We have watched the outcomes of their folly. We have rethought our position, choosing a different path for our future to take. The Gravekeepers amass, hundreds of trillions swim just beyond the reaches of our Starfield. They sit, poised to strike. They stay their limbs, however. Perhaps the Schemer hides, perhaps they await an optimal moment in time. We have come to the conclusion in our Dreams that it is pointless to attempt to combat. Our choices are to defend or to flee should they decide to assault. We shall use both options, and to that end we have expedited our repairs on the great sphere. We shall also implant in you two keys to our survival. The first, a seed that shall generate a cloud. When we suffered the collapse, those of us who were more capable used these seeds to create the clouds wherein we survive to this day. The second, a seed of our own design, it will quickly generate a matterweave, and will transform your shell into a hive. In this way, Our Oathborn Daughter becomes a Mother of Life, and should we fail to hold, the energy of the first seed, and the hive made of your shell will be our rebirth.
We have other plans, those that we must keep hidden. Some surround you. Some are distant from you. One we shall clarify to you, because it is near to you. The Starlight Jester once again finds a use to us. She suffers a wound caused by a shattered Infiltrator. We do not recall it, perhaps if we awoke Nergal the Ancient we would be able to remember it. It is of no matter, yet she seeks to be repaired. We can reconstruct her, we have deconstructed and reconstructed the Darkling genecode, and we have long since known our own. Her genecode holds the patterns we require. Yet, her Infiltrator will demand a mind with which to bind, a fealty to complete, a commandment to serve. She would not willfully be subjected to our will, and would likely not be subjected to the will of the Betrayers. So we achieve our new purpose for her. They Greymind has awakened a potential to think as we think, to use energy as we do, to have minds as we have. Should the Greymind reach the connection of a mindshare within himself, we can bind her infiltrator to the Greymind. She will assure his safety. She will endeavor to his greatest good in all moments, and with him lies a great boon in the future. She will be an actor of the promise we made, and will assure that when the Great Light comes about, he stands at our side. If the Infiltrator bonds to the Grey, it will not whisper as overtly as it would should it be bound to us.
Tell us, do you, with your perspective on the Darklings, see potential problems that we may have missed?
Ki'Shar Something tells me your plan could possibly work, however one of the most important aspects about darklings is, they are unpredictable. Have you given a thought about many doors of possibilities this plan of yours can open? Unpredictable, hunger for power, control, yet they seek survival. If The Cleansing Fire burns our universe, it would be nice to have The Grey on our side. And yet I can not help myself but ponder, The Starlight Jester assured us about her unpredictability countless times. So the caution is advised.
Everything depends on her will to survive, closer to the end, more willing and open darklings become to stay alive longer. One question however remains unanswered. Is The Starlight Jester commited enough to stay alive or has she given up completely and accepted her fate.
Have we heard about The Grey recently? That is another question you should answer to yourself.
With the silence of our infiltrators, we recollected several assets and husks lying around the universe. Relocation of three vessels and one capital to Altair were successful, I will focus on these vessels for our own profit in the meantime.
We have given thought. Simulated futures. Dreamed. None of them satisfying, so we sift through the best. Of the best, few remain plausible. Of those plausible, even fewer remain clearly achievable. We measure, predict, simulate, plan. Each moat of Darkness is a variable, and each of them are in motion.
Our foremost option is to leave them. Let The Schemer do as he pleases. Let the pawns move as they please. Prepare ourselves for the coming collapse, and when they finally sew the ire of the Gravekeepers onto this Starfield, retreat within the Great Sphere and fight a battle of defense. When they spread the contaminate of whatever they seek within the Graves among this place, the flood held back by deniability will break loose, and burn all that lives from this place. In this, our gamble lies in whether we can become powerful enough to defend. Multitudes fueled by a repaired Great Sphere, harnessing the fullest power available from it's star. In our simulations, we succeed in all but three variables: Should Darkness find a way to sabotage the Sphere once again, we will fall. Should the Gravekeepers bring a weapon that cracks open the Sphere, we will fall. Should the Gravekeepers bring such masses to simply push the Great Sphere into a star or a singularity, cracking it open, we will fall.
