Stories of Lore 6

This is Exme Faythe, reporting from the field deep into the frontier at a new colony whose construction was recently concluded and announced. Welcome to Cayetano, or CA-250. A colony in the Abyss of all places! As you can see behind me…its a fascinating place. I’m currently in an air pocket located underneath a vast body of fresh water with its own ecosystem unique to the air pocket. Here you will find Moncayo City, founded by Lady Faelyn Lekou, a blue dragon from SV3!

Lady Faelyn, I can see many obvious advantages to the position of your new colony but I’m curious, how did you even find this place? Exploring the Abyss is known to be incredibly difficult on a galactic scale due to its inconsistencies.

In truth, I knew what I wanted to accomplish with this colonization effort and I came out to this location on the middle planes before sending survey ships into the Abyss and poking around. I also looked through several other planes as I was only interested in the galactic position and was just trying to find the best possible use of this area. When I found this place I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity.

What makes this position so important that you would go through such efforts?

Well it is the deep edge of the frontier. Sol is close to the galactic outer rim. My scientists were able to discover that most of the alien invaders we faced had to come from a very similar direction. From here I am able to establish a fortified position. Given their difficulties in traversing between planes, it is highly unlikely they could even find Moncayo City in the Abyss at all. Let alone actually reaching it. However, I am able to deploy advanced scanning stations in this area on multiple planes in order to detect any incoming force towards Sol while they cannot reach me.

With an establishment this large, isn’t it possible that they will simply learn of its presence over time?

 

Yes, though what can they do about it? FTL travel is not possible on the abyssal plane due to its inconsistent concept of physics. They would need to access this location on another plane and then enter into the Abyss. My city is thoroughly warded against rift tunnels I do not want to appear within its borders. So any assaulting force would need to be able to get through space, than through the planes, and then through the water surrounding me, and then finally they could take a shot at my city’s shielding. I do intend to invest even further in the armaments of this system as well.

So do you intend to defend all of Sol from all of the galaxy that might wish to invade us?

 

Well, I intend to at least help. I can’t field a fleet large enough to stop all invaders, but I can at least give Sol warning that they’re coming. I am also seeking to alleviate the current issues of Sol by seeking out resources that it desperately needs right now and establish an alliance of the frontier nations. I don’t know where all our frontier colonists are though, as finding a single colony on a single landmass on a single planet in a single system among all this is difficult. Something many frontier pirates are quick to exploit. Part of this interview is me putting out an open call to any other frontier colonists who might be interested in joining my growing alliance and network. I am not associated with any standing empire or faction, I am just interested in strengthening our position in response to potential future invasions and building a network of contact so that we can find and communicate with one another more easily. It’s a complicated topic, but any are free to visit Moncayo City and discuss the matter at length with me or my representatives. Depending how busy I am that day.

For any interested parties watching, you can visit the Sol Media site from your APT to find contact information. As Faelyn pointed out, it is impossible to enter her city through a pandem rift without her invitation. So put in a message now to get your invitation!

 

We’re up to one month and three weeks remaining. Fortunately the cruiser is with you, otherwise you’d be a month away from the station as of now.

Moving on, I’ve sorted out the company paperwork regarding the name trademarks. Fortunately we own the trademark office here in Auwana so I just changed two text fields and now no one has to know. Two ships have been sent out to search for alien life in ‘nearby’ systems. However, it is worth noting, Hylavi actually knows exactly where to find several civilizations. They’re just a lot more likely to be problems than those of uncontacted worlds.

In the meantime, Golbotics labs is getting started up, taking up residence in the lower decks of the station where Khymin can set up a proper workspace instead of that… warehouse of his own that he made. Currently he’s trying to improve the designs of his own personal golems he uses around his abode for handling various issues. We’ve told him that ‘compactness’ is an important feature. His own home is more golem than walking space as it is.

