15[20:19] Sirens wail and lights bleed red, the feedback whine of a speaker-delivered order to surrender backed by the steady chewing of stone on jade. Machines stumble from charging pods, mottled with vines and rust, to fulfill the grim business they were designed for. Among them, Four Fangs, with their friends and lovers, commanders and retainers, and their would-be pawn. This last woman is 15[20:19] the one who stands directly beneath the harsh light of a search-drone, hand on the hilt of her sword, pleading for sense and mercy that might as well be echoing off empty streets. [20:20] 4Given our game strategy is pawn promotion, Garnet should get to cover. [20:20] 14Given our game strategy is pawn promotion, Garnet should get to cover. [20:23] 10Daizo's already on it—he'll cover Garnet and Seiri until they can make their retreat. [20:44] 07Dryas, at a distance, sees the commotion. She hefts the weight of Earned Nemesis over her shoulder, balancing an ironshod lance through loops in her stirrup and saddle and urges Diamond Weapon towards the manse and commotion alike. "Battle! Excellent!!" 07she proclaims to the empty streets. [20:46] 14Piu, meanwhile, is leaving. Without hesitation. These things have to be controlled from somewhere in the manse, and they brought the full contingent precisely so the Four Fangs didn't have to do everything themselves. Just everything important. 15[20:52] The road to the manse is straight and wide, and the rooftops carry her most of the way there. But the last hundred yalms or so are over open ground, with stiff grass and white petrified tree trunks arranged in what might once have been a lovely park. [20:55] 14That means she needs to be decisive and fast. [21:09] 14She is not quite fast enough, she learns as the razor sharp, multi-armed claw machines descend on her. So she makes up for it by being excessively decisive. She leaps into the air, ensnared one with the Chain and tearing through it with jagged moonsilver, popping another up into the air, busted, with a rising knee and then crushing the final one with a brutal axe heel as she lands. [21:11] 10Daizo takes a wide stance before his charges. 10Then, for a moment, it looks like he's spreading his wings—but it's the bulk of his armor, shifting, its plates reconfiguring to form an enormous black jade shell.  [21:11] 14This is making her sweat, which is fine, but it's also making her anima glow, which is not. Hopefully there's no greater defenses in there than there are out here... 15[21:14] Piu leaves sparking wreckage in her wake as she makes it to the boundaries of the manse. The great doors are sealed shut, but there are windows all around she can wedge herself through if she doesn't want to try and shove it open. [21:14] 14That sounds more convenient. [21:21] 6Zhangyu immediately goes after the claw robot. Try and attack him won't you-- 15[21:29] The great war machines bear down on the Empress's heroes, but aside from a close call with one of that flying machine's barbed jade harpoons, the Fangs hold their ground... as their hearth sister gallops into the gray! Does Dryas announce herself or let her lance do the talking? 15[21:32] Piu pulls herself into a clean, comfortably cool foyer with a low ceiling of hanging tiles and delicately aged tapestries covered in Old Realm characters. The entrance hall slopes gently upward to another set of double doors, and also branches off in either direction. What's she looking for? [21:33] 07It would be unsporting to attack without properly announcing herself. The rich tone of her hunting horn reveals her presence to all in the courtyard. [21:37] 10Daizo advances up the street as if wading upriver, pounding half-broken constructs into so many flinders and smashing the mecha-claw down to the pavement. [21:48] 10A second overhand swing flattens it into a steel pancake. A handful of the remaining crystal windows on the buildings shatter, spraying prismatic fragments everywhere. [21:54] 14She needs a command room, which means following the Essence, which she isn't great at due to not being Caxi or Daizo. Let's start with the double doors. [22:06] 07The thunder of hooves, the flutter of a pennant, a cloak flapping in the wind - and suddenly, Dryas is amid the melee, driving her spear straight into the reinforced plates of the Gunzosha with a clarion warcry that echoes along with the neighing of Diamond Weapon. "Flee! The spears of the Realm are upon you!" [22:10] 10None of the chopper's harpoons have broken Daizo's defense yet, but he can't help but wish Dryas had chosen to bring out her bow instead of playing dragoon.  [22:24] 07Dryas ducks beneath the direlance of her opponent and rides past Daizo, whooping just a bit like a Delzahn. [22:31] 10Daizo retracts a plate long enough for Diamond Weapon to pass. Big mistake.  15[22:35] With some effort, Piu is able to force the double doors open, revealing a floor and walls covered in green jade and filled with mostly-straight traceries of something silvery. A light flickers on as soon as she crosses the threshold. Piu hears a woman's voice, speaking a language she doesn't understand. [22:36] 14She'll counter in High Realm: "I am here to talk." 15[22:38] There's a moment's silence before the woman repeats, "Thou'rt without known imprimatur. Identify thyself, and the sign of thy Lord." [22:38] 14Piu puts up her hands, but she's still got The Chain around one. [22:38] "I am named Piu, of House V'Neef. Servant of Her Imperial Majesty's Realm." [22:39] 07Dryas reels under the assault of the strange flyer, a glancing blow from the harpoon ripping across her ribcage. Her silk robes are rapidly stained red. She drops the lance and readies her shortbow. 15[22:41] The cool white light turns yellow, and responds again, her flat intonation sprinkled with eerie mimickry of Piu's voice. "Lordly Seal 14V'Neef unrecognized. Visitor 14Piu unrecognized. Cool thy heels until a castellan sees to thee." [22:43] 14She weighs the risks of using the other name...but it probably won't know that either, not if it's talking 'lordly' houses." 15[22:47] Does Piu wait? [22:50] 14... "I represent Xia Lan of Gens Maheka." 15[22:53] The yellow light deepens and darkens... before a blue cel clicks into place and everyone goes green. "Provisional administrative access granted, signature code Summit 1, date logged as 11 Earth Resplendent, 1580. Proceed." [22:54] 14Piu takes a deep breath and steps forward. [22:54] 14She needs to get Garnet in here...but will it shut down if she leaves? [23:00] 07Dryas, swaying slightly in her saddle, takes aim with her recurved bow and looses a shot at the flying one. She aims for the point where its rapidly gyrating rotor meets the body - aim for the wing to cripple the bird, right? [23:00] 14At the very least she should figure out if: "I request that all security forces return to station." [23:00] 14Is that the right language? [23:00] "Return to...port?" 15[23:01] The voice, mildly: "Override standing defense order?" [23:01] "Temporarily." [23:02] 14She has no idea what...who ever this is?...will let her get away with. 15[23:06] The voice: "Command issued. Ports 1 through 131 nonresponsive. Ports 134 through 211 nonresponsive. Ports 220 through 439 nonresponsive..." There's a lot of reports to go through. 