ACT I
The crew, having recently lost several members in a disastrous trade negotiation, stopped at Nexus to regroup. The crew took on several new members, offloaded their illicit goods to a dependable but unfriendly saurian trader, and took on a few passengers that included a lawman transporting a dangerous fugitive. Prior to leaving, the crew was recruited for a special job by the Emissary of Nexus, to retrieve data from a derelict spaceship hidden near Lacros’s Folly, with the reward being salvage rights to the remainder of the ship.
Deciding to make a quick stop at the derelict ship before delivering the lawman to his destination, the crew find themselves coming out of the warp near several battling ships. Seeing that one is infested by daemonic influence, Far Horizon Guardian dispatched the enemy ship and retrieved a glowing artifact from the debris, after which the Chiaroscuran ship retreated. After the brief but intense conflict, the crew continues its journey, navigating the dangerous gravity and debris field of a tomb star to find the derelict ship: a massive space hulk near a dead moon of a destroyed planet.
Several members of the crew disembark, expecting only environmental hazards. They are met with a surprises, however. Travel through the space hulk revealed scenes of an ancient battle between giant genetically engineered human soldiers. Runes were scrawled over the walls, both carved and painted in what was likely blood, and several artifacts with active essence patterns were found. Some of the machinery was still active, including cyborg dreadnaughts; Far Horizon Guardian and the new laborer the ship took on at Nexus made short work of the machines, however. The alien man’s abilities were a surprise, as were those of the aging solar exalt, and both revealed how powerless the other members of the crew were by comparison. As they approached the interior of the ship, they were met with yet more surprises, as xenomorphs appeared to have created a hive near the core of the ship. Further battle ensued, with the lesser fighters struggling against both the xenos and the mind-warping effects of the runes and artifacts they were exposed to. Jezial unleashed Chaos-influenced psychic warp-fire with the assistance of one of the artifacts, after which Far Horizon Guardian destroyed the tome she was reading from. Fighting through to the ship’s panic room, the crew was met by a final unexpected encounter: the ghost of a dead soldier-librarian. The spirit was clearly xenophobic and possessed some essence manipulation abilities with which it guarded the room, its databanks, and several artifacts. The group attempted to placate the spirit as they accessed the space hulk’s data stores, but the spirit triggered an auto-destruct sequence. The crew managed to escape, but the explosion sent their attached vessel hurtling into the gravity well of the tombstar.
Expecting death as they entered the singularity, the crew instead found themselves in another dimension with strange essence flows and clearly a low-grade simulation of reality. Black suns sat at equidistant points on a horizon an indeterminate distance away, as they flew over a flat plane filled dotted with geometric arrangements of countless black obelisks surrounded by buildings. The more powerful members of the crew went to the surface, where they found a populated city filled with spirits of dead humans, some of whom they knew. Making their way through the unvarying architecture and endless crowds of the city, the away team found themselves at the Bureau of Endings where they hoped to find answers. Faced with a bureaucratic maze and tedious lines, the crew was saved by a ghost named Aiden, who offered to help them navigate the Bureau in exchange for taking him with them when they left. After agreeing, the away team met with the supervisor of the area, an Abyssal Exalt going by the title of Impartial Arbiter of Souls. He answered many questions, and introduced the crew to one of the leaders of Terminus, a deathlord titled the Silver Prince. The deathlord revealed that the true purpose of the Stellar Intelligences was to overcome death itself, and to store the souls of humanity until such became possible. The Malfean War triggered an emergency protocol that created the alternate dimension of Terminus, and dumped the collected trillions of human souls into it. The Tombstars, the only Stellar Intelligences to remain true to their real purpose, now seek to create a place for the dead to once again live. The Silver prince agreed to free the crew and their ship from Terminus as a gesture of good will, and the agreement that the crew would consider aiding the denizens of Terminus in their quest. Aiden’s spirit in tow, the away team returned to the ship, burned their remaining essence to re-power the ships engines, and left the strange dimension.
The ship re-appeared far from Lacros’s Folly, and was in a dangerous state: low fuel reserves, decayed food stores, limited power, damage from the explosion and the gravity field of the tombstar, and an escaped infernal exalt prisoner. The Lawman was found dead on the ship, and the ship’s robot had freed the prisoner by cutting off his hands. After a frantic search, the crew found the real culprit, Echo In Darkness, another Infernal exalt that emerged from the chrysalis stored on the ship after the space battle near Lacros’s Folly. The fiend attempted to kill the crew by cutting life supports and vac’ing the ship, but it did not anticipate the abilities of the crew. They crew cornered the infernal on the bridge, though it escaped the ship through unknown means after it was clear that taking over the vessel was impossible. The infernal prisoner is tentatively, and inexplicably, accepted onto the crew for his medical skills, despite his being a self-confessed mass murderer.
The ship limped its way to the nearest shipyard, Aiden III. The Chiaroscuran Khanate that ruled the region interrogated the crew, based on reports from one of their scout ships near Lacros’s Folly. The crew might have lost some of their cargo and been detained, if not for the intervention of the local imperial garrison, and the head of the shipyard. Hema Shian, commander of the imperial garrison, offers the crew a job smuggling artifacts out of the region in return for a reasonable fee and help getting around the Khanate’s inquiries. Celed Wyrr, head shipwright, offers them discounted repairs and help getting out of the system in exchange for an intimate look at the inner workings of the ship. After a pleasant stay on Aiden, and taking on passengers that included a strange vagabond, a group of high ranking monks, and the monks’ entourage, the repaired ship sets course for Nexus.