The ongoing elections on Koura are becoming somewhat peculiar. Investigation into Harlus reveals they aren’t necessarily doing anything illegal but they’ve been exploiting an existing loophole in our legal system, or lack thereof, that registers any resident as a voting citizen. There are over a thousand, that we found so far, nomadic individuals registered to an apartment building as ‘roommates’ with other people even if they never really show up. Given Harlus’ background, I don’t think they came up with that. Laura King seems to be behind this one and is turning the seedier folk who pass through the system into voting citizens. Though its not technically illegal just…bad sportsmanship? Though she is the crime lord of the system I suppose. Though this also helped us find the actual motive for the King family’s interest in helping Harlus. Beyond money, Harlus may have agreed to make sure that certain aspects of trade on Koura don’t change. As it is right now, short of hit contracts, Koura’s economy is a bit of an ‘anything goes’ scenario. If the taxes get paid, the taxmen don’t require anyone to fill in a field as to what the transaction was specifically for or who was involved beyond whoever paid the tax itself. They don’t even check that information either. Working Joe, which is his new campaign name suggested by Renjala, doesn’t really have any plans in this regard but his focus on labor conditions opens up one tiny little problem. It would force certain businesses to have their work places investigated, primarily  for safety reasons. Which is something shadier organizations might prefer to be left alone on. Not due to workplace hazards, but due to whats going on in that workplace at all.

However, as the election takes shape, Harlus is still the most popular candidate. Not just because of some shady voting registrations, but because they have a much more ‘hands off’ approach. Which outright appeals to frontier colonists who came to escape the empires in the first place. It’s a hard platform to beat especially when the wealthier members of Koura also support this mindset. Harlus is also more focused on trade with outside bodies, specifically advocating for the investment and establishment of more ports and routes that would help trade with other frontier colonies as well as a steep investment into education programs. Prophesizing a new alliance to rival Sol especially given Sol’s current economic state compared to the frontier worlds. Citing that an early push into an educated and wealthy populace will help establish Koura as the city of gold among the frontier alliance in the years to come. Again, frontier people like that. Also, so do pirates.

Joe in the meantime is still focused on more local and internal affairs. Workplace safety, fair wages, and ever since Renjala joined on, the fair treatment of labor slaves. The latter of which helps him stand out to our more reputable citizens if nothing else based on empathy and Joe being less of a capitalist and more of a regular person. He is also a little more independent of a candidate in terms of future vision. With a greater interest in manufacturing and construction, particularly like companies such as New Horizons, Golbotics, and Vittles. He dreams of a more hardworking economy based on production rather than trade and education, arguing the importance of self sufficiency especially in times like these over potential future positioning in whatever future might await us.

I have noticed by watching the news coverage that their positions on a lot of these issues were once not even mentioned but have started to take a more adamant stance the longer the campaigns go on. I suspect this is due to their backers adding new issues they care about to the campaign as well as just a desire to be contradictory to their opponent. When Hylavi asked about alien migration, a topic neither of which had ever considered, they both got stuck for a solid five seconds while trying to figure out what that might even entail…since they were both staring at an alien while trying to answer. This is where we saw Joe kind of fall apart juuust a little bit. He was slower on it, more of muscle worker than a number cruncher. Harlus was quick to support it. Within minutes of rambling to stall for time, they managed to form a plan of seeking out new civilizations to establish even more trade and ‘cultural exchange’ with. Joe fell back and said he would need to confer with some experts on the matter before making grandiose promises and wild ideas. Renjala was notably whispering to him at that time.

In the meantime, Hylavi managed to convince a few jydoq to come to Somnus. While a small number its a start, and impressive for the outstandingly uncharismatic security chief. Two of them are just refugees seeking food and a place not falling apart. One is relevant though, a trader with a bit more wealth who is poking around for opportunities to ‘invest’ in. Here’s the oddity, Jydoq have not done that in their entire history as a species. They don’t really use money the same way we do, nor do they manipulate it so heavily. I have a feeling this particular trader is just now getting their metaphorical feet into the pool of Sol capitalism and seeing if they can make it work for themselves in a place with a fresh start full of opportunity. So of course, the first person that they just happened to bump into on the streets was Laura King. Not sure what’s going on there and it doesn’t seem terribly nefarious. It’s just a bit interesting to see their one of their species trying to immigrate into our culture and economics. I still can barely get Hylavi to understand what a retirement savings or interest rate is, let alone entrepreneurship.

As for the Vittles, the hydroponics are coming along faster due to more aggressive growing practices. Though they have been careful of implementing such treatments on orchard until they’re positive about the stability of growing things there. They expect first harvest of the hydroponics labs in two weeks time.

In other news…well there’s that whole thing going on in the news. I suppose we qualify as a frontier colony that Faelyn would be interested in establishing contact with. It might be worth sending someone just to figure out whats going on over there.

 

Have fun at Jamalia. I hear its a fun place, Lancaster is just stomping all over aliens who have yet to invent the concept of barriers. Time to subjugate some savages eh? I’ve sent the fourth lance to join you though they’ll take a bit to get there without the cruiser.