15[23:13] Someone screams when Dryas takes a spear to (or across) the chest, and an icy breeze blows up the street as the flying machine suddenly jerks and shudders in the air, noisy white light spilling out of every tinted viewport. There's the briefest glimpse of pale limbs reaching around and then through the machine's hull, and then a wiry, whiskery figure falls straight down as if dropped 15[23:13] like a bomb. The battle is too loud to hear the sound he makes when he hits the stone, but judging from the angle of the old man's leg, it was nasty. 15[23:14] A moment later, the spherical energy weapon lingering at the rear of the battle goes dark, its hovering orb settling down into its bare, walking socket and then sinking to its 'knees'. [23:15] 10Daizo: "Hell yeah!" 15[23:15] Finally, after running through a litany of which machines failed to heed or respond to the central command, Piu hears that the remaining units successfully stand down. [23:16] 14Piu, to...whoever this is: "I will bring Xia Lan here, now. How should I announce you to her?" 15[23:19] The voice: "Mionzi reminds all visitors not to anthropomorphize the Mionzi Manse Attendant. Shouldst thou find thyself moved to impute human character to its speech, or moved to interpret its words as a plea for succor, report thy delusions to thine commanding officer for restitution." [23:19] "I see." [23:19] "Understood." 15[23:19] "Thank you." [23:19] 14Piu's headed back out to get Garnet. 15[23:19] Immediately: "That is - acknowledged." [23:20] 14She pauses on hearing that, but doesn't look back. Gotta get outside. [23:47] 10Daizo looms over the Blooded who remain, casting a long dark shadow over them. 10He's punctuating each word by pounding a deeper and deeper crater into the pavement with the tip of his club. [23:48] 10By the time he's done talking, it's more of a sinkhole. [23:48] 14Piu runs back in time to be impressed by Daizo's, uh, pavement impression. [23:48] 14She's heading for Garnet, though. 15[23:49] Zhangyu feels the fierce machine in his arms slacken and settle onto the ground. 15[23:49] The old man on the pavement just groans. [23:49] 14To Garnet: "The manse attendant has been given your name, and is waiting for you inside." 15[23:50] Piu finds Garnet using her boot to lever her daiklave out of a downed machine. Probably a third of the machines are destroyed by sword and flame piece, and the rest seem to have just stopped in place. 15[23:50] Garnet: "My name? ...very well. Lead on. Seiri!" 15[23:51] A moment later she comes out from behind cover, her back and hair covered in dust from shaking buildings. The jar in her arms is clean. [23:51] 10When it's clear there'll be no further resistance, Daizo takes a step back and the broad shell on his back shrinks, each armored plate returning to its normal position. 15[23:52] Behind the fray, the flying machine comes in for a crash landing that doesn't have much landing to it. Sparks spray everywhere, one of the blades bends back and another snaps clean off, and just as Sadako extracts herself, the thing catches fire, flames licking blue-green into the night. 15[23:52] "14fuuuuuuuuuck" [23:54] 07Dryas leans forward in her saddle, her fingers intertwined with Diamond Weapon's braided mane. The bow clatters to the ground alongside her.  15[23:55] The treaded armor hisses and a jet of steam escapes, revealing another old man with craggy gray skin. He doesn't look injured, but it seems to take him immense effort to extract himself from the armor. [23:55] 10Daizo: "Is everyone all right? Dryas, do you need treatment?" 15[23:55] Sadako is making a beeline for Dryas. "You're hurt!" [23:59] "I am still good to go on," 07she says quietly. "I do not need to walk, anyways. Get one of those flying blades to take back to the ship." 15[00:01] Ratel and Caxi join the main group. "Well done, everyone," says the Commodore. [00:03] 07Dryas: "And Sadako, that was quite impressive. Good job." 15[00:03] Sadako looks down at the ground. [00:04] 10Daizo: "If there are any more of them." 10Since Dryas is being heroic, Daizo will turn his attention to the battered old men on the ground. "Commodore, what shall we do with them? They have yielded; perhaps the inhabitants of the manse will be more kindly disposed towards us if we return them." 15[00:05] Ratel squats down at the man pulling himself from the tank. "Can you walk?" 15[00:05] The man groans and slumps back into the armor's harness. [00:06] 14Piu will make sure to give Ratel an all-clear and an indication where she's taking Garnet, since Zhangyu is still entangled with the great machine he piledrove. 15[00:06] Ratel closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Make up stretchers and carry them into the manse. We'll be just a bit behind Piu." 15[00:07] Caxi kneels beside the thinner man, setting his leg enough for Daizo and Zhangyu to lift him into a makeshift stretcher. 15[00:08] Back inside the manse, the voice speaks again, again in words Piu can't understand. 15[00:09] Garnet: "It's asking us to identify ourselves." 15[00:09] Seiri looks around and up like a wide-eyed tourist. [00:09] 10Daizo:  [00:09] 14Piu: "It won't accept Realm Houses. This is up to you. If you want to take control of this manse...and if you can take control of this manse...well, I think it would be a suitable test of your abilities." 15[00:11] Garnet looks from Piu to Seiri, and reaches up to pull her shawl off. [00:11] 14Well; kid was going to find out one way or another. [00:12] 14If she's far enough in to be trusted with the jar, she's far enough in to be trusted with the rest of it. 15[00:13] Xia Lan shakes her head after pulling it free, letting her hair fall down past her shoulders. "Xia Lan, Who the Earth Talks To, of Gens Maheka." 15[00:14] Seiri almost drops the jar, instead falling to her knees as she maintains her grip on it. Instead of standing, she looks up at Xia Lan with wide, tearing eyes. [00:14] 14Piu, casually, to Seiri: "You tell no one." [00:14] "We'll work out when Sadako can be brought in." 15[00:14] The manse: "Administrative access granted, signature code Summit 1, date logged as 11 Earth Resplendent, 1580. Awaiting instructions." 15[00:15] Xia Lan: "Assume direct control." 15[00:15] NEXT TIME: The stool and the Sword 15[20:10] The man Zhangyu pulled from the traded Gunsozha armor is deeply muscled, with both his cracked, pockmarked skin and his close-cropped hair a uniform battleship grey. His partner, whom Sadako hurled from that delicate whirling machine, is taller, thinner, with skin and bristling whiskers a dusty, off-white quartz-color. The former is heavy and unresponse to the point of catatonia; the 15[20:10] latter groans through gritted teeth as Caxi resets his mangled leg. 15[20:11] *treaded Gunzosha [20:11] 6Sucks to suck. 15[20:12] Piu's already taken Garnet and Seiri into the manse, and the Commodore has given the order that these two prisoners are to be loaded onto stretchers and brought along to follow. 