the entire crowd seems to be roaring. [Failed roll not shown] Every nerve in your body is painfully aware of the fact that all of these screaming people are both armed and probably a couple yards past the edge of sanity. Attempting to concentrate on all the possible threats leaves you feeling disoriented.
"I would, however, be very remiss if I did not give you a better gift than sudden freedom," Taric booms, his voice rolling over the crowd and quieting them somewhat. It's odd, you never would have thought him the kind of person who would be comfortable speaking in front of crowds. He sounds... different. "There is a revolution going on, and they are taking whoever they can press into joining them, I know because I used to be part of their number. The Technocracy is in rage, and they are destroying everywhere that they cannot control, I know because I survived them. The fragile balance is breaking apart, abominations like the Father run rampant and the very gate to Sol is non-functional."
The last statement gets a reaction out of the crowd. The Father they knew of, the Unchained are not their problem, and the Technocracy is a devil they've known for a long time, but the gate is the only link to Earth and the other civilized worlds. They'd almost lost their lives, but they'd always had a faint glimmer of hope that they might somehow get home. Taric seems to be working very hard to dash that.
"I am sorry to have to give you this news, but bitter and sweet must be taken together. This moon is in turmoil, and I do not think it to be the only one. However, if you wish to simply leave here as soon as possible, I will have an escort arranged and safe passage will be given to as many as want it, but I ask you to consider another option. I ask you to consider staying with me. I cannot offer the righteous fervor of the Unchained rebellion, I cannot give you the benefits of the leading edge that the Technocracy can bestow, I cannot even promise that you will have the same freedom that you might find wandering on your own. All I can give is my oath to help you survive, to give you what purpose I can, to give you what comfort I can, and to give you what control over your own fate that I can." Taric stops for a moment, surveying the crowd. There's an odd strain around his good eye, as if he's doing something much harder than giving a speech. "You have survived much that no man or woman born should have to endure, but I cannot in honesty tell you that it is the end. There is no rescue party on its way here, there's just me. This place has been your prison, and now, instead of fleeing when you have the chance, I ask you to make it your fortress. Together we can stand against whatever comes, but divided we are both at the mercy of forces far greater than ourselves. I ask you to stay and help me, but I will hold none against their will. When any of you have come to your decision, find one of the former minions of the Father, and give it your message. It will relay it to me. Take as much time as you need with your decision, I cannot stress its importance enough." With that, he steps off the platform. [Luck 19] Nothing seems to be attempting to kill him, and, while the susurrus from the crowd is building exponentially, all seems to have gone off without a hitch.
"That was what I wanted you to see, Dominique Wakeman," Taric says as he nears you, his voice soft. "The beginnings of a people. I have an army, but an army is little good without something to fight in order to expand or protect. The Unchained think small, they simply want to repaint the existing system with their own colors. I doubt they'll succeed, but even if they do, it will simply mean that machine they fought so hard to 'overthrow' is now their only trophy. I want more than that hypocrisy. Dominique, this is a chance to found something far, far greater than yourself. The Technocracy is busy with the Unchained, and the bulk of their forces are centuries away if the Gate remains inoperable. With your help, there is no end to what this brave new empire can accomplish." Sizier stops, frowning when you don't jump on the opportunity. He shakes his head suddenly. "I'm sorry, my blood is up. You don't have to decide now. Like them," he says, gesturing back at the crowd, "you should think it over."
"In the meantime," he adds, offhand, "there's a slight problem that you can help me with. If you do it, I'll personally help sort through the archive files for references to your dear husband. Of course, you're free to begin your search immediately but... it might be slow without my help."
It takes a very odd man to offer you part of an empire one moment, then extort favors the next. You wonder just how much sanity Taric has left.
Health: 128/128
Stamina: 120/120
Carried Weight: 21/210
Attire: Harlequin Uniform
Inv:
Dominique's Abassy Heavy pistol -laser sight- [7, 8lbs]
.50 Cal pistol clips (7/7) x2
Stun club (50/50 11lbs)
Status: Technocrat amphitheater
---
James EvanJames sighs, barely restrains a curse, and slipping Simone's Song into his pocket for easier reach but not putting it on goes towards the cockpit.
If it's not one thing, its another. You make sure your weapon is in easy reach and head to the cockpit.
Surprisingly, Tarran is sitting co-pilot to Hoke. Considering that you didn't think they could stand each other for longer than ten minutes at a time, this is impressive. It also doesn't bode well for the magnitude of the problem.
