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+--- Thread: Meeting on the Arch (/showthread.php?tid=163727)
Meeting on the Arch - Hussaini - 08-14-2018
A lone, black-tinted Raven's Talon emerged from Tohoku's nebulae, disturbing the thick clouds on its exit. It maneuvered around a pocket of space debris, slowed its engines and turned its nose towards the imposing and mysterious Heaven's Gate. Approaching the immediate perimeter, the Arch's defense turrets came alive and followed its every movement. The ship's IFF was apparently semi-malfunctioning, switching between various indeterminate identifiers. The delicate sensors from the station could probably tell that the ship has gone through several stages of intense hybridization; Much of its internal circuitry apparently replaced by living nomadic matter. It stopped dead in its tracks as if by some unseen force, and transmitted its codes. Commune-Silver-0 -- Azhi-Dahaka; Named so for the many-headed dragon of persian myth, it seemed its owner wanted the ship to live up to its namesake.
Several seconds passed, its codes were accepted, its request processed - the docking hatch opened and seemed to almost dare it to enter. It would accept the invitation and slide right in, disappearing into the long tunnel.
It set on the landing pad rather smoothly, the anti-gravitational field embracing and carrying the ship to its designated location. It rested there, for a few moments, as all systems cooled and returned to nominal; Then it hissed compressed air through the seams, and its top opened upwards. It's pilot emerged quickly after; Dressed in a glossy-looking pilot's suit, he removed his helmet and chucked it back inside. He stood next to the fighter, turning his head slowly to take up the scene.
That the Arch was impressive, would be a gross understatement. The architecture, the technology, the weaving of the old and the new; The human and alien. All was in perfect balance. Owing to his condition, he could even feel and perceive glimpses of historical events that occurred here in ages past, and were occurring as he stood there. An involuntary, satisfied smirk emerged on his face for a moment. There was much to take in; But he wasn't here for sightseeing.
He navigated to the chamber designated for the meeting, and entered inside with a steady step.
Several seconds passed, its codes were accepted, its request processed - the docking hatch opened and seemed to almost dare it to enter. It would accept the invitation and slide right in, disappearing into the long tunnel.
It set on the landing pad rather smoothly, the anti-gravitational field embracing and carrying the ship to its designated location. It rested there, for a few moments, as all systems cooled and returned to nominal; Then it hissed compressed air through the seams, and its top opened upwards. It's pilot emerged quickly after; Dressed in a glossy-looking pilot's suit, he removed his helmet and chucked it back inside. He stood next to the fighter, turning his head slowly to take up the scene.
That the Arch was impressive, would be a gross understatement. The architecture, the technology, the weaving of the old and the new; The human and alien. All was in perfect balance. Owing to his condition, he could even feel and perceive glimpses of historical events that occurred here in ages past, and were occurring as he stood there. An involuntary, satisfied smirk emerged on his face for a moment. There was much to take in; But he wasn't here for sightseeing.
He navigated to the chamber designated for the meeting, and entered inside with a steady step.
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Muramasa - 08-15-2018
Muramasa sat inside Tekagi's meeting chamber, the same one that witnessed the tragic event where the Knight of the Lone Star and Ozu the Blood Dragon stormed the room in order to steal the Proteus Tome.
The meeting room was swiftly rebuilt after the Heaven's Gate was reclaimed by the Nomad thralls but until the present date, it saw little use. During his brief stays in the Arch before departing to the opposite corner of Sirius, Muramasa would spend the time thinking on a proper replacement for the adamant case containing the Tome and that once gave the room a chilling fashion, however the table was still devoid of any ornament matching the beauty of the stolen treasure. His chin rested on his clasped hands while immersed in a trance where he isolated himself from both the surrounding enviroment and the Mindshare he was part of. Silence, complete silence. His light had vanished for a moment.