Halfway through the journey to Nexus, the ship diverts from its programmed heading, to make its way to the hell world of Temujin. Upon arrival, the ship makes it clear that there is something on the planet it wants, and an away team goes down to the hostile and dangerous world. Navigating numerous hazards, including a toxic environment and aggressive flora and fauna, the team finds their way to a group of familiar castaways: the captain and the ship’s engineer, accompanied by a former dragonblooded slave. After destroying a herd of tyrant lizards and using a tactical nuke to deter a lunar stalking the group, the away team returns to the ship. The survivors are put into medical quarantine, where they relate a tale of harrowing escapes from slavers, then find themselves under the gentle and torturous ministrations of the infernal doctor. The passengers are angered by the delay and threaten to revoke pay, which is met with heated threats from the exhausted crew. Tensions ease, however, when the head monk Cathak Damacus speaks to Far Horizon Guardian, and realizes both the potential danger the passengers are in from the ancient and potentially mad solar, and the numerous opportunities presented by a friendly resolution to the situation. The crew sets course for Nexus once again, and whiles away the time practicing martial arts with the monks, exploring the ship, and investigating their smuggled artifacts. The crew manages to operate the portal room to locate the factory-cathedral located in Elsewhere, and decides to use it to replicate the smuggled artifacts so that they can keep the originals and still maintain a positive reputation. Jezial risks death entering a Prometheus chamber on the ship, but finds that it expands her mental abilities at an unknown cost, as well as bringing her closer to the ship.
Arriving at Nexus, the crew manages to delay the delivery of the artifacts by getting the ship quarantined. The artificers work constantly for several days to complete the replicas, while the passengers and several crew members disembark. The crew finally returns the data to the Emissary, and the Emissary buys several artifacts from them as well to cement a positive working relationship with the crew, resulting in a small store of magical materials. The annual martial arts tournament is in progress when the crew lands, and many of the crew watch or participate, with the lowly alien laborer taking a quite respectable third round loss to the eventual winner of the unarmed celestial tier. Hikari advances her reputation in the armed terrestrial tier, more by flare than skill. Far Horizon Guardian recruits several dragonblooded to his cause, including one of the former passengers, Tepet Akihiro. Chalix abandons the crew to follow a mechanical exalt preaching utopian communism and transhumanism via technological upgrade. The artifact replicas complete, the crew follows a spirit guide to their smuggler contact who happens to be their old trading partner Kwa’loo; upon inspection he accepts the replicas and agrees to pick up the mechs. Their business concluded, the crew decide to make a quick profit by transporting passengers off-world following the end of the tournament, and heads toward Icehome.
In transit, the crew decides on a course of action for the foreseeable future:
-Establish a base of operations beyond the ship, if only as a place to store goods and repair the ship
-Rely on their recently acquired contacts to obtain further work in passenger and cargo delivery, and further establish their reputation as dependable contractors
-Push into the unexplored regions of space to scavenge artifacts and information, using the unique abilities of the crew to survive the hazards that ward off other scavengers
-Use profits to stockpile savings, acquire magical materials, and improve the ship
-Tolerate occasional diversions to fight off “threats to creation” in Cathak territories in exchange for a pacified ancient solar and a tentative ally in house Cathak
-Explore personal projects
Exalted - Heaven's Reach - Story Summary
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
Re: Story Summary
ACT II
Several productive years pass for the crew of the Wanderer. The crew accepts numerous contracts over the years, mostly lucrative deals involving passenger transport or delivery of goods, while avoiding less reputable mercenary work. Downtime is spent exploring uncharted space, and applying the unique abilities of the crew to salvage efforts in areas other crews would be unable to survive. Some of this exploration is internal to the ship as well, with the crew discovering the ship’s hidden secrets and attempting to chart useful locations in the ship’s webway portal. The crew even establishes a base of operations at one such location, “Pretty Rock”.
The crew stores some of their increasing wealth at their new hidden base, while investing the rest into ship upgrades, raw magical materials for crafting, and further modifying Pretty Rock’s geomantic flows. The ship’s factory-cathedral is put to good use by both Joren and Kar-el between missions, and the crew finds itself far better equipped for missions. Other worlds found through the webway portal are also explored, including the garden-world Eden, and a mysterious tomb-world housing the final resting place of an ancient species called the Eldar. This productive and peaceful period for the crew is sadly short-lived, however, as several unique and high-risk missions come in simultaneously. The first, a broad call to rescue the inhabitants of a rim solar system from an advancing alien threat, changes irrevocably changes the destiny of the crew, and sets them on a path to influencing the whole of the galaxy.
Arriving at the Tunnis system, the crew takes stock of the situation. The farthest ranging imperial garrison and mining operations on the frontier had all imperial staff evacuated in the face of an oncoming force of unknown origin which had already consumed multiple nearby systems, leaving the remaining millions of colonists to die. The crew decides to save as many colonists as possible, but realizes the effort will require gathering immense resources in a short period of time. Utilizing the grand celestial mountain to move rapidly across the frontier, the powerful influence of the exalted is leveraged to find homes for refugees and organize a fleet of vessels to carry the millions of passengers. With the majority of their efforts focused on the Chiaroscuran Khanate and Aiden IV, the crew manages to organize a fleet and make long lasting political inroads in the region, with Far Horizon Guardian providing the necessary leadership and direction.
Despite the best efforts of the crew, complete evacuation of the Tunnis system is impossible. The fleet rescues the vast majority of the colonists from the outer planets and the mid-system colonies, but is unwilling to risk staying long enough to evacuate the highly populous Tunnis IV. The crew of the Wanderer, takes that dangerous job themselves. They organize the population, and begin funneling the citizenry through the ship’s webway portal to pretty rock, while on pretty rock the crew struggles to create order and livable space for the refugees. Relying heavily on the sapient cuttlefish-parasite to hollow out livable space and create a psychic field encouraging pleasant, agreeable behavior, the crew manages to create temporary living conditions for millions, but is still unable to rescue over half the inhabitants of Tunnis IV. The alien threat, which a search through the ship’s data banks (and the data retrieved from the spacehulk years ago) reveals to be an extra-galactic species referred to as tyranids, is not enough to force the wanderer away… But the supernova of the system’s star by the empire is.