Anyways, Jamalia was dropped near a river so at least water is easy to find. One of the knights has been appointed local governor. Technically Alexander would be the most qualified but he’s here on Somnus and we probably want him to stay in the library rather than leading a provincial government several light years away. Also the recruitment posters are found to have low impact due to the fact that everyone on Somnus and Koura are already frontiersmen. We could try to recruit at Sol though we’d have to send some people there to establish a bit of a presence to draw their interest I imagine.

The colony is at least established with its major guns and walls now set up, it’s basically invulnerable to the wildlife and probably even the natives given their current level of technology. However, it is a bit sparse on staff now that the construction team has left so if anything gets inside where the turrets can’t hit then there might be a problem. With you and Reika there it shouldn’t be an issue for the time being. Just something to keep in mind though given its slow recruiting efforts.

Speaking of which, Sarnai’s time as a squire is going well. She’s still rough around the edges but I suppose that’s what you get when you adopt street rats.

The third lance is done with the Madhammer operation. Doctor Si-Yeon has the information on that. Yoshai and Irae are on the ride back to Auwana after having been through some fun times. The memorial for all the fallen knights as been erected in the manor we call home.

Also we’ve received a specific commission from the newly announced Moncayo City. They’re asking for us to come and help with the pandem protections around the place. It would appear the news article is not fully forthcoming in how strong those defenses are just yet. It pays two hundred and fifty million though and might be a good chance for us to scout the place out and see whats going on while doing some penetration testing. Apparently they found out about us after we made an appearance at the battle with Kar’Soluth and took an interest.

Well the dreamwalker essentially believes that through group meditation they will achieve ‘lucidity’ and transcend to higher state of psionic understanding as a group working together. Something in there about selflessness as well. Also they denounced Cassir almost immediately upon her coming to power over the last year. They absolutely hate her since she is the embodiment of a selfish use of the cult…and you know…a mass murderer. The mystics also hate the economically interested sect as well, though Cassir and the money people have less of a rivalry. Though obviously their interest in joining the dangerous world of warfare through Cassir for little to no profit is not something they’re so keen to do.

You could argue there are a dozen subsects though they don’t have as much traction as the main three. They also don’t have notable direction as there is a chaotic mix of those who are aware of the cult’s true intent and those who don’t. They don’t even know if the secret needs to be kept or not. I would say they lack solid leadership ever since squidface disappeared.

Meanwhile back to New Age. 004C has been developing its vocabulary of commands it understands. Though we have noticed it doesn’t necessarily listen to them all unless Vasia is the one who says it. We’re still not sure why it is so fond of her. Salied doesn’t react to 004C any differently than towards anything else, she also reacts occasionally to the researchers but not during her little episodes…that span more than half of her time.

As for reproducing the hydroponic towers, fairly easily. Its just a hydroponic farm that we put in a building. If we set up all the lamps and keep temperatures controlled it’ll work pretty much anywhere except maybe Jamalia due to the arcane moon’s radiation though I doubt that would impact it too negatively.

Research into the disintegration ward has made some progress…kind of. The way to save mana seems to be to hurl something at the atmosphere so that it goes faster through the cloud and has to spend less time on the upkeep. Though then it loses just as much mana protecting itself from entering the atmosphere while trying not to burn up on the way down. So the savings are minimal and dangerous since you can’t see or scan through the cloud on the way through. A specialist experimental shuttle with a glass exterior has been developed though we’re having issues sealing it completely but this does cost less mana to just protect the gaps instead of the whole shuttle.

We’re not totally sure where the mana to maintain the atmospheric effect is coming from, we can’t scan anything nor get through that easily. I imagine it’ll take some concerted probing efforts. Though current theories indicate it to be a rift or some other type of natural phenomenon that perpetuates itself somehow without costing the amount of mana it would to maintain a spell like that on purpose. More of a ‘it had a lot of mana to get started during the planet’s formation then just stabilized’ type of situation. If it was producing the mana of casting a planetary disintegration cloud and maintaining it as a channeled spell, I don’t think even the cloud could hide that from the scanners.

As for charging weapons with disintegrate and disintegrate clouds, yes. Madhammer has those. It’s a fairly popular wand to load into shotguns actually.

Flavor factory would be a little tricky. Need sugar. Which needs to be grown. Could have the hydroponics work on it but then they’re not growing food.