The doors closed behind the visitor and Muramasa came back to the world of lights and living beings. He casted a smile and got up from his seat. "I can remember the several times we scheduled a meeting here, but never happened. I believe this is a lucky chance, hah?" A soft chuckle followed. He stood next to another seat, inviting the newcomer to sit there.
"It's alright, the delay in the visit gave us enough time to add several things to this place. You see, armored glass -infused with Azurite!- between us and the Pillar of Light, new seats, table made of the finest wood and... oh, yes, no more sleeping gas. The human-dubbed Nomad bacteria find these ventilation ducts very comfortable." Muramasa's tone sounded proud as he explained the changes performed during the room's rebuilding. "I'm yet to know if the whole room is explosion-proof, but the safety measures have drastically improved since... the last time." His cynical tone became stern at the end of the sentence, shaking his head and then gesturing at the visitor to sit down. "Oh please, take a seat, I'm sure there's plenty of talk and little to listen about this place."
"First and foremost, allow me to extend our congratulations on the deliveries the Commune has made. The final result will impress you, trust me. Now, now... Let me listen to you, I've witnessed plenty of iterations... how did you say it, paradigm shifts in the Commune until now. What has been going on? Is it a warlord who finally visited us?"
The meeting room was swiftly rebuilt after the Heaven's Gate was reclaimed by the Nomad thralls but until the present date, it saw little use. During his brief stays in the Arch before departing to the opposite corner of Sirius, Muramasa would spend the time thinking on a proper replacement for the adamant case containing the Tome and that once gave the room a chilling fashion, however the table was still devoid of any ornament matching the beauty of the stolen treasure. His chin rested on his clasped hands while immersed in a trance where he isolated himself from both the surrounding enviroment and the Mindshare he was part of. Silence, complete silence. His light had vanished for a moment.
The doors closed behind the visitor and Muramasa came back to the world of lights and living beings. He casted a smile and got up from his seat. "I can remember the several times we scheduled a meeting here, but never happened. I believe this is a lucky chance, hah?" A soft chuckle followed. He stood next to another seat, inviting the newcomer to sit there.
"It's alright, the delay in the visit gave us enough time to add several things to this place. You see, armored glass -infused with Azurite!- between us and the Pillar of Light, new seats, table made of the finest wood and... oh, yes, no more sleeping gas. The human-dubbed Nomad bacteria find these ventilation ducts very comfortable." Muramasa's tone sounded proud as he explained the changes performed during the room's rebuilding. "I'm yet to know if the whole room is explosion-proof, but the safety measures have drastically improved since... the last time." His cynical tone became stern at the end of the sentence, shaking his head and then gesturing at the visitor to sit down. "Oh please, take a seat, I'm sure there's plenty of talk and little to listen about this place."
"First and foremost, allow me to extend our congratulations on the deliveries the Commune has made. The final result will impress you, trust me. Now, now... Let me listen to you, I've witnessed plenty of iterations... how did you say it, paradigm shifts in the Commune until now. What has been going on? Is it a warlord who finally visited us?"
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Hussaini - 08-15-2018
Entering the chamber, Hussaini expected to be greeted by a veritable shining sun of an elder mindnode. But the absence of any and all presence caught him off guard. Even more so when it suddenly reappeared. His eyes darted to the source of this sudden lightswitch activity; and followed Muramasa keenly as he got up from his seat. Hearing the first line from him, however, managed to break him out of this flight-or-fight response, and put him at ease. A joke to start it off. He smiled and turned his eyes away from his host; Eyeing his surroundings while walking around steadily in no particular direction. To an untrained eye, it would seem he wasn't even listening to him, but his eyes darted from place to place, object to object, to the exact ones that Muramasa was simultaneously describing. He wouldn't interrupt his monologue.
He managed to make his way to the seat offered in a very roundabout way just as Muramasa was finishing his speech. Sitting down, he made himself comfortable and finally looked at his host with his glassy, empty-looking eyes. "I wouldn't call myself a warlord, no." His face contorted into a smile. "I'm just someone who does everything, and anything, in his power to succeed." At this proximity, Muramasa could definitely tell he was another infectee, but his connection was not coming through. His proverbial radio was tuned into a similar, but different frequency. "Much like you...I'd imagine."