Retreating from the blast, then spending the next several weeks relocating the refugees, the crew finds itself exhausted, but wealthy beyond belief. The refugees paid well for life-saving transport, and the wanderer transported millions, as well as scavenging some valuable materials. The group paused for several more weeks to take stock, requisition further goods, design manses to take advantage of the now modified terrain on Pretty Rock, and to assess their new situation. Not yet sure of their footing, the crew decided to maintain some sense of normalcy despite their newly acquired wealth and fame (both the empire and the khanate were quite interested in the nearly impossible rescue) by running a few of the other missions on their docket.
Starting with a weapons transport mission, the crew found themselves standing between a colony of desperate colonists and a Peleps-Ragara corporate battle cruiser intent on illegally seizing the colony. Hikari left to secure the support of her own House Cathak in opposing the P&R takeover, several others went to the surface to repel the Peleps-Ragara occupation force, and Locke went by himself to commandeer the immense capital-scale battleship. Faced with unstoppable celestial exalts and a newly signed imperial purchase agreement presented by Hikari (the miners were happy to sell out to Cathak in exchange for a fair price and good jobs), P&R chose to abandon the colony to House Cathak and their battleship to Locke.
The crew considered, but turned down, a request from Hema Shian at the Imperial garrison on Aiden III to resupply the Empire’s western garrisons, which were engaged in protracted battles against an unknown enemy. They did accept another Imperial mission introduced to them via Cathak leadership, to destroy a world irrevocably corrupted by a mated solar and lunar akuma pair. Far Horizon Guardian left to scout the mission, discovering a planetary manse network that disrupted space travel and powered an immense super-weapon, both of which were protected by the corrupted daemonic and demonic forces of the akuma rulers.
The rest of the crew chose to pursue loose ends from prior missions, first following a premonition from the now-conscious ex-captain of the Wanderer to the first world the Tyranids destroyed. Once there, investigation revealed tyranid spores seeding and tyrraforming the planet, genetic oddities of the tyranids (consumption of genetic diversity, and similarities to the cuttlefish parasite), the all-consuming nature of the tyranid threat, and a vast psychic presence lurking beyond the galaxy. Next, the crew explored the dead world they found via the ship’s webway portal, and communed with the noetic spirits of the dead species that once lived there. The Eldar were an advanced species, predating most others in the galaxy, that were nearly destroyed by their own tragic choices, and doomed to a slow fade toward extinction by their own choices and the rising tide of humanity during the galactic dark age. The spirits revealed tantalizing hints at the history of the galaxy, the ancient creatures known as the C’taan and Old Ones, the results of their aeons-old war that still echo through the galaxy, and the origins of both the current races and the warp daemons. The Eldar were unwilling to reveal further information, or share their craftworld tomb, however, unless the crew could find a way to either free them from their race’s curse, or revive the dead Eldar.
Following their visit with the Eldar, the crew finally explored the location to which their stolen artifacts (from the shipment requisitioned by Hema Shian on Aiden) were pointing to. They were forced to journey through Cecyline into Hell, necessitating the release of Kalaseem to navigate and negotiate, and were lead all the way to the heart of Malfeas, the dyson sphere of Ligear. Once there, the crew found themselves welcomed and guided by an enigmatic Malfean spirit, even as they were forced to fight through hordes of Malfean demons to reach a strange alter overlooking the sickly green sun inside the sphere. Inserting the corrupted artifact spear into the altar, Joran found himself plunged into Malfeas’s programming.
Several realizations emerged from the encounter that followed. The artifacts were from a larger set of “Keys” designed to allow direct interface with Stellar Intelligences. The keys allowed the user to issue unbreakable commands to their matched Stellar Intelligences. The programming of the Yozis was irrevocably corrupted, but could still be repurposed. The celestial exaltations were hacked corrupted by the Yozis, even as the Yozis were being corrupted by the solar exalts. The locations of other keys were revealed, as were important pre-war sites such as Denandsor that were lost in the Malfean war. Vast amounts of tactical information and information on exaltations were downloaded. The purpose of the the Stellar Intelligences (the advancement of humanity and thwarting human death) was discovered, as was the cause of the Malfean War (the empire’s stagnation was in conflict with SI programming). Taking their new knowledge, and the Malfean flagship loaded down with other vehicles and artifacts, the crew fled Hell to contemplate their next course of action.
After weeks waiting for the return of Far Horizon Guardian, crewing the Malfean flagship Grond with a bound demon crew, and finishing other miscellaneous projects, the ancient solar returned with information. Before setting out to defeat the akuma, however, the crew decided to follow the other key toward what they suspected was the only remaining uncorrupted Stellar Intelligence: Autochthon. Arriving at the God-Constellation, the crew was welcomed with open arms and escorted by Chal’lix toward the interface terminal of Autochthon. Once there, the SI expressed interest in interface, but required mutually invasive connections to prevent reprogramming. Locke interfaced with the SI, but found his quantum pattern inappropriate for the task. Chal’lix, however, was uniquely designed to interface, but could only reprogram in limited circumstances; he was perfect for the job.