"Good, you're here," Tarran says as soon as he notices you. "Hoke gave you the basics. There was a signal coming from somewhere on the ship, it was broadcast to several somewhere else on the ship, and now we've lost it. Thus endeth what we know of the situation."
Hoke smiles toothily. It's an odd expression on a deadhead's atrophied facial muscles. "But, considering that we just left the place of insane computer viruses that like to kill people, we're pretty sure it's not just a benign little glitch. We've managed to work out a few of the locations that whatever it was managed to broadcast to, but only two of them are accessible. Since I know as much about fighting as either of you two know about flying, I thought I'd stay here and hold down the fort while you two checked the destinations out."
Tarran sighs. "In short, he wants to lock himself in the cockpit and cower while we make sure that we don't have stowaways."
"Damn straight," Hoke agrees without a trace of guilt.
"So," Smith continues "you want the PD turret or engineering?"
Health: 88/88
Stamina: 100/100
Carried weight: 111/240
Attire: Exarch Dress uniform [8lbs] James' Light Body armor 50/50 (50/50) [25lbs]
Inv:
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Riot shield (10lbs 1/30, in hand)
Piru Gauss Rifle (E5/5 A5/5 16lbs)
.45 Gauss slug clip (5)
Simone's Song (6lbs 3/7 -Frangible Rounds-)
.50 caliber Frangible pistol clips (7) x1
Irin Combat Shotgun 3/6 (15lbs)
Dybbuk Flechette Canister Rifle (1/2 35 lbs)
20 mm flechette canisters (x2, 1 lb)
Status: The Virtue, Lounge.
Crew Required: 2 For optimal performance, 0 for basic performance.
- 1 Pilot
- 1 Gunner
Special: Advanced on-board systems can handle piloting when necessary, as well as automatically optimizing power levels through the ship.
Total Current Armor: 4550/5000
-Left front VTOL Engine: 389/500
-Right front VTOL Engine: 368/500
-Left rear VTOL Engine: 427/500
-Right front VTOL Engine: 418/500
-Cockpit: 1000/1000
-Dining/lounge: 500/500
-Passenger rooms: 750/750
-Primary Engine and reactor: 698/750
Total Current Shielding: 7500/7500
-Front VTOL engine pair: 1500/1500
-Rear VTOL engine pair: 1500/1500
-Cockpit: 1500/1500
-Dining/lounge: 1000/1000
-Passenger rooms: 1000/1000
-Primary Engine and reactor: 1000/1000
All: Regenerates 100 points per turn.
Reactor Type
-Anti-matter paired fission. (Running Hot.)
Weapons: Non-existent
Defenses: Ablative armor sheets, Stormcrow defensive lattice, Trident point defense turrets, Electromagnetic countermeasures, Thermal countermeasures, RADAR and LADAR absorbent armor, .50 WoS manned Quad-Autocannon PD turret.
-Ablative armor over main engine, passenger rooms, dining and lounge, and cockpit. -25% damage from ballistics.
-Stormcrow Defensive lattice over main engine, cockpit, and all VTOL engines. -10% damage from energy weapons.
-Trident point defense turrets (2 pair), one PD turret on each VTOL engine, can block 1 small incoming object each per turn, stores 3 shots each, each pair regenerates 1 shot per turn.
--RF 3/3, LR 3/3, RR, 3/3, LR 3/3
-Electromagnetic countermeasures, 10 charged chaff packs in both VTOL engine pairs.
-Thermal countermeasures, 10 Cluster flare packs in both VTOL engine pairs.
-RA(LA)DAR absorbent armor, -3 to be detected on general sweeps, ineffective against specific sweeps.
-.50 WoS manned Quad-Autocannon turret, sits over reactor, manned Point defense autocannon.
Rooms
-Cockpit, front of craft.
-Lounge, behind cockpit, left side.
-Dining, behind cockpit, right side.
-Lavish Rooms, down both sides, behind lounge and dining.
-Medical, behind rooms, over engineering.
-Engineering, behind rooms, below medical.
-Point defense turret, above reactor behind engineering and medical.
Passenger Capacity: 3/36 Maximum
-Lavish Rooms 0/6
-Lounge 0/8
-Dining 0/8
-Point defense turret 0/1
-Cockpit 3/3
-Engineering 0/4
-Medical 0/6
Author
Topic: Deviation-22. The End of All Things. (Read 537423 times)