He assumed a more natural and easy-going body language as he continued. "It's been our distinct pleasure to provide assistance, as always. I'm sure the quality of the materials delivered won't disappoint you."
He managed to make his way to the seat offered in a very roundabout way just as Muramasa was finishing his speech. Sitting down, he made himself comfortable and finally looked at his host with his glassy, empty-looking eyes. "I wouldn't call myself a warlord, no." His face contorted into a smile. "I'm just someone who does everything, and anything, in his power to succeed." At this proximity, Muramasa could definitely tell he was another infectee, but his connection was not coming through. His proverbial radio was tuned into a similar, but different frequency. "Much like you...I'd imagine."
He assumed a more natural and easy-going body language as he continued. "It's been our distinct pleasure to provide assistance, as always. I'm sure the quality of the materials delivered won't disappoint you."
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Muramasa - 08-15-2018
"I must disagree with you, I'm not -just somebody-. And I'm inclined to believe that you can describe yourself with a bit more of pride in your words. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, I'd imagine." His sight locked on the visitor by the end of the sentence, stressing his expectation on guests being as straight-forward as possible.
"Guess there isn't much room to screw it up with the quality of the delivered cargo, perhaps the alloys aren't as exquisite as the ones used by Samura but... We will patch everything up at Altair. Ever heard of the Tundra? You catch my drift." He rested an elbow on the table, turning on his seat toward the visitor.
"So, what's the Commune's current plans and in which way shall we return the favor?"
"Guess there isn't much room to screw it up with the quality of the delivered cargo, perhaps the alloys aren't as exquisite as the ones used by Samura but... We will patch everything up at Altair. Ever heard of the Tundra? You catch my drift." He rested an elbow on the table, turning on his seat toward the visitor.
"So, what's the Commune's current plans and in which way shall we return the favor?"
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Hussaini - 08-16-2018
"Pride can be dangerous." He nodded to his host's remarks. He seemed to value the demarcation of expected attitude straight away. "But I do enjoy the danger, I won't lie."
"Let me be clear and transparent from here on out. We still stand behind the same ideals as before; With the added differential of taking bold steps to realize them." His eyes drifted from side to side as he gathered and consolidated information from his mind. "We've been hard at work on developing a personalized mindshare analogue; The Neural Gestalt Matrix. An infrastructure facilitated by nanite implanted individuals patched into a central node network. Courtesy of technologies provided by elder K'hara mindnodes in the past. A project that has been, without doubt, very successful. Yet, even this, is a simple stepping stone for things to come."
He blinked once. "It has led, among other things, to establishing intermediary communication between the Collective of Gammu and the Vagrant Hive; Causing a nascent snowball effect in the Omicrons, which will in time threaten to engulf the human settlements in disarray."
"On other theaters, we've been resuming our practice of assaulting targets of opportunity, recruiting spies and spreading general misinformation to the best of our current capacity. Notably, we've coordinated an operation with Paul Richter's operative cells to disable the Newcastle gate in Bretonia through thermonuclear means, offering more or less free reign against targets of interest in the system. This will commence as soon as favorable conditions present themselves."
He paused as he took a breath. "It's important to mention that the Gestalt has likewise shifted the decision-making process from one as many, to many as one. The decision of the collective consciousness has led us to abandon Malta for the unforeseen future. Which leads me to the manner in which you could assist us."
"We've worked on constructing another holdout for us for quite some time now. But circumstances tend to delay such plans, as you are well aware. In the meantime, we find that we are scarcely in possession of truly safe havens to restock and resupply our agents' vessels. Similarly, the capital vessels we've acquired over the years will eventually need a drydock for maintenance. In the eventuality that we may be denied access to Altair's facilities, we would have little other option but to turn to you."