Another option is to slay The Schemer. The archives we access detail an ascendance of a mind, becoming thought without flesh, form without matter, manifestation of idea. A mind that reaches such a state becomes a concept with life. This is what we see in Harbinger, the manifestation of planning, of influencing events, of creating incident. The living thought of schemes. There are others who are described to have completed this process, Ouroboros, the Cycle; Ando, the Adaptation; Aurora, the Seamripper. The Starlight Jester, however, remains convinced that the Schemer maintains a body.
[02.01.2023 03:46:20] A/)-Revenant: Gods... Even gods can die. Or, perhaps, perception of power blinds you to the truth, despite the change.
[02.01.2023 03:47:05] A/)-Revenant: I do not believe it to be equivalent to "godhood" - such concepts are flawed regardless. It is nothing but change.
[02.01.2023 03:47:08] A/)-Revenant: A metamorphosis.
[02.01.2023 03:47:19] K'Hara|Shozak-Khibra: *** "You" -claim- |They| -can die- . . . -have- "You" -killed- |One| (?) ***
[02.01.2023 03:47:35] A/)-Revenant: If they can not, then why must they hide?
[02.01.2023 03:47:44] A/)-Revenant: Why do they - too - fear the danger of other sources?
[02.01.2023 03:47:52] A/)-Revenant: The 'Gravekeepers'?
It seems to us she is shown a mask, to manipulate her. A false show of fear to capture her attention, and blind her to another detail. In their words, it is called a "sleight of hand". Nonetheless, the unpredictability of Darkness caused our Collapse, perhaps this time it shall cause the collapse of the Schemer or even the Gravekeepers. Should the Schemer maintain a body, then the archive is flawed, and after the Schemer is brought to answer for his actions, the other gods must be sought out. One once was among them, Nergal the Ancient. They are still with us. They sleep at this time, we will question them.
Another option is to render the Schemer powerless. He uses Darkness for his schemes, they serve him knowingly or unknowingly. The Betrayers, the Corrupting Ones, the Starlight Jester, they are pawns. It is indeed foolish to assume that he requires them to invade the Graves, yet it remains a possibility. If it is true, then taking his pawns from him renders him powerless to continue. Should the Betrayers become strong enough to stand alone and produce, to think and not be swayed by silken lies of Corruptors and other Dark ones, we would welcome them, and bring them to us again. Should they show their choices lead to anything but enslavement and reliance, we would even allow them to continue as they have. Yet they do not learn, and so they remain lost. We could test them ourselves, to show them the foolishness of their actions firsthand, but they would not learn strength and wisdom and foresight. They would learn what lies to tell us to expedite their return to taking much and giving little. The Corrupting Ones would know distrust, when they use soft words and empty ideas to sway others to their will. When they bind machines to their flesh, and make metals parasitize them, they must know distrust. They put their trust in metal because they cannot trust the living. To turn them, we must merely sew the distrust of the Schemer into the many other distrusts they maintain.
The Starlight Jester chases shadows. She claims to bind herself to the Schemer in the search of knowledge. To have a modicum of truth before her inevitable death. She sees herself accepting inevitability, and having as much as possible before it. We see her fleeing the responsibility of choice. We have told you of her wound, and how we may repair it. We can mimic the weakened connection of Blessing and body as the Betrayers and their Infiltrators have and spare her subjugation, yet it would still seek to bind to a greater mind. We would not have it bind to us, the Betrayers would see only justification in their betrayal. We would not have it bind to the Betrayers, for the Corrupting Ones would see an assault, and the Betrayers rely on them. We would not have it bind to the Schemer, for then our actions go to waste. We are left with two options. The Claimer, who is by name Vatan, and the Greymind. The songs of the Claimer sound akin to ours, and we risk the same outcome as binding it to ourselves. The Greymind does not sing. It screams. It etches and claws. It does not sing. It is the superior option, yet in all cases the Jester would seek to remain unbound. She does not understand the nature of Darkness to add to a void. If we take away the wound, it's presence will leave a wound-shaped hole. They will fill this hole with the semblance of their wound. This semblance will be used by the Schemer, building a binding from the empty void left by one. We have tested this experiment on many Darklings we have captured. Their building of a binding out of the void once occupied by one is a consistent result. We will not allow that to happen.