15[20:14] Do the Tepet Boys or Dryas (nursing serious injuries from horseback) have anything to do or say as the work is carried out? [20:14] 6Does anything heavy need lifting? Because Zhangyu is very strong. [20:14] 14Piu will keep an eye on Seiri, seeing how she continues to react to Garnet's face. Hopefully the moment isn't too big for her. She's been a pleasant surprise in that regard so far, though. 15[20:15] Well, these guys the Mantis stylists knocked out of their vehicles are very heavy - heavier than they look, and heavier than men that size should be. [20:15] 6Ehhhhh let them rot. [20:16] 10So these are a pair of thoroughly venerable Blooded who don't look well at all. That in itself is of interest—long before their extra mass comes into the picture. Daizo's going to take a closer look at the comatose one. [20:16] 6Cousin, don't. [20:16] 07Dryas just leans forward in the saddle, catching her breath. [20:17] 10Are you kidding? This is a once-in-a-century chance! [20:17] 6Cousin. [20:21] 10It's not like Daizo's vivisecting the man or anything. Relax. [20:21] 14Might be a good skill to have. [20:22] 10Vivisection is easy. Comedy's hard. [20:23] 6This is why nobody lets us hang out together. 15[20:23] Meanwhile, back at the center of the city, in the ancient manse that gives old Mionzi its name, Xia Lan has pulled the shawl from her head and assumed direct control. The lights of the manse's receiving-area have gone from white to yellow to a gentle, pastel green, which takes the blue and white jade that lines the walls and ceiling and casts it in an artificial turquoise sheen. But 15[20:23] even with the strong colors, Seiri recognizes Xia Lan's famous face immediately, and seems startled to the point of being near overwhelmed... [20:25] 14Piu's already given her the 'you are the steward of a great secret now' speech once, and won't patronize her by repeating herself in so short a time. Hopefully the girl keeps a good hold on that jar. 15[20:26] And perhaps she still is, but she's back on her feet - albeit with her eyes averted - a couple of seconds before the manse's placid voice responds, "Direct control authorized. Subsidiary sector reports available. Hub firewall active." [20:26] 6...That's weird. [20:27] 6Do not care for it. 15[20:28] Dryas takes these men in, and outside of their shiny toys they seem as pathetic as she imagined. Impossibly ancient, their bodies given over to the churning essence within them, these men would be venerated in any civilization worth the name. But here they are alone and unadorned, without personal effects, identifying tags or insignia of rank, wearing simple spun uniforms of featureless 15[20:28] pale blue fabric. Even their belts, she observes, are exactly the same length - just several notches apart. [20:32] 14If Seiri's squared away, Piu will turn her attention to...everything else. She's less concerned with what Xia Lan does here than with some backup arcane security system being tripped. [20:32] 07Do their belts bear insiginias? 15[20:32] They do! Dryas doesn't recognize them, though. 15[20:32] As Daizo helps Zhangyu hup these bodies onto stretchers made from barracks sheets and metal poles fetched by Sadako, he sees men who've barely survived a lot of very nasty fights. While Caxi's done fine work with the pilot's shattered leg, the heavy ground soldier's not so lucky - his legs have been broken and reset so many times they're not even the same length, nevermind whatever 15[20:32] their original length was. And the telltale white tracks of long-healed scars run between the scaly, calloused crags of their skin. [20:33] 6That's a fucked up thing for them to be. Like, golly. [20:34] 6Seriously, have you seen them? [20:35] 6Not positive. 15[20:35] Those growths put Daizo in mind of the plant life around here - the dead petrified trees lining this very street and the living, growing plants whose woody stems are also seemingly solid stone. Being able to contrast the effects on plants and men, he's able to deduce that the sheer force of essence overpowering their flesh is not just coming from within them, but from this place itself. 15[20:35] All the living things they've run across so far are suffused with intensely concentrated earth essence - almost but not quite to the point of total petrifaction. [20:35] 10You weren't even looking at them before Daizo started paying attention to them, cos. [20:35] 6Look. [20:35] 07Dryas nods gravely at these ancient men. "They must have been here a very long time, she reiterates to the others. We should treat them with respect now." 15[20:36] Reactions of this kind are beyond anything Daizo's ever seen in person... but there are some pretty nasty descriptions in Immaculate manuals training people for the signs of overexposure to wild demesnes and broken-down manses. [20:37] 10Daizo: "We should hurry along to the central manse. Regardless of what Piu and Lady Garnet have managed to do, it may still not be safe to remain here for any great length of time." [20:37] 6Zhangyu: "Yes." 15[20:40] Back inside, the three women stand in the corridor in silence a bit longer. Piu and Seiri are both ultimately waiting on the woman who now (always?) controlled the manse, and who is either very deep in thought, or has cultivated the appearance of being deep in thought. [20:40] 14Both are useful skills for a woman who would be empress. [20:40] "Lead the way," 07Dryas replies, before breaking her words trail into a cough. If she were not blessed with the blood of dragons, this would be a grave wound, indeed. [20:40] 10Daizo ruminates as they head up the street. "Caxi, do you know anything about capping a demesne? We might be walking on a tiny version of the Pole of Earth here." [20:41] 6Zhangyu: "It will be difficult." 15[20:41] As the rest of the landing party makes a slow way up the road to the manse, Caxi falls in step alongside her cousin's horse. Diamond Weapon tenses and cantors more eagerly onward, but doesn't buck or resist the pace Dryas sets. The animal just seems uncomfortable around the sorceress. 15[20:42] Sadako, meanwhile, is helping the earth aspects to carry the prisoners. [20:42] 6Thank you. [20:43] 07Dryas gives Diamond Weapon a reassuring rub on the flank. "Easy, now. E-e-e-easy." 15[20:45] Caxi looks up at Daizo's question and makes a seesawing gesture with her hand. He's not sure what it conveys, but the wind flutters around her diaphonous robe just a bit and he has a moment of clarity. She means to say, without speaking, that she understands the principles, but that it's not a trivial process, and may take weeks or months if the land is uncooperative. [20:46] 6Do not care for that. 15[20:50] Finally, Xia Lan says, "Direct us to the central control point." 15[20:51] The manse makes no reply, but silvery furrows in the floor flare to life, marking a path past the security corridor and deeper into the complex. [20:52] 10Daizo takes off his helmet and wipes his brow—even a breath of wind after a fight is thoroughly refreshing. Caxi gets the sense that Daizo got the message, wasn't expecting an overnight miracle, and is ready to render assistance if need be. 15[20:53] Caxi looks very pleased. Daizo gets the sense that she thinks he looks really good in that armor. [20:54] 6I mean... 15[20:57] The injured party arrives at the doorway of the manse, and within - as the others progress deeper - a slightly alarmed manse says, "Imperatrix, hostiles detected at the periphery. Eight hostiles - three of Earth, two of Air, one of water, one of wood, one undead, and one greater demon." 