A long conversation revealed that the God-Constellation was the first of the SI’s, both the least and greatest of their number. He played both sides in the Malfean War, hoping that the war would spark new development in humanity, but he miscalculated the power of the exalted. Fleeing before humanity turned on him, Autochthon left to create his own idealistic society that allowed for the advancement of a broadly defined “humanity” through social engineering and technological upgrades. Autochthon seeks new allies in his mostly peaceful attempt at founding his utopian society, and is willing to support the crew of the Wanderer in their endeavors. He reveals the secret schematics and command keys of the Wanderer in exchange for the opportunity to explore the modifications to the ship he built long ago in the age of exploration. He provides stores of data on essence technology, upgrades various equipment, and provides sleek new ships to the group. He cleverly negotiates vows of non-interference and allegiance from the crew, especially focusing on limiting the infernal exalts erratic behavior, and in exchange alters the programming of the exalted crew members: the curse of the Yozis is lessened in severity, and they are able to exceed normal essence limits. The infernals swear pacts (level 3) in exchange for power, while the Tailor swears allegiance (level 4) in pursuit of both shapeshifting power and the desire to find a more fulfilling goal than his impossible quest for vengeance. The other exalts are more tentative, but still agree to pacts of non-interference (level 2), while Locke agrees with the aims of the God-Constellation and swears allegiance (level 3) in exchange for political alliance and the hope for a better future.
Armed with new power and knowledge, the crew sets out to deal with the galactic threat represented by the Akuma pair, and their occupation of the planet-scale superweapon. Using stealth charms via the Wanderer’s sorcery station, the crew is able to land on the world without a battle. The planetary defenses activate, as the situation require Kar-el to use his all-seeing burning eye to detect the geomantic patterns of the planet, but the ship is able to avoid direct detection. The crew splits up, with Tailor and Joren infiltrating and commandeering a key node in the manse-network, the dragon-blooded and Era scouting out the slave pens and captured ships, the solars and Locke attacking the super-weapon, and the rest of the crew guarding the ship as they prepare for a hasty retreat. The ex-captain and Jezial coordinate using their noetic abilities from the ship’s noetic amplifiers to create a telepathic network and provide clairsentient observations of the planet.
The Tailor and Joren successfully infiltrate the base, work together to hack the system, and then take over the AI spirit governing the manse, allowing them to refocus power on the grid to explosively overload six manses before flying to the Wander for an orbital extraction. Era and the dragon-blooded successfully hide amongst the enemy and free the prisoners, directing them to the many captured ships in the area as chaos from the attack forces the soldiers away from the vicinity. The Locke and Far Horizon Guardian penetrate and destabilize the weapon as they enter the hardened base to look for the Akuma. Once inside, Kar-el begins downloading schematics and programming the weapon to self-destruct, while his companions face off against the akuma. After Locke surprises and nearly defeats the elder Lunar with his immense strength and speed, the cunning lunar regroups, carrying on a blindingly fast exchange of blows for several minutes before energy attrition and Locke’s superior strength and speed eventually defeat the lunar. Far Horizon Guardian is the superior combatant in his fight, but the defensive focus of the Solar Queen and the constant influx of power provided to her by the manse prevent him from landing a blow; only when Locke joins the fray after defeating his own opponent does the Akuma start to show fatigue, and finally succumb to a single, impossibly powerful blow from Far Horizon Guardian. The Wanderer picks up their crewmates from the slave pens and the superweapon with only moments to spare, and escapes the planet as it begins a process of slow fragmentation. A lone cuttlefish-parasite begins to eat a large chunk of rock in the debris field.
Their task complete, the crew returns to their own territory as the empire moves to occupy the system. They receive an offer to fully join the empire as high-ranking officials, but most of the crew declines. Only the lone dragon-blooded outcaste trader accepts, but he is murdered by the Tailor en route, and his identity stolen for infiltration purposes. The rest of the crew is quietly placed on assassination lists, as they are now too great a power in the frontier, with the potential to unify opposition against the empire. The crew, realizing this, and with immense resources at the disposal, begins a new chapter in their journey. They travel together intermittently, but spend the majority of their time apart pursuing individual interests, and laying the groundwork to build a vast alliance on the frontier.
Several productive years pass for the crew of the Wanderer. The crew accepts numerous contracts over the years, mostly lucrative deals involving passenger transport or delivery of goods, while avoiding less reputable mercenary work. Downtime is spent exploring uncharted space, and applying the unique abilities of the crew to salvage efforts in areas other crews would be unable to survive. Some of this exploration is internal to the ship as well, with the crew discovering the ship’s hidden secrets and attempting to chart useful locations in the ship’s webway portal. The crew even establishes a base of operations at one such location, “Pretty Rock”.
The crew stores some of their increasing wealth at their new hidden base, while investing the rest into ship upgrades, raw magical materials for crafting, and further modifying Pretty Rock’s geomantic flows. The ship’s factory-cathedral is put to good use by both Joren and Kar-el between missions, and the crew finds itself far better equipped for missions. Other worlds found through the webway portal are also explored, including the garden-world Eden, and a mysterious tomb-world housing the final resting place of an ancient species called the Eldar. This productive and peaceful period for the crew is sadly short-lived, however, as several unique and high-risk missions come in simultaneously. The first, a broad call to rescue the inhabitants of a rim solar system from an advancing alien threat, changes irrevocably changes the destiny of the crew, and sets them on a path to influencing the whole of the galaxy.
Arriving at the Tunnis system, the crew takes stock of the situation. The farthest ranging imperial garrison and mining operations on the frontier had all imperial staff evacuated in the face of an oncoming force of unknown origin which had already consumed multiple nearby systems, leaving the remaining millions of colonists to die. The crew decides to save as many colonists as possible, but realizes the effort will require gathering immense resources in a short period of time. Utilizing the grand celestial mountain to move rapidly across the frontier, the powerful influence of the exalted is leveraged to find homes for refugees and organize a fleet of vessels to carry the millions of passengers. With the majority of their efforts focused on the Chiaroscuran Khanate and Aiden IV, the crew manages to organize a fleet and make long lasting political inroads in the region, with Far Horizon Guardian providing the necessary leadership and direction.