"Stating the obvious, but you are in need of suppliers who can walk among the sheep undisturbed. None of this need be simple trading of favors. We can be mutually beneficial to each other in ways yet unexplored." His demeanor changed slightly as he dropped pretense of humanity, his face took on a degree of uncommon honesty. A thin film of nictating membrane quickly slid over his eyes and receded back in, as he blinked like some sort of reptile. He looked down and smiled as he remembered a personal request.
"But there is one favor; At risk of sounding greedy. Somewhat related but entirely capricious. You may have noticed my vessel, a simple mass-produced banality, made special only through the blessings of the Light. The changes it underwent are considerable, but I feel there is something holding it back. A higher yield power cell would fix this and allow it to reach a form that could otherwise be impossible..."
"Let me be clear and transparent from here on out. We still stand behind the same ideals as before; With the added differential of taking bold steps to realize them." His eyes drifted from side to side as he gathered and consolidated information from his mind. "We've been hard at work on developing a personalized mindshare analogue; The Neural Gestalt Matrix. An infrastructure facilitated by nanite implanted individuals patched into a central node network. Courtesy of technologies provided by elder K'hara mindnodes in the past. A project that has been, without doubt, very successful. Yet, even this, is a simple stepping stone for things to come."
He blinked once. "It has led, among other things, to establishing intermediary communication between the Collective of Gammu and the Vagrant Hive; Causing a nascent snowball effect in the Omicrons, which will in time threaten to engulf the human settlements in disarray."
"On other theaters, we've been resuming our practice of assaulting targets of opportunity, recruiting spies and spreading general misinformation to the best of our current capacity. Notably, we've coordinated an operation with Paul Richter's operative cells to disable the Newcastle gate in Bretonia through thermonuclear means, offering more or less free reign against targets of interest in the system. This will commence as soon as favorable conditions present themselves."
He paused as he took a breath. "It's important to mention that the Gestalt has likewise shifted the decision-making process from one as many, to many as one. The decision of the collective consciousness has led us to abandon Malta for the unforeseen future. Which leads me to the manner in which you could assist us."
"We've worked on constructing another holdout for us for quite some time now. But circumstances tend to delay such plans, as you are well aware. In the meantime, we find that we are scarcely in possession of truly safe havens to restock and resupply our agents' vessels. Similarly, the capital vessels we've acquired over the years will eventually need a drydock for maintenance. In the eventuality that we may be denied access to Altair's facilities, we would have little other option but to turn to you."
"Stating the obvious, but you are in need of suppliers who can walk among the sheep undisturbed. None of this need be simple trading of favors. We can be mutually beneficial to each other in ways yet unexplored." His demeanor changed slightly as he dropped pretense of humanity, his face took on a degree of uncommon honesty. A thin film of nictating membrane quickly slid over his eyes and receded back in, as he blinked like some sort of reptile. He looked down and smiled as he remembered a personal request.
"But there is one favor; At risk of sounding greedy. Somewhat related but entirely capricious. You may have noticed my vessel, a simple mass-produced banality, made special only through the blessings of the Light. The changes it underwent are considerable, but I feel there is something holding it back. A higher yield power cell would fix this and allow it to reach a form that could otherwise be impossible..."
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Muramasa - 08-22-2018
Muramasa listened attentively while he maintained a light smirk and scanned the physical features of the hybrid guest. It was never too late to learn about the iterations that followed Taurvi. "I came up with an use for your nanites if I was to meet these machines from Gammu. Like, grab the nanites, grab some wires, stir the mix a little and throw it on the machine's face. They could be easily assimilated that way, maybe. Or maybe it turns out to be a huge disaster and you create a new type of rampant AI. I'll offer you another power cell if you try." The idea of weaponizing any resource and asset in Muramasa's reach usually sparked a warmth light within him, resulting in excitement in his tone while always retaining his cynical speech.