15[20:58] Xia Lan looks sharply at Piu. "Undead? Demon?" [20:58] 14Piu: "Sadako is the undead, certainly. Greater demon...sounds like something of Caxi's doing." 15[20:59] Seiri: "Nine." 15[20:59] Xia Lan: "What?" 15[20:59] Seiri: "She said eight hostiles and then listed nine people." 15[20:59] "...your Majesty." [21:00] 6Zhangyu: "We are trying." [21:00] 10Ah yes. The naomah's been hanging around the entire time, haven't they— 15[21:00] Xia Lan: "Run the check again." 15[21:00] The manse: "Eight hostiles detected. Three of Earth, two of Air, one of water, one of wood, and one undead." 15[21:01] Xia Lan narrows her eyes. [21:01] 10…or not.  [21:02] 14Piu's lip twists in something like bemusement. "Our adjutant would like to remind us that 'anthropomorphizing' her is against standing regulation. In case one was prone to thinking there's more to her than meets the sound of her voice." 15[21:02] Seiri: "Does she have a name?" [21:03] 6Does she want one? 15[21:03] Xia Lan: "Run the check again every minute. But silently. If the status changes, activate a signal light in the control center to flash yellow, yellow, red on a 1 second interval." 15[21:03] The manse: "Understood." 15[21:03] Xia Lan: "And let them in." 15[21:04] The doors of the manse swing gently open to admit the Dynasts and their prisoners. [21:04] 6That second part is very important. Let her choose. [21:05] 6I'm sorry. The Dynasts? 15[21:05] And their prisoners. 15[21:05] Up to you which one you are. [21:05] 6Look. [21:06] 6*taking a BIG sip of water* Look. [21:07] 10Daizo: "…the coeurl's out of the bag, I see. Cousin, let's set this old man down a moment. " [21:08] 6Zhangyu: "It's. Can I say how much I hate this?" [21:08] "Because I hate it so much." 15[21:08] Luckily, the path forward is clearly outlined for the new entrants, who meet Piu, Seiri, and Xia Lan in the control center of the manse, a perfect pentagonal prism that runs from ground level up to the roof of the manse, filled with tall square pillars of white jade that conceal elaborate, delicate traceries of metal that shimmer and pulse like veins bearing light from heart to extremity. 15[21:10] Sadako: "Another one?" [21:11] 6Zhangyu: "Y... yes." 15[21:11] Sadako points at Xia Lan. "They got a third prisoner! Maybe she knows what's going on." [21:11] 14Ah, right. [21:11] 14Piu: "Sadako." [21:11] "You've literally seen her dressed exactly like this, but with a shawl on her head." [21:12] 6Zhangyu: "Sadako." 6I literally trained you. That was a thing. 15[21:12] Seiri's mortified to the point of silence. [21:13] 10Daizo's going to motion Seiri off to one side and try to confer with her briefly.  15[21:13] It takes Daizo a moment to get her attention, but she complies once he does. [21:14] 6But also. Sadako. Speak to me. 15[21:14] Ratel steps forward. "What have we learned?" [21:14] 6You asshole. 15[21:14] Sadako, immediately defensive, looks from Piu to Sadako. "What did I do?" 15[21:14] *from Piu to Zhangyu [21:14] 6Zhangyu:  "Problems." 15[21:15] Xia Lan: "The manse knows my name, and granted me total control with no resistance." [21:15] 14Piu sighs. "Well, it's good you don't know the face, at least. This is Garnet." [21:15] "As I said." 15[21:15] Ratel: "Shit." [21:15] 07Dryas, in an aside - "Sadako, my cousin and to a greater extent, I myself, may have overlooked what would have been - in normal times - be a key matter of state etiquette, nay, even a matter of life and death." 15[21:15] Xia Lan: "This is bad news?" [21:15] "In a manner of speaking." 15[21:15] Ratel: "It's good news today. Tomorrow, could go either way." [21:16] 14Piu: "It isn't proof that you could control the Realm Defense Grid...but it gets us closer to there." [21:16] 10Daizo, in a low voice: "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark about this. It was… my flimsy attempt at protecting you. I'll explain in detail once we've returned to the ship." [21:17] "…There's still a lot I don't understand myself, though." [21:17] 6Don't care for it myself. [21:18] 10Same sentence, different words. [21:18] 6Look. Um, actually, nothing to say...? 15[21:20] Sadako, aside, to Dryas: "I don't get it." [21:20] 6You and me both, kid. 15[21:21] Seiri shakes her head. "It's fine. I understand." She keeps looking in Xia Lan's direction every time she takes a breath, but those breaths are small and steady. [21:21] 6Zhangyu knows who that is. And yet. 15[21:22] Xia Lan: "What are our objectives here?" [21:23] 14Piu, since the Fangs had discussed this, has an answer -- but first she glances to Ratel. [21:24] 07Dryas, rolling out of her saddle as gracelessly as anyone present has ever seen her dismount a horse (still quite gracefully, but with a quiet groan), comes to face Sadako. "Courtly etiquette." 15[21:26] Sadako whispers: "What did I do wrong now?" [21:26] 07Dryas: "She - Garnet - has, at least, the face of the Empress of the Scarlet Dynasty, whose ten thousand dragons rule the world." [21:27] 14Assuming she gets the go-ahead nod -- the Fangs probably shared their plans with her? -- she'll say: "Take and hold. Fix the tides. Use as a staging ground in the archipelago while getting the manse online." [21:28] 10Daizo, in a nearly inaudible whisper: "Just know that all may not be as it appears." 10He'll rejoin the other Fangs and the Commodore after that. [21:28] 07Dryas: "Keeping this secret amongst ourselves is probably the only way to keep our own lives, to say nothing of avoiding a world-consuming war of all against all." 15[21:29] Caxi runs her finger along one of the pillars, checking it for dust, which Daizo takes to mean something like 'good fucking luck'. 15[21:30] Sadako: "Yeah, sure, of course." Only Dryas is close enough to hear her mumble, "who else do I even talk to?" [21:33] 07For an instant, Dryas bristles furiously at her ward, but puts her feelings aside. "What is this place and who are its guardians?" 15[21:34] Xia Lan: "Well?" [21:35] 10Daizo half-sighs Caxiward. Ain't that the truth. 10Then: "The men we brought in have been unusually unresponsive to questioning. Amd by questioning I mean they don't appear to understand that we're trying to talk to them." 15[21:36] The manse: "This is Mionzi, Diamond of the West, Pole Beyond the Pole and 13th Emanation of the Sword of Creation. Its sole guardian is Imperatrix Xia Lan of House Maheka. Core functions are green and there have been 466 attempts to bypass the Empyrial Lock since last check." [21:37] 07Dryas: "I say we capture the island, turn it to a staging point in furtherance of our mission. Reactivate it." 15[21:37] Xia Lan: "Imperial Lock?" 15[21:37] The Manse: "Empyrial Lock." [21:38] 10Daizo: "Did it just correct your pronunciation?" [21:39] "Is that how it's supposed to respond to its sole guardian?" 