Despite the best efforts of the crew, complete evacuation of the Tunnis system is impossible. The fleet rescues the vast majority of the colonists from the outer planets and the mid-system colonies, but is unwilling to risk staying long enough to evacuate the highly populous Tunnis IV. The crew of the Wanderer, takes that dangerous job themselves. They organize the population, and begin funneling the citizenry through the ship’s webway portal to pretty rock, while on pretty rock the crew struggles to create order and livable space for the refugees. Relying heavily on the sapient cuttlefish-parasite to hollow out livable space and create a psychic field encouraging pleasant, agreeable behavior, the crew manages to create temporary living conditions for millions, but is still unable to rescue over half the inhabitants of Tunnis IV. The alien threat, which a search through the ship’s data banks (and the data retrieved from the spacehulk years ago) reveals to be an extra-galactic species referred to as tyranids, is not enough to force the wanderer away… But the supernova of the system’s star by the empire is.
Retreating from the blast, then spending the next several weeks relocating the refugees, the crew finds itself exhausted, but wealthy beyond belief. The refugees paid well for life-saving transport, and the wanderer transported millions, as well as scavenging some valuable materials. The group paused for several more weeks to take stock, requisition further goods, design manses to take advantage of the now modified terrain on Pretty Rock, and to assess their new situation. Not yet sure of their footing, the crew decided to maintain some sense of normalcy despite their newly acquired wealth and fame (both the empire and the khanate were quite interested in the nearly impossible rescue) by running a few of the other missions on their docket.
Starting with a weapons transport mission, the crew found themselves standing between a colony of desperate colonists and a Peleps-Ragara corporate battle cruiser intent on illegally seizing the colony. Hikari left to secure the support of her own House Cathak in opposing the P&R takeover, several others went to the surface to repel the Peleps-Ragara occupation force, and Locke went by himself to commandeer the immense capital-scale battleship. Faced with unstoppable celestial exalts and a newly signed imperial purchase agreement presented by Hikari (the miners were happy to sell out to Cathak in exchange for a fair price and good jobs), P&R chose to abandon the colony to House Cathak and their battleship to Locke.
The crew considered, but turned down, a request from Hema Shian at the Imperial garrison on Aiden III to resupply the Empire’s western garrisons, which were engaged in protracted battles against an unknown enemy. They did accept another Imperial mission introduced to them via Cathak leadership, to destroy a world irrevocably corrupted by a mated solar and lunar akuma pair. Far Horizon Guardian left to scout the mission, discovering a planetary manse network that disrupted space travel and powered an immense super-weapon, both of which were protected by the corrupted daemonic and demonic forces of the akuma rulers.
The rest of the crew chose to pursue loose ends from prior missions, first following a premonition from the now-conscious ex-captain of the Wanderer to the first world the Tyranids destroyed. Once there, investigation revealed tyranid spores seeding and tyrraforming the planet, genetic oddities of the tyranids (consumption of genetic diversity, and similarities to the cuttlefish parasite), the all-consuming nature of the tyranid threat, and a vast psychic presence lurking beyond the galaxy. Next, the crew explored the dead world they found via the ship’s webway portal, and communed with the noetic spirits of the dead species that once lived there. The Eldar were an advanced species, predating most others in the galaxy, that were nearly destroyed by their own tragic choices, and doomed to a slow fade toward extinction by their own choices and the rising tide of humanity during the galactic dark age. The spirits revealed tantalizing hints at the history of the galaxy, the ancient creatures known as the C’taan and Old Ones, the results of their aeons-old war that still echo through the galaxy, and the origins of both the current races and the warp daemons. The Eldar were unwilling to reveal further information, or share their craftworld tomb, however, unless the crew could find a way to either free them from their race’s curse, or revive the dead Eldar.
Following their visit with the Eldar, the crew finally explored the location to which their stolen artifacts (from the shipment requisitioned by Hema Shian on Aiden) were pointing to. They were forced to journey through Cecyline into Hell, necessitating the release of Kalaseem to navigate and negotiate, and were lead all the way to the heart of Malfeas, the dyson sphere of Ligear. Once there, the crew found themselves welcomed and guided by an enigmatic Malfean spirit, even as they were forced to fight through hordes of Malfean demons to reach a strange alter overlooking the sickly green sun inside the sphere. Inserting the corrupted artifact spear into the altar, Joran found himself plunged into Malfeas’s programming.
Several realizations emerged from the encounter that followed. The artifacts were from a larger set of “Keys” designed to allow direct interface with Stellar Intelligences. The keys allowed the user to issue unbreakable commands to their matched Stellar Intelligences. The programming of the Yozis was irrevocably corrupted, but could still be repurposed. The celestial exaltations were hacked corrupted by the Yozis, even as the Yozis were being corrupted by the solar exalts. The locations of other keys were revealed, as were important pre-war sites such as Denandsor that were lost in the Malfean war. Vast amounts of tactical information and information on exaltations were downloaded. The purpose of the the Stellar Intelligences (the advancement of humanity and thwarting human death) was discovered, as was the cause of the Malfean War (the empire’s stagnation was in conflict with SI programming). Taking their new knowledge, and the Malfean flagship loaded down with other vehicles and artifacts, the crew fled Hell to contemplate their next course of action.
After weeks waiting for the return of Far Horizon Guardian, crewing the Malfean flagship Grond with a bound demon crew, and finishing other miscellaneous projects, the ancient solar returned with information. Before setting out to defeat the akuma, however, the crew decided to follow the other key toward what they suspected was the only remaining uncorrupted Stellar Intelligence: Autochthon. Arriving at the God-Constellation, the crew was welcomed with open arms and escorted by Chal’lix toward the interface terminal of Autochthon. Once there, the SI expressed interest in interface, but required mutually invasive connections to prevent reprogramming. Locke interfaced with the SI, but found his quantum pattern inappropriate for the task. Chal’lix, however, was uniquely designed to interface, but could only reprogram in limited circumstances; he was perfect for the job.