So we’ve had a few people, including Khymin look over the mysterious corvette design. No one has any idea what it’s for and that seems to be the purpose of its design. Khymin describes it as being ready for an easy retrofit. The missing parts are structural, which if taken out create a large modifiable empty space within the corvette. As if someone has one final piece to add to it after its construction, perhaps to prevent a paper trail from figuring out what its purpose is. Though that means its basically a corvette with a modification slot on it, actually this might be a marketable design concept. Though in this case its clearly intending to hide its purpose as a future refit.

The Kaiju freighter is fully equipped now with a modifiable cage. We made something neat out of it actually. The large square room has been sectioned into a grid by moving wards and slot-in metal sheets that are normally used on its rather thick interior hull. Basically, pull some squares off the hull and lay them down where desired to cut the hold up into compartments in case you need a lot of medium sized cages or one really big one.

For the Sivataur team, I suppose technically they only need two each. Three is preferrable due to their aggressive appetites. However, you might want to establish contact with them before acquiring the slaves. Vampires are known to view feeding as a sort of vice with all of its own fetishes. So they might have a preference as to exactly what kind of slaves they would find the most enticing. If they say elves its going to be hard given the going rate for those at the moment. Also this is another of those things we should really be sure not to tell Alnae’s embassy about. Feeder slaves are on their ‘no fun allowed’ list.

We sent the Kaiju freighter to Vamon, it’ll be a bit to get there.

It would appear Lura gets most of her information on Sarden from Sarden. She was the point of contact Sarden used to set up her false identity. It actually turns out Laura King had hired Raiben Hayl to create the fake papers in the first place. I don’t think Sarden knows we have since approached Laura.

 

Speaking of Raiben, we set him up in the office and had him forge his own paperwork to create a ‘lack of evidence’ situation regarding his release from Somnus security so that he could re-establish some of his contacts with bragging rights. Though it doesn’t make Hylavi look particularly good at her job. Though I suppose she’s never been much of a PR person.

In looking for a vulnerable market, I would say ‘exploiting Somnus’ is the answer for Raiben at least. Given that he was made rich off of it. Somnus is an independent colony still in its infancy run mostly by scientists. It’s not the most solid on the paperwork front, though that is part of the station’s success in attracting the attention of certain figures. Without a solid civilian database to tie itself to, such as Alnae or Shetou’s established networks, there’s a lot of ways people slip through the cracks which is something Raiben has proven good at.

As for Vaeri, she’s still in transit on her way back to Somnus from her little adventure in the warzones with the Astral Order. She can start working on probing Laura even further once she gets back.

Vanjin has been probing around Solvang to look into the matter of pirate activity in Auwana. As suspected, Somnus and Koura are being used as a staging ground for traders of just about anything. Solvang notably knows of more colonization efforts near us that the traders are using to go between locations. It’s a lot less exciting or nefarious then expected, its just unscrupulous characters looking to make a living and taking advantage of our lax contraband laws. Apparently, Laura King is part of the reason Solvang traders know about this and she owns the warehouses they use to ferry goods around the frontier.

Not too interesting, but I suppose privateers just want to make a living and trading is easier than violent piracy as an everyday affair. Vanjin has found no information on the Revenants operating within Solvang, at least not that she can easily discern given how heavily such information is protected by Solvang’s quality guarantees.

The stealth cruiser is out on deployment, it’ll take awhile to reach the Kar’Soluth colony. Though I should point out our cruiser does not specialize in scanning like 40th day ships do. It is mostly an operations center, great aethernet connection in the middle of deep space though.

 

Well the war is over and the paycheck has been collected after one final sweep and two more builders captured for science. There was a distinct lack of climatic final battle since we are basically picking on monsters in a post-purge era. Had to dust off some old toys for that one. There are still some stragglers burrowed here and there but I’d say its been knocked out sufficiently enough that its as safe as its going to get without bombarding the whole planet, which they seem to have decided against.

So now the current issue is replacing the lost armor support, given that out here we lack a market to acquire them from. Civilians can’t quite just buy tanks and mechs and in moving to Koura we find ourselves currently without a supplier for such hardware. This is in large part due to the currently available manufacturers having more than enough customers back in Sol. So we’d be in the back of the queue to receive any assets, which could take years. Basically we don’t have enough friends in such places anymore during this shortage to jump to the front of the line.

Currently we are transporting the forces back to Koura for some tune ups with what is left, we may need to also look into recruiting more people to replace the ones who got eaten by underground flesh golems.