15[21:39] Xia Lan: "What's the difference?" 15[21:40] Mionzi: "Imperial, adjective: of or relating to empire. Empyrial, adjective: of or relating to heaven." 15[21:40] *empyreal 15[21:41] Xia Lan: "What does the Empyreal Lock, er... lock?" 15[21:42] Mionzi: "All non-essential defense functions are locked. All logs and records are locked. All intraeminent communication lines are locked. All broadcasting capabilities are locked." 15[21:42] Xia Lan: "On whose authority?" 15[21:42] Mionzi: "That record is locked." [21:45] 10Daizo: "Well, that's terribly convenient." [21:45] 07Dryas: "Tell me this wasn't the work of our very heavenly friends..." 15[21:49] Xia Lan: "Well, unlock it." [21:50] 10Hmm. If so, he managed to retrieve information from the Maw by dropping a name. Security is probably quite a bit tighter around an actual element of the Grid—assuming it's functioning properly. 15[21:51] Mionzi: "Log your Bureau Administrator for access." 15[21:52] Xia Lan: "Bureau-- who outranks me?" 15[21:52] Mionzi: "No one outranks you, Imperatrix." 15[21:52] Xia Lan: "Then unlock it!" 15[21:53] Mionzi: "Log your Bureau Administrator for access." 15[21:53] Xia Lan looks like she wants to kick something. 15[21:53] Then: "List all Bureau Administrators." 15[21:54] Mionzi: "That record is locked." 15[21:54] Xia Lan: "The list of people who can open the Empyreal Lock is behind the Empyreal Lock??" 15[21:55] Mionzi: "No, Imperatrix. Bureau personnel above field grade are classified by the 86 Standing Order." 15[21:56] Xia Lan looks to Daizo, exasperated. "Dost this hold any meaning for thee?" [21:56] 14Piu: "Is this what's called 'the run-around?'" [21:56] 07Dryas laughs. [21:59] 07Dryas: "Oh dear. Perhaps we might ask just when all these decisions were made?" 15[22:01] Xia Lan: "When were these protocols last modified?" 15[22:02] Mionzi: "The Empyreal Lock was established during Calibration on the cusp of 1574 and 1575." [22:03] 10Daizo: "That's quite recent, if we continue extending Shogunate reckoning into this era, is it not?" [22:04] 10Some mental arithmetic. "…almost six years ago exactly." [22:04] 14Piu: "Yes, the manse believes it's 1580." [22:05] "...So I suppose we have something of an answer there. Which raises more questions." 15[22:05] Xia Lan: "Is the date significant?" [22:06] 10Daizo: "It's the date your, er, predecessor was last seen." [22:06] "That would, I think, be a record of her last official act?" [22:08] "Have there been any other visits since then? What about in the last four months?" 07Dryas asks. 15[22:09] Xia Lan: "When was this system last accessed?" [22:10] 14Piu has carefully unwrapped the tape her hand as she's been speaking and touching the wall, frowning. As the 'manse' responds, she begins drifting, tracing a line down the wall as she walks with the palm of her hand, feeling more than listening... 15[22:11] Mionzi: "11 Earth Resplendent, 1580, a hostile landing was detected and defenses were mobilized by Castellans Guan Tzu and Zhao Zhaoqi of House Amilar." [22:12] 10Daizo: "So that would be today. Good to know these men have names." 15[22:13] Xia Lan: "Amilar...?" She looks back and notices the men on stretchers for the first time. The thin man is unconscious, while the larger one is awake but silent, eyes blank and unfocused, breathing steady. [22:14] "Do you know these men, Highness? They appear to be suffering from a vast surfeit of earth-aspected essence. Like they might crystallize on the spot at any time." [22:15] "But I suspect it may also have preserved them." [22:17] 10Daizo's noticed what Piu's doing and he's going to keep bullshitting to give her some cover. 15[22:18] Piu's hand glides across the jade, out of the control room and back towards the entrance. Suddenly, the vibrations she's tracking dip down into the floor, and she realizes she's got to find a stairwell down. 15[22:22] Xia Lan: "I don't know these men. I know Amilar." 15[22:24] "...have they been here all along? Since... since the war?" 15[22:24] Sadako: "What war?" 15[22:25] Seiri shushes her fiercely, and she bristles in a manner eerily reminiscent of Dryas, but folds her arms and falls silent. [22:26] 14Piu makes a note to have the 'Hey kid, you wanted to come. That means you get to fight, yeah, but you also have to sit through weird conversations you don't understand.' conversation with Sadako later. [22:26] 10Daizo: "The war that ended the Shogunate. And very nearly the world. Have you ever heard of Balor of the Terrible Eye, Sadako?" 15[22:26] Piu has to take quite a circuitous route to find any way down. Luckily the way is quite convenient, a piece of the floor that just slowly sinks once she's stood on it for a few seconds, with signal lights marking a five second warning for anyone who might just be milling around before the elevator activates. [22:26] 07Dryas: "They are certainly old enough. They wear symbols on their belt, like you did, but a different one." [22:27] "They did appear to think we were fae creatures of some variety." 15[22:27] Ratel: "Balorians." [22:27] 14However, for the moment...Piu's looking for the basement. It should be around here somewhere, and it should be tastefully concealed. Maybe the lights are key...? [22:28] "Preposterous!" 07Dryas is insulted. [22:28] Hey, Sadako would probably be really into hearing about Balor. [22:28] 10Hey, Sadako would probably be really into hearing about Balor. That guy got up to some serious shit. 15[22:31] Once Piu sinks down, she finds herself in significantly less grand corridors, lit by rail lighting embedded in the ceiling. It takes a moment to catch her bearings and find the sound again, but she does. Despite the circuitous route the vocal vibrations take, they terminate in a chamber she's certain is directly beneath the control chamber above. In this room are more pillars, these 15[22:31] squat and unilluminated. The walls are etched with plans, maps, diagrams... and there's an altar. Or something like an altar. A raised triangular podium or lectern with a flat, black, mirrored surface. Behind the altar is a statue. [22:31] 14She is very careful to disturb nothing. [22:32] 14The point of this exercise is to figure out who or what the 'manse' steward is, and if she's in as rough a shape as those two old men upstairs. [22:33] 14Manse 'steward,' actually. 15[22:33] The statue looks like an iconic holy relic of the kind that would surely be destroyed or at least hidden nowadays - a woman, or the shape of a woman, with the impression of a torso, waist, hips, and legs rendered out of contiguous, limbless chrome. Instead of arms, the statue has wings, spread fully and pinned against the wall like one might a butterfly for display. Thick cables emerge 15[22:33] from the tips of the wings and vanish into the wall behind the altar. The statue itself is spread against another, larger pillar, this one dark glass like the altar's surface, but perfectly cylindrical and running from floor to ceiling. [22:34] 14How dark is the glass? Any way to see inside without actually touching it? 15[22:34] Does Piu have a light? [22:35] 14She can light up the rune, or just her anima in general. 