A long conversation revealed that the God-Constellation was the first of the SI’s, both the least and greatest of their number. He played both sides in the Malfean War, hoping that the war would spark new development in humanity, but he miscalculated the power of the exalted. Fleeing before humanity turned on him, Autochthon left to create his own idealistic society that allowed for the advancement of a broadly defined “humanity” through social engineering and technological upgrades. Autochthon seeks new allies in his mostly peaceful attempt at founding his utopian society, and is willing to support the crew of the Wanderer in their endeavors. He reveals the secret schematics and command keys of the Wanderer in exchange for the opportunity to explore the modifications to the ship he built long ago in the age of exploration. He provides stores of data on essence technology, upgrades various equipment, and provides sleek new ships to the group. He cleverly negotiates vows of non-interference and allegiance from the crew, especially focusing on limiting the infernal exalts erratic behavior, and in exchange alters the programming of the exalted crew members: the curse of the Yozis is lessened in severity, and they are able to exceed normal essence limits. The infernals swear pacts (level 3) in exchange for power, while the Tailor swears allegiance (level 4) in pursuit of both shapeshifting power and the desire to find a more fulfilling goal than his impossible quest for vengeance. The other exalts are more tentative, but still agree to pacts of non-interference (level 2), while Locke agrees with the aims of the God-Constellation and swears allegiance (level 3) in exchange for political alliance and the hope for a better future.
Armed with new power and knowledge, the crew sets out to deal with the galactic threat represented by the Akuma pair, and their occupation of the planet-scale superweapon. Using stealth charms via the Wanderer’s sorcery station, the crew is able to land on the world without a battle. The planetary defenses activate, as the situation require Kar-el to use his all-seeing burning eye to detect the geomantic patterns of the planet, but the ship is able to avoid direct detection. The crew splits up, with Tailor and Joren infiltrating and commandeering a key node in the manse-network, the dragon-blooded and Era scouting out the slave pens and captured ships, the solars and Locke attacking the super-weapon, and the rest of the crew guarding the ship as they prepare for a hasty retreat. The ex-captain and Jezial coordinate using their noetic abilities from the ship’s noetic amplifiers to create a telepathic network and provide clairsentient observations of the planet.
The Tailor and Joren successfully infiltrate the base, work together to hack the system, and then take over the AI spirit governing the manse, allowing them to refocus power on the grid to explosively overload six manses before flying to the Wander for an orbital extraction. Era and the dragon-blooded successfully hide amongst the enemy and free the prisoners, directing them to the many captured ships in the area as chaos from the attack forces the soldiers away from the vicinity. The Locke and Far Horizon Guardian penetrate and destabilize the weapon as they enter the hardened base to look for the Akuma. Once inside, Kar-el begins downloading schematics and programming the weapon to self-destruct, while his companions face off against the akuma. After Locke surprises and nearly defeats the elder Lunar with his immense strength and speed, the cunning lunar regroups, carrying on a blindingly fast exchange of blows for several minutes before energy attrition and Locke’s superior strength and speed eventually defeat the lunar. Far Horizon Guardian is the superior combatant in his fight, but the defensive focus of the Solar Queen and the constant influx of power provided to her by the manse prevent him from landing a blow; only when Locke joins the fray after defeating his own opponent does the Akuma start to show fatigue, and finally succumb to a single, impossibly powerful blow from Far Horizon Guardian. The Wanderer picks up their crewmates from the slave pens and the superweapon with only moments to spare, and escapes the planet as it begins a process of slow fragmentation. A lone cuttlefish-parasite begins to eat a large chunk of rock in the debris field.
Their task complete, the crew returns to their own territory as the empire moves to occupy the system. They receive an offer to fully join the empire as high-ranking officials, but most of the crew declines. Only the lone dragon-blooded outcaste trader accepts, but he is murdered by the Tailor en route, and his identity stolen for infiltration purposes. The rest of the crew is quietly placed on assassination lists, as they are now too great a power in the frontier, with the potential to unify opposition against the empire. The crew, realizing this, and with immense resources at the disposal, begins a new chapter in their journey. They travel together intermittently, but spend the majority of their time apart pursuing individual interests, and laying the groundwork to build a vast alliance on the frontier.
Threading the Gerbil since 1982
Re: Story Summary
INTERLUDE
Ten years passed quickly for the former crew of the Wanderer. While their lives were inextricably intertwined with one another, the majority of their time was spent on individual goals, or in some cases, obsessions. Far Horizon Guardian, seeing his eminent death looming, devoted himself entirely to the related goals of nation building and preparation for invasion by extra-galactic threats: the “Bird of the North” became the rock upon which the Horizon Alliance was built, and a rallying point for celestial exalts in the frontier. Kar-el supported both the nascent Alliance by organizing its infrastructure development, and his companions with his crafting and sorcery, even as he worked to create his own superweapon using stolen schematics. The Tailor used his own unique skills to aid the Alliance more subtly, infiltrating the Empire under deep cover to steal valuable information, and reaching out to the well-established frontier lunars to pull them into the Alliance. Hikari contributed as well, allying with other trustworthy frontier dragon-blooded, marrying a confused but doting Akihiro, and giving birth to several dragon-blooded children (her increased breading as a result of Joren’s work helped immensely), who together formed the foundation for a new frontier trading clan that supported commerce within the Alliance. Chal’lix, always working for the greater good of his people, finally settled his eggs on his own world within Autochthonian space, and as they developed he split his time between guiding his culture and forging productive working alliances between the Autochthonians and the rest of the Horizon Alliance.