"But hold on for a second, you mentioned something about hm, being denied access to Altair, eventually. There must be an explanation for such fear." Muramasa rested his chin on hand, eagerly waiting for a response.
"But hold on for a second, you mentioned something about hm, being denied access to Altair, eventually. There must be an explanation for such fear." Muramasa rested his chin on hand, eagerly waiting for a response.
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Hussaini - 08-29-2018
"I don't think the AI would be terribly pleased with that development..." He stated bluntly. He didn't particularly like them, but circumstances forced him to comply with cooperation with the cold, dead machines. Worst of all, he could never sense what they thought, the discomfort of that thought registered on his face for a split second. "Especially since they've proven to be most -eager- to help with whatever we, or the Vagrant hive has been doing in the Omicron cluster. Sensing unique opportunity, no doubt."
"What I could offer you, however, is a smaller, portable effigy node - delivered here, and patched into our internal network." His eyes flashed briefly. "It would allow for far easier communication. And it would offer you insight into our internal workings."
He shifted his weight, while pondering the question about Altair. "Our courting of favor with the Vagrant hive, for once. This silent rift threatens to undermine the unity of Light, and our actions have probably risen some concern in the mindshare. Likewise, it is no secret that our relationship with the Oracles has grown cold in recent times. An alignment of those two circumstances, might prove unfavorable to any request we might pass along."
"I am not pessimistic, by any means. But I am prepared for any eventuality, considering all the variables."
"What I could offer you, however, is a smaller, portable effigy node - delivered here, and patched into our internal network." His eyes flashed briefly. "It would allow for far easier communication. And it would offer you insight into our internal workings."
He shifted his weight, while pondering the question about Altair. "Our courting of favor with the Vagrant hive, for once. This silent rift threatens to undermine the unity of Light, and our actions have probably risen some concern in the mindshare. Likewise, it is no secret that our relationship with the Oracles has grown cold in recent times. An alignment of those two circumstances, might prove unfavorable to any request we might pass along."
"I am not pessimistic, by any means. But I am prepared for any eventuality, considering all the variables."
RE: Meeting on the Arch - Muramasa - 10-08-2018
"Fair enough, as long as we don't have to step in and pull the plug ourselves because the machines decide to suddenly, you know, recompile themselves." He let a soft chuckle out.
"And sure, feel free to send one of your communication nodes our way. I particularly enjoy tinkering with eveyr toy I stumble upon." What a generous offering, he thought.
But his concern laid on the question related to Altair. He raised his eyebrows as his guest replied, addressing the already existing divergence within the mindshare. "It's amazing, isn't it? Until not so long ago the collective believed that enthralling humans wouldn't provoke any kind of side-effects." He got up from his seat, turning his back at the guest as he now stared at the pillar of Light. "But even I, myself, am beginning to understand that a human mind is a whole universe on its own. But you know, I'm not going to start a discussion about this. I believe we can settle this, I've got a tight agenda you know. You will have one of our banalities in form of power cell delivered, and I'll eagerly await news related to your incoming attack in Bretonian space. Feel free to refuel here should the need arise." He turned to the guest, flashing his ever-present smile.
"And sure, feel free to send one of your communication nodes our way. I particularly enjoy tinkering with eveyr toy I stumble upon." What a generous offering, he thought.
But his concern laid on the question related to Altair. He raised his eyebrows as his guest replied, addressing the already existing divergence within the mindshare. "It's amazing, isn't it? Until not so long ago the collective believed that enthralling humans wouldn't provoke any kind of side-effects." He got up from his seat, turning his back at the guest as he now stared at the pillar of Light. "But even I, myself, am beginning to understand that a human mind is a whole universe on its own. But you know, I'm not going to start a discussion about this. I believe we can settle this, I've got a tight agenda you know. You will have one of our banalities in form of power cell delivered, and I'll eagerly await news related to your incoming attack in Bretonian space. Feel free to refuel here should the need arise." He turned to the guest, flashing his ever-present smile.