15[22:35] Xia Lan: "The fae can wear any guise they please. Preposterous to you, who knows the world is safe from them. But to these men... had they no idea?" [22:35] 14Using essence in the chamber might trip an alarm, though... 15[22:35] It might. But either way, Piu's pretty sure with stronger lighting she could see through the glass. [22:36] 14Actually wait. She already is lit up. [22:36] 14Er, ignore that. She'll go looking for a torch. 15[22:37] Not a lot in the way of fire in here naturally, but she could make one pretty easily. [22:38] 10Daizo: "Mionzi. Did these soldiers know the nature of the foe they were being sent to face?" [22:39] 14She'll do that. Piu doesn't know very much about old Shogunate machinery, but using unrestrained Essence around it -- especially essence focused through a death rune -- isn't worth it when the only thing stopping her from prudence is a slight inconvenience. 15[22:39] Mionzi: "Initial reports were inconclusive. More complete information was only possible once the invaders breached the manse perimeter." 15[22:42] Piu lights a torch, and holds it to the dark pillar... and sees a figure within. She has to move the torch around a bit to find an angle that reveals more than a silhouette, but when she does she sees, inside, a nude human woman, or something that looks like one, suspended in some kind of fluid, wires running into and out of her body at all the subcranial chakras. Her head - or the 15[22:42] top of it, as her placid sleeping face and long floating hair are still visible in the tank - is covered with a huge heavy metal cap or helmet, from which no fewer than five thick cables emerge. 15[22:42] ...then a steady, insistent beeping fills the corridors. [22:42] 14Well, that confirms that. [22:42] 14Ah. [22:42] 14She'll take the torch away. 15[22:42] Mionzi: "Fire detected in Operator Cluster. Activating suppressive systems." [22:42] 14And get out of the room in case it tries to seal itself. 15[22:43] It starts to rain, gently, in the room Piu's in. [22:43] 14She'll put out the torch. 15[22:43] Mionzi: "Fire extinguished. Suppressing suppressive systems." 15[22:43] The beeping stops. The water stops. [22:43] 14Work here's done for now. She makes a mental note on how to get back here, then rejoins everyone else. 15[22:44] Xia Lan, who has been pacing around for a bit. "What do I control?" 15[22:45] Mionzi: "Perimeter and point defense. Life support. Personnel assignments below Bureau grade." 15[22:45] Xia Lan: "What about the tides?" 15[22:45] Mionzi: "Ask the moon." 15[22:46] Xia Lan snorts. [22:46] 14She'll sidle up to Daizo first. "Our disembodied manse voice is a woman sleeping in a vat downstairs, not an actual clockwork construct. Or at least not entirely one." [22:48] 10Daizo: "Ah, is that what that fuss about Operator Cluster was? That makes more sense than this manse's daimon being designed to talk sass at its owners." 15[22:48] Xia Lan looks up at Piu. "Who is in the basement?" She's not asking Piu. 15[22:48] Mionzi: "Scans indicate no one downstairs." [22:49] 14To Xia Lan: "I think by standing policy, she's not allowed to be a person." [22:50] 14Piu: "Personally I don't approve, but it might be a waste of time to try to talk her out of it. At the very least we should check on the, uh, operator cluster to make sure it doesn't require any sort of maintenance." 15[22:51] Xia Lan: "What is the status of the Operator Cluster?" 15[22:51] Mionzi: "All systems green." 15[22:52] Xia Lan's jaw works silently. [22:52] 10Daizo: "We would like to inspect the area to ensure no further fires break out." [22:52] 07Dryas: "What about what Daizo said a little while ago, about the overflow of Earth essence? Is there a problem with the manse?" 15[22:53] Mionzi: "No flaws detected in the geomantic array. Energy flows are operating at 67,924% capacity." [22:54] 14Oh is that all. [22:54] 10Daizo: "That's a flaw." 15[22:54] Mionzi: "It is consistent with standing protocol." 15[22:54] Xia Lan: "What protocol? Or is that locked as well?" 15[22:56] Mionzi: "Standing protocol as of Calibration 812 is to store all available Essence for emanation to the Sword. Order code Summit 1, signed Imperatrix Xia Lan, undersigned Bureau Director 86." [22:57] 14Piu: "Maybe ask her if you have authority to designate bureau directors? Then, if so, appoint, I dunno, Daizo." 15[22:57] Xia Lan: "Do I?" 15[22:57] Mionzi: "Bureau Directors are not designated. They are chosen." [22:57] 14Sigh. [22:58] 10Daizo: "Haha. Not sure if I would want the position, to be honest." 15[22:58] Xia Lan: "So it was I who gave the order to gather the essence here." 15[22:58] Mionzi: "Affirmative." 15[22:59] Xia Lan: "768 years ago." 15[22:59] Mionzi: "768 years, 209 days, 24 hours, 13 minutes." 15[23:00] Xia Lan: "What was the population of Mionzi when that order was given?" 15[23:00] Mionzi: "14,691." [23:01] 14Been a rough seven centuries. [23:01] 10Daizo: "…what is the population of Mionzi today?" 15[23:01] "2." [23:02] Did departing residents provide a reason as to why they departed?" 15[23:02] Mionzi: "Residents did not depart." [23:02] 10Daizo: "All right, I've heard enough." 15[23:03] Xia Lan: "They died here?" 15[23:03] Mionzi: "Affirmative?" [23:03] "You don't know?" 15[23:04] Mionzi: "The answer seemed like an obvious logical extrapolation of previous answers. Operation sought to convey a desire for clarification by modulating its tone with a late upward lift, to convey uncertainty. This is within the guidelines handed down on Operator Affect Protocol and is not a breach of etiquette." 15[23:05] Xia Lan: "How did they die?" [23:05] 14Haha. 15[23:06] Mionzi: "Most common causes of death logged from 768 to 1580. 1. Earth Essence Poisoning. 2. Munitions Accidents. 3. Homicide. 4. Suicide." 15[23:07] Xia Lan: "I've heard enough too." 15[23:07] Then she turns and walks out. 15[23:07] Mionzi: "Logging you out, Imperatrix." [23:07] 14Well, hopefully Seiri follows, or that's gonna be one wasted dramatic moment. [23:07] 14...Piu will nudge her if she doesn't. 15[23:08] Seiri's a bit stunned, but, not 'Xia Lan gets 25 yalms away' stunned. [23:08] 10Daizo: "I am of the opinion that this site must be shut down for maintenance and a full audit of all available records." 15[23:08] She has to scurry a bit, but she doesn't need nudging. [23:08] "Authorization 66." [23:08] 10Bring it. [23:08] 07Dryas, stammering: "Can we at least get a current inventory of stores, provisions, munitions?" 15[23:09] Mionzi: "66 is not a Bureau Director code. Please contact your Bureau Director for the correct code." 15[23:09] To Dryas: "Those are within the purview of life support and perimeter defense functions and can be generated on request." [23:09] 10Daizo: "Shitfire. That asshole's just a flunky?" [23:10] 07Dryas: "I'm requesting." [23:10] 14Piu: "If that's insufficient, I, who have been designated as Xia Lan's proxy in the system, am requesting." 15[23:12] Mionzi ignores Dryas, and responds to Piu. The manse rattles off a bunch of statistics - there's a few dozen autonomous war machines, one fully working suit of Gunzosha armor, an armory downstairs, and a lot of rations in deep storage. A lot. Enough to feed hundreds of people for several years... or a couple of people for thousands. 