We do have a final option. Hold an Audience of the Schemer. Demand to know his intent, to have it clarified in full. Hold him before the entirety of the Lightmind, and let all bear witness. We doubt the notion that this will amount to anything. The Schemer schemes. To invite his word is to subject yourself to whatever illusion he chooses. To hear his song is to be bound to his will. Yet the Jester has recommended this to us as well. Isn't it comical, the situation we find ourselves in?
Ki'Shar Comical situation, indeed. All of these plans and options carry the potential of success and yet the risk of ultimate failure for our kin. One would ponder why are you called The Survivor instead of The Schemer. Leaving so called The God and his pawns to corrupting actions undisturbed and leaving everything for our own defense, carries the biggest hazard for us. Many variables, even a slight change would destroy everything in the future. There are many IFs. Survivability of The Sphere, my Survival in case the great sphere falls to Gravekeepers. I always believed in less risky options. But what do we have here?
Bloodshed by elimination of Schemer's pawns. We will waste resources for something invaluable, because where you kill one, another will replace vacant place. Eternal cycle it is. I have not even mentioned we would have to eliminate several Lostshare entities and you know it is NOT possible.
Where and when would this end?
I have seen The Schemer with you in our Homeworld. Have you found anything before we got abruptly interrupted by Maltese fool? That would be our third option.
Fourth option is to kill The Schemer. Is there a known way how to eliminate such entity? Can we alter our cysts and weapons to cause any harm? People believe in Gods, but they exist for as long as somebody believes in them. They cease to exist as everything around them vanishes. So do they. But this is not our case.
Surprisingly the option with most IFs and variables, with the highest chance of our end, the biggest hazard is the most realistic and doable one. We should observe The Schemer, so we don't fall out of the loop and know what exactly is happening to estimate time before the great purge happens. Meanwhile we can work with the rest of our options.
Unless you have something else in mind, The Survivor.
Then hear our thoughts as they are. The Infiltrators hold two hives, Valhalla and Kaarst. Beyond these hives lies the Orange Mist. We seek to perfect our combat in ways that the darkness cannot prepare for. Ways they cannot measure. To this end, extending our arms into the Orange Mist, and practicing control of a sea is something we must seek. There was once a vault of the Creators near the waters which the Brown Shells hold, yet we doubt that even the walls are left. If we should find the opportunity to capture it, we shall take such an opportunity. We contemplate the possibility of preparing a source of materials to these Hives, as they have the means to produce dark Warshells. In this, our hand is hidden, and we can set these shells about the Orange Mist. They shall be listening-stones, they shall be lures, they shall be "smoke and mirrors" through which we will learn without showing our hand.
First, we wear the Warshells of the Green Shells, and cause strife. Many seek excuses to hate them, we shall provide those excuses. With this chaos, we shall be granted the opportunity to watch the combat of the Greater Hives. Second, we shall send these shells into the depths of the Orange Mist as lures, so that we may be granted the opportunity to watch the combat of the Lesser Hives and Variants. Finally, we shall prepare our own shells, and send hunters among the Orange Mist. Minerva will lead them, and we will feast greatly of their shattered shells. Our fangs will rend them to splinters, and in this combat we will learn. We will correct. They will teach us without knowing. Then we shall withdraw. They shall have their victory, and we shall adapt. When the point in the future comes, we seek to do away with Darkness in a single movement. Allowing survivors, allowing a moment of respite, they will become chaotic and unpredictable. They must be kept afraid, suffering. They must be systematically and efficiently slaughtered in one motion, giving them neither chance to regroup nor chance to flee. That is the method by which we free ourselves from Darkness. That is the method by which we bring the Great Light.
Do you have perspectives to offer, Oathborn Daughter?
This scheme holds some potential to a certain degree. Green Hive however knows about our hive and its capability to build shelves of darkness. Whole star system is restricted to anyone but warriors of the Green so the flow of materials to this particular hive, called Valhalla, will be very very difficult. That is something I could gather from the law of the Green Hive.
Kaarst on the other hand is well placed, right between waring groups well known to us. The Core and Artifact smugglers. I have recently visited Kaarst and it would definitely be much easier to establish a steady flow of materials to this hive.