Others supported the Alliance from afar. Joran was constantly consulted regarding crafting projects, body enhancement, and scientific research, but was otherwise aloof from the efforts of others; instead, he focused on evolution, both his own forced evolution and experimental seed populations of mutants spread between a dozen worlds. Jezial called her nomadic people together to encourage them to join the budding Horizon Alliance as navigators and guides, all the while pursuing her own research into the forbidden Chaos Powers. Locke spread himself thin, pushing himself to his limits as he explored unknown regions of space, stole resources from the empire with an ever growing fleet, sponsored and contributed to various research projects, and recruited promising individuals to command his forces. The ex-captain of the Wanderer, stayed with the ship, and Locke, out of convenience; doing so allowed him to explore, focus on expanding the limits of his noetic abilities, and develop plans to combat the tyranid swarm. Kalaseem seeded inhospitable worlds with devoted followers as he sought his own elusive apotheosis. Era maintained her enigmatic efforts to guide the fate of the galaxy, even as the Vagabond mocked the futility of such efforts as he prepared Pretty Rock to ride out the coming storm. Even the cuttlefish-parasite attempted to help in its own way, continuing to consume any matter its friends asked, as its growing super-intelligent telepathic network contemplated the galaxy.
After nearly a decade, the crew was forced to leave their disparate paths, however. The Alliance was approaching a crucial stage of consolidation that required more oversight and insight than an old solar soldier was capable of providing. Further, the deathlords and the empire were both increasingly urgent threats to the existence of the still-vulnerable alliance. Finally, information from the Tailor indicated the empire was attempting to either ally with the deathlords, or to push the deathlords into combat with the Alliance and easily eliminate the survivors of the conflict. The erstwhile companions arranged a meeting with the deathlord known as the Silver Prince, and though suspicious of his motives, they agreed to a secret, oath-enforced alliance: the Silver Prince would stall negotiations with the Empire for a year while the Alliance restructured, then they would act together against the Empire, goading the Empire into a disastrous attack on the Alliance and dividing loosely held Imperial territory and the unexplored regions in the East between them. Taking on roles within the government of the Alliance, the erstwhile companions worked tirelessly toward the integration of culture, trade, technology, and troops. Spies fed misinformation to the Empire, and goaded them into poor strategic planning.
When the attack came, the Alliance was well prepared, and the Empire was faced with catastrophic losses on multiple battle fronts. Locke’s fleet, Far Horizon Guardian’s well-trained Alliance military, Lunars infiltrators within the Imperial fleets, Autochthonian troops, and the individual support of powerful celestial exalts, presented a coordinated and prescient resistance the Empire was ill-prepared for. Unfortunately, the First and Forsaken Lion, a deathlord of unmatched military prowess, chose that moment to strike on Aiden IV in an attempt to claim the entire Chiaroscuran Khanate, despite the Silver Prince’s strident objections. Faced with the choice between the loss of a key location to an implacable enemy, and losing ground to the Imperial forces, the Alliance chose to save Aiden IV.
Via Jezial’s hidden and forbidden powers, and Joren’s network of clones, the Alliance was able to rapidly respond to the Lion’s forces. Daemon and Demon joined the fray, as did potent Infernal exalts leaping from ship to ship through the space surrounding Aiden IV. They Jezial summoned more denizens of the warp as the daemons died, destabilizing the entire region’s warp lanes. Their combined efforts slowed the advance of the Lion’s forces, allowing the orbital and ground defenses to further delay the fleet, and allowing time for Jezial to find and transport Far Horizon Guardian to the scene. The ancient Solar tore into the First and Forsaken Lion’s flagship, forcing the Deathlord into dual. Soulsteel and Orichalchum mechs fought silently above Aiden for long minutes before the inhospitable essence of the area forced the Deathlord to retreat first. With their commander gone, the remnants of the Lion’s forces broke, retreating or facing defeat at the hands of some of the Alliance’s most powerful warriors.
The rest of the Alliance forces were hard pressed to make up for the sudden loss of multiple celestial exalts, as their plans were contingent upon the precise utilization of their limited resources. The Imperial fleet burned several worlds, including experimental populations of Joren’s, a new Autocthonian allied world, and lesser worlds within the Khanate. The reduction in offensive capability also resulted in a more orderly withdrawal of the Imperial forces; while they still were took unprecedented losses, they were able to fall back to established bases and hold more territory. Still, they did fall back, and the population of Aiden IV that survived the First and Forsaken Lion’s assault doubled those that died on the other fronts. In the final moments of what history would soon name the “Three Days War”, Locke and multiple clones destroyed the fleet flagship and a clone of the Emperor, signaling a cease in open hostilities for the next decade.
The Silver Prince consolidated power in the Southeast, the First and Forsaken Lion expanded Westward, the Empire pushed out on all its boarders as it rallied its vast population for war, and the Alliance flowered rapidly under the robust ministrations of a host of determined and varied Exalts. Border skirmishes were frequent, and clandestine missions took a toll on every government, but peace held. It it was a brooding peace, however, as everyone could sense untold violence on the horizon…
Ten years passed quickly for the former crew of the Wanderer. While their lives were inextricably intertwined with one another, the majority of their time was spent on individual goals, or in some cases, obsessions. Far Horizon Guardian, seeing his eminent death looming, devoted himself entirely to the related goals of nation building and preparation for invasion by extra-galactic threats: the “Bird of the North” became the rock upon which the Horizon Alliance was built, and a rallying point for celestial exalts in the frontier. Kar-el supported both the nascent Alliance by organizing its infrastructure development, and his companions with his crafting and sorcery, even as he worked to create his own superweapon using stolen schematics. The Tailor used his own unique skills to aid the Alliance more subtly, infiltrating the Empire under deep cover to steal valuable information, and reaching out to the well-established frontier lunars to pull them into the Alliance. Hikari contributed as well, allying with other trustworthy frontier dragon-blooded, marrying a confused but doting Akihiro, and giving birth to several dragon-blooded children (her increased breading as a result of Joren’s work helped immensely), who together formed the foundation for a new frontier trading clan that supported commerce within the Alliance. Chal’lix, always working for the greater good of his people, finally settled his eggs on his own world within Autochthonian space, and as they developed he split his time between guiding his culture and forging productive working alliances between the Autochthonians and the rest of the Horizon Alliance.