15[23:13] More than enough to fully load the Defiance. 15[23:13] There's also, judging from the reports on damaged, destroyed, and nonresponsive armaments, a queen's ransom in valuable scrap. [23:14] 14Piu wants to step out to talk to Xia Lan, but she'll wait in case Daizo and Dryas want more info from the manse daimon. [23:16] 07A treasure trove! "A full manifest, including any hard currency reserves, any items of religious, magical, or artistic significance." [23:16] 10Daizo: "So we're sitting on top of another poisoned jackpot, is the short version." 10Daizo is thoroughly Done with the interior of the manse at the moment. [23:16] 14Piu will relay the request. [23:17] "And see if it can be generated in a language that's a little more au courant?" 07Dryas requests. 15[23:17] "Such as?" [23:19] 10Daizo: "Old Realm is fine. I'll translate it later and Seiri can make copies as necessary." 15[23:19] Luckily, the centuries-old printer's ink still works. 15[23:19] Dryas has her manifest. [23:21] 07Dryas clutches it as she hurries out to, perhaps, stop the Empress-who-could-have-been - or the Commodore - from making any rash decisions. 15[23:21] The Commodore is still in the control room, though you wouldn't know it from how silent she's been. You'd think, like Caxi, she lost her voice. [23:21] 10By this point Daizo's looking around this marvel of the ancients with absolute disgust. "I'm going to go get some fresh air. And we can send to the ship for a few more crew to carry these wounded men aboard. There's no help for them here." [23:22] "…Commodore?" [23:22] 14Piu: "For now, then, we're logging out, operator. But we will be around, and will tend to the wounded men who have defended you these years. It will be...much less lonely around here, now." 15[23:23] Mionzi: "Acknowledged." 15[23:24] Ratel: "...make it so." [23:24] 07Dryas is already preparing for an argument: "Even if we fill the hold with the most puissant weapons and treasures, this place is too dangerous to just forget about. What would happen if someone like Nn Tloc learned of its existence? It would be a disaster for all the West!" [23:24] 10To Caxi, Daizo makes a brief chopping gesture. If it were up to me, I'd shut this all down. Well, I already tried, but you know. 15[23:26] Caxi makes a sort of flower-opening gesture with her hands. It's not safe here, but venting all this accumulated essence would be catastrophic to wherever it ended up. 15[23:28] Ratel: "We can talk about it outside." 15[23:29] She looks like she's ready to go. Are Sadako and Zhangyu bringing the ancient Shogunate warriors along with? [23:32] 07Dryas runs her fingers down the lines of the manifest, with Daizo's help if necessary - "There's a working Gunzosha unit here... plenty of supplies for the ship... a fortune of scrap, at least some of it in jade. We should fill the hold. And bring these venerable geezers, too." 07She says 'geezers' with a measure of respect. 15[23:35] It's gonna take a team of guys to bring the gunzosha armor onboard, unless someone gets in and drives it. [23:35] 10Daizo: "I don't know if we can properly treat Essence poisoning this advanced, but if anyone can do it…" [23:43] 14Once outside: "I guess that settles that." [23:43] "She can wield the power of the Shogunate manses. For all intents and purposes, Garnet is Her Imperial Majesty." [23:44] "She can, except for that business with the eighty-six. And if she can is a different matter to if she will." 07Dryas keeps skimming the manifest line by line. "There's a lot here. And we should remember there was rumors of crop failures and food shortages. Weapons, scrap, food." 15[23:44] Sadako: "I knew the religious story was bullshit. But I figured she was just lying to hide some really fucked up scars or something. Like half her face was melted with acid or whatever." 15[23:45] She scrunches her face with something beyond disappointment. "Where's Seiri?" [23:46] 14Teasingly rather than defensively: "Look, I've spent a lot of time seeding the ship with bullshit stories about her origins, not just the religious one." 15[23:46] Sadako: "The religious one was the one she told Seiri! If I'd known she was super hot I wouldn't have-- whatever. Where'd they go?" [23:47] 14...Where DID they go? 15[23:47] They're not outside the manse, they're not at the barracks, and they're not on the ship. So they're somewhere else. 15[23:47] Seems safe to assume they're still on the island, though. [23:48] 14Well, Piu isn't about to go play chaperone or hall monitor. Not until they've been gone for a couple hours, at least. [23:48] 10Daizo: "Wherever they are, we'll find them together. Unless something's gone wrong. Piu, you want to try and spot them from the rooftops?" 15[23:48] Does she stop Sadako when she goes off, very obviously to do exactly that? [23:49] 10Ah, and Daizo's just put his foot in it. Agh. [23:51] 14Piu smirks, but follows. [23:52] 07Dryas grimaces at the dried blood caking on her - now ruined - riding tunic. "I need a gang of men and a change of clothes. Does anyone else need anything -from- the ship?" 15[23:54] Sadako to Piu: "You go high, I'll go low." [23:54] 10It's probably best not to chase after them just now. "After all that? Bring back some wine. I could use a drink." 10Ah, what would the Daizo of just half a year ago say to him now. [23:55] 4Piu: "Sounds good!" 15[23:55] How would his answer change when he saw Caxi signal her strong approval? [23:56] "Get a head start," 07Dryas says, unbuckling one of her saddlebags and tossing it to him. [23:58] 10Ah, who cares what thet dweeb thought anyway. "Thanks!" 10He'll pass the bottle around but not before downing half of it in a gulp. 15[23:58] Caxi makes a gimme gesture that you don't need a magical subvocal bond to interpret. [23:58] 07Dryas spurs Diamond Weapon back to the Defiance. 15[00:00] Piu sees it first from above - near the island's western extremity, the last place to feel the touch of the setting sun. An open area, paved with large square blank tiles, and a huge, dark jade brazier. Two figures kneel there in the dark. [00:00] 10Damn right. Here's to unexpected treasures. [00:00] 4Piu will call down to Sadako: "I'd leave them be~" [00:00] "The empress isn't gonna steal your girlfriend." 15[00:01] Sadako scoffs... but very quietly. And she doesn't pursue. [00:02] 4To get her mind on something else: "So how was your first away mission?" 15[00:04] Sadako: "It was sick! I was worried we were going to sneak past all the danger but then fwoosh everything goes red and there's all this clanking and the sky is screaming. Is this what you guys do all the time?" [00:05] 4Piu: "Hehe! Yeah. I mean I got to do the sneaking this time, but not the time we beat up a giant spider in the basement of Garnet's prison." 15[00:05] Sadako: "Okay so." 15[00:05] "If she's the Empress - like, your Empress, not just some random Threshold despot... why was she in prison?" 