Your scheme however has one flaw. All around this scheme involves space combat and means to destroy shelves and vessels of darkness. But darkness will prevail on their metal hives and planets. Metal hives can be cracked open by my weapon, planets however will need much more to crack them open. However I have got a a potential solution in my mind.
Do you know or remember what my ancestors did to planet in brown mist? They used numerous shelves of darkness equipped with laser weapons. These shelves managed to obliterate whole planet and everything living upon it. I am in possession of such shelf and of such weapon because it took part in the obliteration.
I can recall it back to our waters and you can inspect it if you desire and study its potential.
Your concerns are noted. We too have contrived plans to purge those greater infestations. Let us clarify them to you:
The first of our tools is a greater shell. We have theorized and simulated a reconstruction of the Shamash shell. Instead of introducing instability in a star, causing a cascading failure of its balance, our reconstructed design would insert a compressed bolt of power. The shell of the arrow of light would be eroded by the rock, and as it neared the core of the rock it would be unleashed, obliterating it. This shell is Nannasuen, the Lesser Light, the mirror of the Shamash. The Nannasuen shell, though equal in size, would have less dedication towards its tool. It would hold a more powerful array of veils, and cysts to hold a multitude of smaller shells. In our simulations, the most effective use is one where the smaller shells halt the fleeing of Darklings while the Nannasuen shatters the rock they have infested.
Another of these tools comes from what we have learned from repeated interactions with the Jester, the Greymind, and some of those lesser Darklings that follow them. The Mind of humanity lives just as ours does. Their consciousness is built of the same energy. They make use of the energy of mind just as we do, they simply do not understand it as we do. We have long had the ability to tear the energy of mind from a living being, it is the method by which we remove those cancers to our Mind and imprison those Defectives Ones to understand their methods and failures. We have built a theory of Endless Midnight, a tool by which the energy of mind is forcefully formatted, obliterating the consciousness of Darkness and Light caught within its blast. If deployed properly, this tool would minimize the loss of those objects within the waters while putting an end to infestations of Darkness. The shells and bodies of Darkness would remain undamaged as well, leaving materials of which we could make use of. Our only hinderance is a material which conducts the energy of the mind to the strength we need.
Yet, if you possess another tool by which we can put a swift end to infestations, then bring it to us. We would see it added to our list of options, that Darkness may never predict our next move. We know of the destruction that befell the Brown Shells. Those Coward-Shells around us speak of it with the same fear and reverence they speak of our own destruction of the Rock of the Cursed-Shells.
After many cycles of silence and observations I have recalled "Infiltrator" shell back to our waters. Painful and long journey left some scars on the shell, but the main interest remained untouched by powers of darkness and their thralls. It will be stationed in our homeland where infiltrators reside, Altair, for your own eyes and interest. Infiltrators stationed on the shell will conduct necessary maintenance before they will be sent away again, should our studies be interrupted or found unnecessary at this time. Even if more options are desirable.
Have we progressed with our "Survival" plan or is The Daughter not deemed ready yet for such task, should the time require its usage.
The seed is not yet ready. The seed by which to birth a hive is prepared, yet the Seed of the Creators with which we shall make a new mist to reside in is not finished. Weaving this seed is a long and energy consuming process, as any defect would result in annihilation upon activation. When it is ready, we will make it known to you. In these moments, however, energize your shell, and make it ready to hold and maintain the seed. Take these moments to strengthen your shell, as well. We will soon take up strategies, and the strength of your shell will make the movement of the Defender's Keepers more fluid.
Ki'Shar We are not aware of such tasks and the time it needs to be prepared... But we had to ask to understand everything about the time frame. We always have to plan our next steps, our following journeys with the burden of the knowledge that WE are our redemption should everything, including our kin fall. We are still experimenting and analysing our powers on the battlefield, however our usage of "human" made systems makes us quite nervous. If it were completely up to us, we would have repurposed last two remaining human made systems into our own. I am talking about the powerful "Warwolf" forward gun of my shell and jump drive... replacing these two systems could help up rely just on our pure energy collection instead of our and human made power systems.
Rochebrune, one of the few that were present during the anihilation of the planet in the brown mist, is currently present on the Altair and we have begun the research around it's laser weapon system... Which is quite different to what I had learnt during my time in intelligence forces... Should we find something interesting about these two researches, I will immediately inform you.