Others supported the Alliance from afar. Joran was constantly consulted regarding crafting projects, body enhancement, and scientific research, but was otherwise aloof from the efforts of others; instead, he focused on evolution, both his own forced evolution and experimental seed populations of mutants spread between a dozen worlds. Jezial called her nomadic people together to encourage them to join the budding Horizon Alliance as navigators and guides, all the while pursuing her own research into the forbidden Chaos Powers. Locke spread himself thin, pushing himself to his limits as he explored unknown regions of space, stole resources from the empire with an ever growing fleet, sponsored and contributed to various research projects, and recruited promising individuals to command his forces. The ex-captain of the Wanderer, stayed with the ship, and Locke, out of convenience; doing so allowed him to explore, focus on expanding the limits of his noetic abilities, and develop plans to combat the tyranid swarm. Kalaseem seeded inhospitable worlds with devoted followers as he sought his own elusive apotheosis. Era maintained her enigmatic efforts to guide the fate of the galaxy, even as the Vagabond mocked the futility of such efforts as he prepared Pretty Rock to ride out the coming storm. Even the cuttlefish-parasite attempted to help in its own way, continuing to consume any matter its friends asked, as its growing super-intelligent telepathic network contemplated the galaxy.
After nearly a decade, the crew was forced to leave their disparate paths, however. The Alliance was approaching a crucial stage of consolidation that required more oversight and insight than an old solar soldier was capable of providing. Further, the deathlords and the empire were both increasingly urgent threats to the existence of the still-vulnerable alliance. Finally, information from the Tailor indicated the empire was attempting to either ally with the deathlords, or to push the deathlords into combat with the Alliance and easily eliminate the survivors of the conflict. The erstwhile companions arranged a meeting with the deathlord known as the Silver Prince, and though suspicious of his motives, they agreed to a secret, oath-enforced alliance: the Silver Prince would stall negotiations with the Empire for a year while the Alliance restructured, then they would act together against the Empire, goading the Empire into a disastrous attack on the Alliance and dividing loosely held Imperial territory and the unexplored regions in the East between them. Taking on roles within the government of the Alliance, the erstwhile companions worked tirelessly toward the integration of culture, trade, technology, and troops. Spies fed misinformation to the Empire, and goaded them into poor strategic planning.
When the attack came, the Alliance was well prepared, and the Empire was faced with catastrophic losses on multiple battle fronts. Locke’s fleet, Far Horizon Guardian’s well-trained Alliance military, Lunars infiltrators within the Imperial fleets, Autochthonian troops, and the individual support of powerful celestial exalts, presented a coordinated and prescient resistance the Empire was ill-prepared for. Unfortunately, the First and Forsaken Lion, a deathlord of unmatched military prowess, chose that moment to strike on Aiden IV in an attempt to claim the entire Chiaroscuran Khanate, despite the Silver Prince’s strident objections. Faced with the choice between the loss of a key location to an implacable enemy, and losing ground to the Imperial forces, the Alliance chose to save Aiden IV.
Via Jezial’s hidden and forbidden powers, and Joren’s network of clones, the Alliance was able to rapidly respond to the Lion’s forces. Daemon and Demon joined the fray, as did potent Infernal exalts leaping from ship to ship through the space surrounding Aiden IV. They Jezial summoned more denizens of the warp as the daemons died, destabilizing the entire region’s warp lanes. Their combined efforts slowed the advance of the Lion’s forces, allowing the orbital and ground defenses to further delay the fleet, and allowing time for Jezial to find and transport Far Horizon Guardian to the scene. The ancient Solar tore into the First and Forsaken Lion’s flagship, forcing the Deathlord into dual. Soulsteel and Orichalchum mechs fought silently above Aiden for long minutes before the inhospitable essence of the area forced the Deathlord to retreat first. With their commander gone, the remnants of the Lion’s forces broke, retreating or facing defeat at the hands of some of the Alliance’s most powerful warriors.
The rest of the Alliance forces were hard pressed to make up for the sudden loss of multiple celestial exalts, as their plans were contingent upon the precise utilization of their limited resources. The Imperial fleet burned several worlds, including experimental populations of Joren’s, a new Autocthonian allied world, and lesser worlds within the Khanate. The reduction in offensive capability also resulted in a more orderly withdrawal of the Imperial forces; while they still were took unprecedented losses, they were able to fall back to established bases and hold more territory. Still, they did fall back, and the population of Aiden IV that survived the First and Forsaken Lion’s assault doubled those that died on the other fronts. In the final moments of what history would soon name the “Three Days War”, Locke and multiple clones destroyed the fleet flagship and a clone of the Emperor, signaling a cease in open hostilities for the next decade.
The Silver Prince consolidated power in the Southeast, the First and Forsaken Lion expanded Westward, the Empire pushed out on all its boarders as it rallied its vast population for war, and the Alliance flowered rapidly under the robust ministrations of a host of determined and varied Exalts. Border skirmishes were frequent, and clandestine missions took a toll on every government, but peace held. It it was a brooding peace, however, as everyone could sense untold violence on the horizon…
Threading the Gerbil since 1982