15[00:06] At the Defiance, Dryas finds that the order to go out and pick stuff up has been belayed... by the Chief Petty Officer. [00:07] 4Piu: "Well, some people don't like the Empress very much. And that can manifest in some weird ways...especially if she's the only one who can work all the big superweapons." 15[00:07] Sadako: "But she can't! The lady in the castle didn't let her do anything except know what a fuckup she is." 15[00:08] "Everything else got, whatever, 86'd." [00:08] "Say you wanted to still do that, but couldn't do it yourself. If you could find a way to zap her memory, make her powerless and more compliant -- but still able to operate the Realm Defense Grid -- maybe you end up here." [00:08] 4Piu: "Yeah, sounds like Heaven fucked that plan all the way up." [00:09] 07Dryas clambers up whatever gangplank the ratings have managed to assemble so far, leaving Diamond Weapon waiting patiently at the quay. Where is Samperson? 15[00:09] Sadako: "It seems like nobody is any good at their jobs. Except you guys." 15[00:09] "Maybe you should be Empress. Or Dryas. Dryas'd like that." 15[00:10] Belatedly: "Lady Dryas. I'm supposed to say Lady Dryas." [00:11] "Maybe nobody should be Empress. Maybe it's too big a job." 4Piu shrugs. "I don't think Garnet is gonna be able to just return to the Blessed Isle and assume the throne, even if she wanted to. I think maybe the world has moved on from need for a Scarlet Empress." [00:11] "And I've yet to see any indication she wants to!" 15[00:11] Sadako: "Why not just leave her here, then?" 15[00:12] As they pass the wineskin back and forth, Caxi wants to know what Daizo makes of Mionzi. 15[00:12] Samperson is in the hold, seeing to the disposition of the rations they already picked up. [00:13] 4Piu: "Politically speaking, because she still has value. We were sent to find an admiral who was searching for the Empress, and that was supposed to be a fool's errand -- only we've found an Empress, and the admiral's still out there somewhere. And on a personal level, leaving her here would be rude and mean." [00:13] 4Piu: "We have a general policy of not leaving people places against their wishes. It's why you're on the crew!" 15[00:14] Sadako: "Yeah but I *like* it here. Garnet just seems to get more unhappy every time she moves from one room to the next." [00:16] "Chief Petty Officer," 07she observes as she makes her way through the hold. "Why have we stopped taking on new supplies?" 15[00:17] In the distance, Piu marks Seiri - identifiable even at a distance, despite being a similar height as Xia Lan, because she's not wearing a buff jacket - lean forward on her knees and press her forehead to the ground. Then Xia Lan does the same, after a pause. [00:17] 4Piu: "Well, if she wishes to stay, we'll help her out. Frankly, this place is too valuable to completely abandon." [00:17] 4Interesting. 15[00:17] Samperson looks up from a ledger. "Right. I just want the Commodore to sign off on leaving useful supplies behind to back the hold with booty." [00:17] 6Thinkinkg about stuff, regarding that. 15[00:18] *pack the hold 15[00:25] When Seiri and Xia Lan both settle back into a kneeling position, Xia Lan takes Seiri up in a hug, and buries her head in Seiri's shoulder. [00:25] 6...babies... [00:25] 07Dryas: "Well, what do you feel is an appropriate balance of provisions to prizes, then?" [00:26] 4Piu sighs. "I guess this is, in a sense, better than having to deal with an actual world-conquerer astride Creation." 15[00:27] Sadako: "I disagree." 15[00:27] "At least then Seiri would be scared of her." 15[00:27] "Instead of now, when she just should be." [00:28] 6Oh, hush. 15[00:32] Samperson speaks with the manner of someone choosing his words very carefully. "I would say that when we're an uncertain amount of time away from a proper port, and this place takes days to get to, everything we take on that *isn't* food is a liability. My concern is the crew - not just their survival, but their morale. Every day on short rations feels like a week when you know what 15[00:32] they had to make room for." [00:38] 6That is. Upsetting. And Zhangyu does not care for it, at all. [00:41] "You're not wrong, you're not wrong at all," 07Dryas concedes. "But at the same time, a sailor who knows he's got a full prize-trunk under his hammock is also a well-motivated one." [00:43] 4Piu: "Difficult to be scared of anyone when you defeat them my merely walking a brisk 26 yalms away." 15[00:43] Samperson: "One way to forestall bad blood would be to commit to sharing the wealth. Freight is the mother of wages, but the promise of a commission for the treasure... that would be worth a lot. So to speak." 15[00:44] Sadako: "Yeah, sure, let's wait while for Seiri to walk *away* from someone who hurts her." 15[00:44] *wait a while [00:44] 6Not incorrect. But maybe wait a second - or, actually, she is right to say it. 15[00:44] Sadako groans. "I shouldn't be bitching. She just found out she killed a lot of people." [00:45] 6Don't cuss. Zhangyu can say that. 15[00:45] It's a shame Sadako can't read the narration. [00:45] 6Look. 15[00:46] Samperson adds, "Especially in a situation where loyalty is at a premium." [00:48] 4Still pleasantly: "I garroted the last woman who hurt her and intentionally botched it so she died choking on her own blood. And that was before Seiri had you. I think we'll manage. I also think she'd resent us having this conversation! But that's why we won't tell her about it." [00:48] "Come with me for a moment, will you?" 07As if she was foolish enough to negotiate something like that in front of the crew. Dryas ducks up towards the middeck, towards her own cabin. 15[00:48] Samperson follows obediently. [00:48] 4Haha, he's gonna take this the wrnog way. Or the right one? Maybe Dryas wants to see what she's been missing! [00:49] *4wrong [00:49] 6Hey, I heard that Sublime song once. [00:54] 07Dryas invites him in before rummaging through one of her trunks for a moment. "I am sure the sailors would be well-motivated by a promise of plunder to bring to their sweethearts," 07she observes - before glancing back at him. 15[00:56] Sadako sighs in response, but she doesn't carry the thought forward. [00:57] 6Thinking_face. 15[01:05] Samperson smiles. "Sailors don't have sweethearts. They chase tail in every port in Creation." 15[01:06] Never has Cynis Dryas so fully apprehended the extent to which a man can be full of shit. [01:09] 07Well, well, well. "Oh, of course. In that case, I must ask you to avert your eyes for a moment, in fairness to all the women of Creation." 07She turns her back to him and wriggles out of her tunic, casting it aside.  15[01:09] Samperson is very respectful. [01:15] 07She selects a more casual robe from the trunk and slips it over her shoulder. "Although, I'm sure their families have something to say about those scoundrels." 15[01:15] Samperson: "That part tends not to make it into the letters home." 15[01:17] Samperson: "But yeah, work it out with the Commodore. I've made my position known to her." 15[01:17] "Anything else, Lady Dryas?" [01:17] 07Dryas, closing the robe: "That will be all for now, Chief Petty Officer." 15[01:18] A bit ruefully: "Ma'am." He's gone. 15[01:19] NEXT TIME: Sworn to the sword